So Much Has Happened

Facebook, 02/24/2014 - Well Facebook, I know Abby Jones is certainly feeling the love. Many of you have messaged or inquired, so we decided it's best to be open and share what's going on…..we started the day like any other: Burped, Brushed our teeth, wiped Judd's butt, you know….the usual. We've ended the day with a breast cancer diagnosis in our home. Here's what we know…..

1. Surgery and treatment are ahead, no other specifics
2. Abs has a ton of support on her side.
3. Bruce Jenner likes facelifts.

We're going to huddle privately as a family to prepare. We will certainly share things along the way. In the meantime, shout out to troopers like Robby Strausser, Robert Villella, and Ryan Mellinger; each of whom have been in the trenches and battled serious health issues. Abs will follow their lead. We're all good. Here's a glimpse of Abby's afternoon…..

SO.MUCH.HAS HAPPENED.

A few weeks back we were sitting "in the pew" at Meadowbrook Church when the man, Pastor Tim Gilligan, said something that stood out….."So Much Has Happened". This powerful phrase was the focus of the morning and certainly something that spoke to us. In a nutshell, the point was that God sees us as his perfect, beautiful, amazing children…..We only see the part of us that has been blemished because "so much has happened". He sees our best. We struggle to see who we were before our bumps in the road. 

This year has been an absolute blur….a challenge….a struggle….a joy….a tough year that we're ready to be done with.

An AWESOME year nonetheless. 

I took this picture on the day Abs was diagnosed….I've loved it ever since. I picked Judd up early from school that day. We drove over to Abby's office and waited outside for her to get off work. In hindsight, it's mind-boggling that Abs went back to work after lunch on the day she was diagnosed. 

If this kid only knew the depths of his Mom's love. If this kid only knew how many days there were when his mom was feeling sick, yet she played like a toddler herself. If he only knew how his mom endured 54 hours of freezing cold ice caps so he would recognize her without needing a wig. He may not understand now, but one day he certainly will. 

So.Much.Has Happened…….We traveled to Mayo and to UF and to Moffitt. In the end, Moffitt was always the place for Abs to be. God led her to Dr. Lee, Dr. Sexton, Dr. Khan, and Dr. Toloza; plus all of the nurses and techs along the way. We're not exactly sure how many times, but she made the trip and checked in at Moffitt at least 15-20 times in the last six months (plus about another 15 at her local oncologist). For some reason she kept an armband memorial in her closet. 

So.Much.Has Happened…..I mean for goodness sakes, I know I made a few jokes about the guy, but did he really need to turn himself into a woman? 

My bad, Bruce

We've had a lot of ups and downs in the last 6 months. A couple things really standout….

"Downs" - The low moment over the last 6 months took place in a Wendy's Drive-thru. After some extensive discussions with Fertility specialists, Abs and I decided to go grab lunch and talk things over. Literally just minutes away from stroking a 5-figure check and "hedging our bet" on the possibility of having kids down the road; the phone rang and the results of the CT scan were back. That's when we heard about the kidney. That's when we heard about the spot on the lung. That's when Abby really really cried. That's when I finally didn't know what to say. That was truly the day things changed.

That was also the day our friends started a GoFundMe Account for us. The generosity of so many has helped us tremendously. "Thank You" seems so inadequate.

"Ups" - The ups came in mass numbers throughout the last 6 months. Instead of blabbing, here's a look….(a bunch of pictures are about to follow - scroll down if you wish to skip)

Dr. Dave - Abby's Personal Text Physician 

Keep fighting, Ryan!

Keep fighting, Robby!

Champion.

So.Much.Has Happened….and FINALLY our life is starting to find some normalcy in the last couple weeks. Abby's sisters, whom were a driving force in supporting Abs, have each resumed their normal life. Carrie has even moved back "home" to South Florida. She lived in Tampa just long enough for Abs to finish her final surgery. Her work was done…she was free to go. So glad she's back at the beach.

I'm also excited to share that Abby and I have been searching for houses in the last couple weeks. I've shared before that Abby and I moved into a rental DIRECTLY ACROSS THE STREET FROM MY PARENTS. Our original plan was to live there a few months, catch our breath after selling our condo, and then find a new house. What a blessing that turned out to be. BUT, with all of the active treatments starting to be behind Abs, we're ready to get back on track and find the house we want to raise Judd in. Turns out, we have one more "Design" story for you…..

Abby talked last week about how more kids just may not be in the cards for us. We always wanted more kids. Back in the day we used to say we wanted FOUR. Then we had Judd and TWO would've been just fine. Oh well, we're content and so thankful that we even have ONE….Our man Judd.

Juddy's best friend is our buddy, Grantman. Big sister Olivia has taken Judd in too.

Born just three weeks ahead of Judd; Grant and him have been thick as thieves since their baby days. Back in May the house DIRECTLY NEXT DOOR to Grant and his family went on the market. Abby and I noticed, but given everything going on, it was a pipe dream at that point.

So we waited. And the house waited too.

It turns out the home was owned by a breast cancer survivor…..a woman we had never met, but a woman who knew Abby's story and was praying for her. In passing she told our friends that we should come see the house. Abby's surgery was on the horizon so we were still distracted with other things.

So we waited. And the house kept waiting too.

It turns out the house never sold. And so, with Abby's recovery behind her, we finally went and saw the house……love at first sight. And so, one Breast Cancer survivor is buying the home of another. Our son will not be an "only" child. His best bud will grow up in the house right next door.

It's hard to say that toddlers at such an early age can have a "Calling"….but Grant and Olivia, just ages 2 and 3, have already been given one. They are the siblings our son is unlikely to have. Can't wait to sit outside and watch them play on a daily basis.

(Some may have their theories and their science and their evidence that doubts faith. And certainly Abby and I are uber-flawed people. I, for one, am a Dumpster-fire of a human being, especially on the golf course or when the Gators are playing. But there is absolutely NOTHING that will dispute a house being sold by a Breast Cancer survivor….to a breast cancer survivor…..right next door to my son's best friend…..good luck convincing us that HE is not in control…..DESIGN)

So.Much.Has Happened….and yet we've managed to have a great time this year. Abby especially has managed to make the best of some lousy situations. She has also weathered the many storms thrown her way. We are hoping Abby is Cancer Free and will be for a long time. With the help of your prayers; we know HE will hear her army!

Who knows what the future holds? None of us do. But we're ready to turn the page and get back to our regularly scheduled programming.

It's time.

And so, to our four readers out there….This is the end of 29 and Gonna Be Fine.

Abby's 30th birthday is this week……

We are moving on.

We're also going to take Pastor Tim's advice and see ourselves as HE sees us…..as we were before So Much Happened.

Taken the weekend before the diagnosis.

As we said in our first post…..Thank you for joining our "Short, Bumpy Ride Ahead!"

With more love and appreciation than you could ever know!

-Abby, Judd, and Ross


P.S. God is good All the time……All the time God is Good!

THE END