Braces Off!!!

Morgan got her braces off this morning!  She looks great!  She actually said to Nancy and me...."I wish you guys could lick my teeth and feel how good they feel!"  She feels like a new woman!!!  She ate her first whole apple, right off the core! She hasn't done that for over 2 1/2 years.  She already has the Whitening Strips on her teeth to make them perfect!

Today was a big day.  Johnny and Crystal came down from Rexburg to meet with us up at Huntsman.  We had an appointment to talk to the surgeon, Dr. Neumayer while Morgan met with the Social Worker and Genetic Counselor.  We discussed all of our surgical options, the pros and cons of each.  There are a lot of unique characteristics with Morgan and her cancer, duh! But when you put a 16 year old girl with triple negative breast cancer and a P53 mutation....there are many things to process and work through before making these decisions.  We will keep you up to date as things happen, but as of right now, we don't really have the answers....yet.

Next week we meet with the Radiological Oncologist, then the next week with the Plastic Surgeon.  On December 1st we will all come together again and make some final decisions.  So...just like all of you, WE don't know much about what is going to happen yet either!! :)

With my P53 test being negative, they are automatically testing Johnny for the mutation.  They figure he has about .005% chance of being positive, so once again, Morgan may just be a random fluke.  His family doesn't really need to worry about having the gene or testing for it.  His family history doesn't quite fit the usual mold.  As for my family, we don't really need to worry about the P53 gene, (YAY!) but there will be further genetic testing in the future.  My cousins from Florida will start because of their medical family history, and then depending on the outcome, the testing will bounce back to my family.  We will keep you updated as information becomes available.  But the one thing that is stressed the most is for ALL women to get their mammograms each and every year!  If you have any relatives who have passed away or survived from breast cancer, you may want to even start before the age of 40. 

I had my first mammogram yesterday...I had been warned that it would be uncomfortable, but it really was a tight squeeze! (but as I watch Morgan's journey, I don't really mind a little pain!)  They called today and left a message for me to call for a follow up....great news!!!!  Oh well, nothing surprises me now!

New hair....old braces!!! She'll have better pictures tomorrow!  Love ya!