Let's ring in the New Year!

Before starting this awesome 2012 year, I want to recap the chaos that occurred during 2011. I call it “the preparation year”.


To kick the New Year off right in 2011 (insert eye roll), my Meniere’s attacks came back in full force after graduation. Rooms were spinning like crazy, and I was reminded what the bottom of my toilet looked like (okay that’s gross). Thankfully, I had a short break until starting in my new role in the Development department at Baylor. And so our story begins….

January- I enjoy all the many trips to the Dallas doctor for more steroid injections and allergy testing. WHAT? Where the heck did the allergy testing come from? Doctor threw that one at us out of nowhere. Apparently, your allergies play a big part in the function of your ears, which was severe in my case. I’m so glad I found out I’m allergic to EVERYTHING! Start weekly allergy injections.

February- Back to the big girl world. I started in the new position of development specialist in the Baylor Development Department –so good to be back with my family full time.

March- Did I mention starting weekly allergy injections? They seemed to be working, no spells. Hallelujah!

April- Presidential biographies + allergy injections= YUCK!! Still truck’n…

May- Uh oh! Feeling pretty dizzy. I had my first extreme attack at work. Mom and dad picked me up and stayed with me until Caleb could come home from working in Temple. Dallas doctor, here we come…again.

June and July are a blur. I was put back on all seven medications and my strict diet: no caffeine, chocolate or alcohol; low salt; and as much sleep as I could get. After spending four straight days in bed, the doctor decided to get rid of the problem!

JULY 21, 2011- SURGERY – The middle part of my ear was removed, labrynthectomy. I lost all my hearing in the left ear along with my balance (pretty comical to think I had any balance before the surgery). BUT most importantly, no more Meniere’s!!

August- Caleb gets a job with a commercial construction company in Houston. Ummm…maybe I should look too….Becky gets a job at MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston—assistant director for stewardship.

Mom was diagnosed with breast cancer. The doctors decided to take an aggressive action plan and move forward with a lumpectomy and lymph node sampling. Mom was a trooper and made it through the surgery with no complications.

September- God has big plans for us. Although we were VERY sad to leave our family (especially mom), friends and coworkers, a new chapter of our lives was ready to begin. Good-bye Waco, good-bye Baylor, we’re headed south! Jobs start after Labor Day!

Mom’s test results came back showing she had Invasive Lobular Carcinoma, which typically doesn't form a lump and may show no initial signs or symptoms. The doctor also informed her that not enough tissue was taken during the first surgery. A second minor surgery was needed.

October- The first month of training and orientation is complete. The MD Anderson Development is bigger than Baylor and A LOT different. My group consists of seven great people: sr. director, associate director, field officer, writer and two admins. We have an open floor plan with cubicles (minus the sr. director and field officer) and everyone is VERY QUIET! Seriously, I bit into an apple and was embarrassed by how loud it sounded. I threw it away.

Caleb’s job didn’t exactly work out. There were some things that he just didn’t agree with morally or ethically (in other words, the owner was crazy). With my full blessing, he quit his job to pursue something great.

Mom, dad and Taylor came for a visit. We travelled to the George Ranch Historical Park (SW Houston) and enjoyed the Texian Market Days.(Super sad about not spending Halloween with my Taylor.)

At the end of October, Caleb’s Uncle Dan passed away unexpectedly from a massive heart attack. Caleb and his parents were able to go home to be with his Aunt Evelyn and cousins, Sarah, Brian and Elizabeth. Thankfully, I was able to travel home at the end of the week for the funeral. I still can’t believe we lost such a great man. The funeral was a true celebration of his wonderful life on Earth, and a great farewell party as he entered the gates of Heaven.

November- Houston has a lot of concrete and a lot of traffic! Thankfully, I was connected with a vanpool the first week I started at MD Anderson. We leave out at 5:50 a.m. and head home at 4:00 p.m. No, you read that right. I get up every morning at 4:30 a.m., work from 6:45 a.m.-3:45 p.m. and get home at 5:30 p.m. I don’t have to sit in traffic or pay for ridiculous parking and gas. I sleep on the way to work and read on the way home. There are fourteen of us total that ride and some days are pretty funny—such a mixture of culture and language in a confined area: Jewish, Persian and Pilipino! This would be a great sitcom for ABC.


Mom had a double mastectomy and reconstructive surgery. Mommie's got fake boobies!!! Okay, I know inappropriate. Hallelujah for mom’s triumph over breast cancer. I headed home the weekend after the surgery and was able to help her and dad as much as I could. I hated leaving her, but Taylor had things under control.

December- Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! Caleb was offered a great position at National Oilwell Varco. I’m so excited about the opportunities this will bring him. And I’m so thankful and happy for his patience and help the past three months. He made sure dinner was ready every night when I came home, did the dishes, ran my errands and even did a load of laundry! Now that’s a healthy marriage!

I'm walking pretty well now, my right side has almost fully taken over for the missing left side. I still have moments when I move too fast, but everything is going great. The hardest part is adjusting to the hearing loss. I get pretty frustrated when I'm in a crowded restaurant or standing on the wrong side of someone. Hopefully I can get my BAHA hearing aid this spring!

If you’ve made it this far in this post that means you’re about ready for 2011 to be over just as much as I am! Caleb and I are so fortunate for the blessings we’ve received. As you can tell by our past three months, we’ve been given many tests in our short time in Houston. I’m so looking forward to the New Year and plan to keep you all updated with the happenings here. You know there is never a dull moment in my life, and that’s the way I like it.

The Sunny Side is looking bright!