Life goes on~ Hurray!

Hi Everyone!
It's been a great summer and now we are well into fall! It is amazing how time flies! Tommy and I celebrated our 22nd wedding anniversary yesterday. It was a beautiful warm day. We went horseback riding and out to dinner. Perfect! I haven't been horseback riding for about 2 years so it was quite an accomplishment. I rode Chief - 25 year old reliable!

I had another clear MRI at the beginning of September! It's hard to express how thankful we are for this gift of life. I feel like the tension on my "line of life" has been reeled out a bit...I'm free to enjoy the fall and upcoming holiday season. It is truly amazing as I know a lot of people with this diagnosis do not do this well. I am grateful. My next MRI is scheduled for January 2011.

Enjoy each day ~ whether things are in order or not ~just enjoy!
Love & Blessings to all,
Bridget

Freedom!

To any and all of my friends who may be checking in~ HURRAY! Summertime and freedom are in the air~ I am SO happy! I want to celebrate life with all of you. My MRI was CLEAR last week and the radiology report stated that even the scar tissue was less intense as compared to the last MRI. I truly have received a miracle! Thank you for each and every prayer; they have been instrumental in my healing throughout the past year. I am so grateful. God Bless you! I am now on "surveillance mode" - just being watched over - no more chemo, no more radiation, nothing to worry about except having fun! I will most likely have follow up MRIs quarterly, but other than that I will just be sipping green tea! :) Enjoy your summer!
God is GREAT! Love, Bridget

Wow, How Time Flies!

Tom here, I ran into someone we know from church last night that had prepared meals for our family last year (still so thankful to her and others that did this) and she asked how Bridget was doing. That same day someone else who I had not seen for a while mentioned the blog had not been updated and was wondering how Bridget is doing, so it made me think we should post an update. Little did I realize that it was last October since we last did so!

As you can imagine we were so humbly happy to celebrate Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Years, Easter, all of our family birthdays, and most recently Mother's Day all since the last post. What a very special day it was for us all to be together and celebrate the fact that Bridget is with us and recognize the outstanding Mom she is. The highlight of the day was a nice, long conversation we had with the kids that touched on many topics from thankfulness to spirituality to the importance of daily prayer, and taking one day at a time. We are thankful and greatful that our kids really seem to get it.

We took our first family ski trip out west for some spring skiiing in April at Beaver Creek, Colorado. We had a blast! Kids have been skiiing on our local Midwest slopes for years, so to get out on some actual mountains was a great experience. Bridget was so happy to be out skiing and keeping up after the thought that before her surgery, doctors had mentioned that she could experience some paralysis on her left side. She continues to wake up each day giving thanks for her ability to use her left side normally!

Bridget was honored last month by Envoy Medical for her part in the past with keeping her Dad's implantable hearing aid (now called the Esteem) going after her parents death in a car accident over 20 years ago. The device received FDA approval on St. Patrick's Day this year. Her Dad (and Mom) were appropriately recognized at the shareholders' meeting. Her brother Stuart, sisters Susie and Peggy were there as well to accept awards recognizing their Dad. The awards had harps on them in recognition of her Mom who was Irish and played the harp (FDA approval on St.Patrick's Day ties into that). At the meeting, we were able to meet patients who had the device implanted and hear first hand how it has completely changed their lives. The way they described how it worked completely echoed what her Dad said as to how it would work decades ago when it was just a concept. It was as if we could hear him speaking through them. He truly had great vision and we are still thrilled that this has come to fruition so it can change the lives of so many people in need of a better solution for hearing impairment. It also shows you how a life can continue to transform others in a positive way long after that life has ended on earth. Amazing.

Bridget is doing great and we continue to take one day at time. She continues to follow up with MRI's and will have another one at the end of May. We truly appreciate your thoughts and continued prayers. The Hanchette Family.