Have you Ever...

Didnt do anything too exciting today so I decided to do this cute little thing I found on Kays Blog.

you copy and paste and then highlight the ones you've done...Feel free to play along!


1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty (as far as they will let you now...not the top :( )
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you're not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb--does a baby deer count?
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Ran a Marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo's David
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain.
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone's life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee

Theres a lot of things i havent done. Guess after recover I'll need to start doing some of these...

I Said a Prayer For You Today

I wish I knew how to decorate my page, but i am not too good with computers...oh well maybe eventually it will come to me. Today my poor dad is sick. Apparently he has a fever and feels terrible. He is so stubborn I wish he would go to the Dr.

So today was a farely easy day for me. I didnt have any bad thoughts about this months upcoming surgery! I recieved a catalog today and it had a nice poem in it that I would like to share...

I Said a Prayer For You Today

And know God must of heard.

I felt the answer in my heart

although He spoke no word.

I didn't ask for wealth or fame

(I knew you wouldn't mind).

I asked Him to send treasures of

a far more lasting kind!

I asked that He'd be near you at the

start of each new day; to grant you

health and blessings and friends to

share your way! I asked for

happiness for you in all things

great and small.

But it was for His loving care

I prayed for most of all!

Author Unknown

I wanted to share this with everyone because it really thouched my heart when I read it.

So I am hoping for snow tomorrow! My area has a winter storm watch but Tacoma will probably only get rain. I use to hate the rain, but now I am thankful that I am still alive to enjoy the days with my family.

God Bless

First Blog Cont...

The first thing I need to say tonight, is that everything I say here is just my feelings on this ordeal, it isn't suppose to be a medical journal or medical advice. So with that said I met with Dr. G last month. He scared the crap out of me! He told me that every bad thing that could go wrong would go wrong. I left his office in tears and feeling like I was going to die. I later emailed my doctor and told him I didnt get a good feeling with Dr. G and he made me feel like I was going to die! He told me that Dr. G can be a little intense but he reassured me that everything was going to be fine. So I finally picked a day for my surgery and it was a pretty hard thing to do! I feel like time is going by so fast. My Dr. said that time is probably going to go by so slow but I disagree, I dont think it is going to go by slow enough. I've met a lot of wonderful people who have already been through this situation and people who are going through it right along with me. The one thing I can say is, LEARN everything you can about your tumor. I am constantly asking my DR questions as well as AN survivors. My BIGGEST worry other than death is, my facial nerve. I'm worried about how other people will view me and most of all how I will view myself. I feel like I am going to look like a monster. Everyone tells me that this will make me a stronger person and it will because I will be conquering something most people dont have to. I would have to say that waiting is the hardest part. I am ready to move on with my life and start living it again. I feel like my life is on pause and all I think about are the what ifs. The few good things about this tumor, is that it has brought me closer to God, my father, and my husband. Even though I questioned Him alot in hte beginning I am now starting to appreciate Him more. This has been a hard time for my family. In April 08 my youngest brother in law was stabbed in the leg at school, in May of 08 my other brother in law was shot and killed, in June of 08 my husband's grandfather passed away, a grandmother he didnt really know passed away his father hd to have surgery on his spine. I feel like one bad thing after another is happening to the people we love the most and I was constantly asking God what we did to deserve this, but I have now realized that hopefully me surviving and kicking this tumors butt will show my husband that God is GREAT and he isn't trying to punish us. I hope it will show him that God is with us every step of the way and he will help us through this and through God all things are possible.

For now I am tired...Good Night all

God Bless

My First Blog

So today I decided I was going to start a blog to let my friends and family into the life of Liz. I recently found out that I have a 4.5 cm acoustic neuroma brain tumor. Thankfully this is a benign non-cancerous tumor. It grows on the 8th cranial nerve which actually consists of two seperate nerves - the vestibular nerve and the cochlear nerve. The vestibular nerve is responsible for balance while the cochlear nerve is responsible for hearing. This tumor has started growing in my ear and is growing towards my brain. Right now it is large enough to touch my brainstem and it is starting to compress it. My only choice is surgery because if it continues to grow my brainstem will be fully compressed and will eventually kill me. This tumor is said to grow at an extremely low rate, so since mine is 4.5 cm I guess it has been growing for AWHILE!

I wanted to write my story for people to see because I have known for about two years now that I had a tumor. I remember at times I would get severe cases of vertigo and I would get so nausous from it and for the rest of the day I would not want to do anything. I also use to get really bad headaches, worst than what I assume a migraine feels like. And I noticed my hearing in my left ear slowly getting worse. I would complain about it to my family, but they would tell me it wasn't a tumor that I just needed to drink more water.

Finally in December of 2008 I finally had enough. Whenever my father or monther n law would talk to me, I would ask them to repeat because I couldn't understand them. When we got back home from our vacation I made a doc appt with an audiologist. She ran all types of hearing test on me but couldn't determine why I had hearing loss. So she put in a referal for me to get an MRI done.

It's January 9, 2009 and I go in for my MRI. It actaully takes less time than I thought it would. I got there 20 minutes early, so I was seen right away. My appointment was at 5:00 pm and I was back to my car by 5:00 pm. The MRI wasnt so bad, it was just really loud and boring.

February 9, 2009 I meet with Dc. C. an ENT so he can tell me what my MRI reveals. First I meet with the Resident Dr. P and he starts doing all these funny test on me. Then he says well I have your MRI and there is something on there we need to talk about. I immediately say "Please tell me it's not a tumor" and he said actually it is. Then I said "Am I going to die?" And he said "NO" Thank God and I hope he was telling me the truth. Then Dr. C came in and he told me about my options or should I say my only option. I have to have surgery but he made me feel like I was going to survive this. Some of the post-op problems I could have is facial weakness or paralysis, absolutely no hearing in my left ear, brain swelling, some balance issues or even death, hopefully it is not the latter.

So I go home from my ENT appt and I tell my husband the news. And guess what, he did not believe me. He thought I was playing a joke! Unfortunately I wasnt playing a joke. I didnt even know what an acoustic neuroma was before this appointment. Even at this point it hadn't really sunken it that I have a tumor in my brain. Later that night my husband and I were laying in bed and he said something about me being young. And the I just broke down. I was crying and scared and saying I can't believe this is happening to me! I am just 24 years old with two small children. Fortuantly for me I have a geart husband who held on to me till I calmed down.

Well I need to go for now but I will post some more tomorrow...