The Journey Starts Here...

Day 1: Hey. :) Hahaha.
Honestly, I don't even know how to start this whole thing.
Lets just start from the beginning.

About 3-6 months ago (not really sure).
I started to get a killer pain in my knee.
It would just nag at me all the time. At first I just thought it was
growing pains or I'd sprained it or something.
But growing pains just don't stay there all the time, ya know?

Around the end of January I got an x ray done with a surgeon's P.A.
The x-ray came back and it looked like a normal knee. So I obviously hadn't broken a bone or anything.
But the P.A. suggested us getting an MRI because he was thinking I had a torn maniscus. MRI's are not very cheap, and I was thinking that it was going to be a waste of money. But my mom scheduled an appointment for the next week.

My dad picked me up from school and we drove to the hospital for my MRI. An MRI is kind of like an x ray in a way, but I think it can go inside the bone. Its like a more addvanced x-ray, in a way. :)

So the lady gave me headphones and told me to try not to move as much as possible. She moved me into this giant tube, and then left. I was in there for maybe 20 minutes or so, when she said that the doctor wanted to put me in another one, to look at my femur, and that I needed an IV for a contrast/dye to see things easier.

When I came out, she asked my dad if he had the x-rays from my appointment the week before because the doctor needed to compare. We left the hospital after we told the girl we would get them tomorrow and bring them to her.

The next day I was in school and my mom texted me and told me that I had an appointment with my surgeon at 2, and that she would be checking me out. On our way up there, we were kind of nervous, but not really.
We sat down in the room and Dr. Edwards walked in and showed us the x-rays.

Here is what he showed us.

He told us that if any doctor were to look at my x-ray, they would say that they look completely normal. BUT... (Oh, that darn 3 letter word BUT) that he looked at the MRI's and found a tumor on my femur. He told us that he doesn't specialize in those types of things, but that he knew a really good doctor that specializes in just that. He said that he had no idea why his P.A. wanted to do an MRI, but that he had a feeling like that's what he should have done.

He left the room to call Dr. Scott, and we sat there for like 45 minutes, and then Dr. Edwards came back and gave us the address and such.

So there we went... heading to Murray to the IHC center to talk to Dr. Scott. Me and my mom were really nervous.

When we got there, they were really nice. Of course, my mom had to fill out another paper with info about my knee. Then I had to put on some goofy shorts that were made out of the fabric from the shoes you wear in the hospital. Please excuse the weird face I'm pulling.

Anyway, in these shorts I had to get another xray so Dr. Scott could look at them. Meanwhile, my dad came and was now in the room waiting for Dr. Scott with us.

A few minutes later, Dr. Scott came in with a few papers and he set them on the counter, sat on the chair, scooted closer to me, looked at me and said

"So your name is... Maddie?" then he asked me how old I was, what school I went to, what I liked to do in my spare time. He just wanted to get to know me. It was really nice.

Then he pulled out the x-rays and wrote down some stuff on the paper like all the parts and stuff. Then he showed us the first MRI, and covered my left leg to show us what my right leg looked like.

Then, he showed us my left knee. It was totally unexpected... This is what it looked like.

Unbelievable...

We found out just yesterday, that it hasn't spread anywhere else. Which is good, REALLY good.

I've been so blessed. And I've had a lot of visitors. :)

I got an unexpected visit from someone I haven't seen/talked to, since last year. He has always been there for me. I can't explain how happy I was that he came over just to see me. I almost cried. Some people may think I'm crazy for liking this boy. But they don't know him like I do. He was my best friend in seventh grade and he always will be close to my heart. I was embarrassed because I looked terrible, and my bishop was in my living room... But as soon as I saw him walk in the door, I totally forgot about my knee and starting walking towards him because all I wanted to do was hug him. :') Jaden, you made me so happy. Thanks for being there for me, especially this week. <3

He is so handsome(: Just saying.

Then, my cousin's husband J.R. came over with a grocery bag and he said "Here's some shirts". Now I thought they were going to be BYU Hawaii shirts because that's where my brother in law Rory goes and I think J.R. was going to previously make those. Then my mom started crying. Here they are:

I, LOVE THEM. <3

I wanted to thank everyone for all of your support. <3 It means a lot to me, and a lot to my family.

I get my port put in tomorrow. It will go under my skin, and on my side. Which also means that I start chemo tomorrow. Chemo is really hard to explain, so I'll have to explain that later. (: I should probably get some sleep!

I love all of you guys. <3

This is my little "slogan" thing.
I'll probably write tomorrow!
Love,
Maddie