Stephanie’s Story

Site created on November 13, 2019

Welcome to our CaringBridge website. We are using it to keep family and friends updated in one place.


Click on journal to look at all of the older posts and to get up to date. If you follow my story, you’ll be emailed once we update with a new story. 


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Newest Update

Journal entry by Stephanie Reinhardt

I keep waiting to update everyone til there are positive updates to share, but I thought about it this weekend and there are so many positive things. We planted our garden which has been my favorite pastime for the last 3 years. Thanks to J it’s beautiful and even though it’s huge is minimal work. I would spend 15-30 delightful minutes out there most days harvesting, weeding and teaching Ella about aphids and ladybugs and how to harvest basil. And eating so many tomatoes from the vine! And lizard hunting. Raised beds and built in irrigation is the best. 

Then craft day with slime and more outdoor time. Adaline screaming for more food and learning to climb/crawl and mimicking all we do. My favorite baby age. 

The last monthish has been full of magic. Easter bunny came to Ella and Adaline thanks to our most dear friends putting it on in a whim, visits from the best of friends, friends keeping us well fed, more family time much needed.  And beautiful fam photos by our friend Chareese capturing all I didn’t know I wanted in them - love, life, family, candidness in a completely real moment. 

In the midst of all the magic my health has than less so. MRI a few weeks ago showed new brain tumors and more swelling, which can happen the first couple months with immunotherapy. We’re banking on that. Unfortunately, this has taken a lot of my vision and speech and balance from me for now. Also hard to write and type.  I’ll fight melanoma for it back! Walking is harder and took some good falls, injuring my tailbone this week (that will heal) and a face plant off the bed twice. I am finally forced to slow down and can’t push through physically and mentally for my safety and for Jason’s too.  Even though I’m sure the strongest. But the strongest have to rest. The speech is the most difficult...different, but almost as hard at not being able to use my left side. When I was paralyzed, the first goal was to hold Adaline and give proper hugs to Ella and family and friends. I was able to do that about a month in. The speech will be the same. I think it is particularly difficult for me because Jason always tells me I tell colorful stories with so many words. Now it’s in my brain usable to share. Many days the only words I can muster are things I need help with, rather about things that bring me joy or others joy. Love to hear about others days, musings, but when I cant ask I know it’s hard to tell. It makes me feel alone, wondering if others are experiencing the little wonders I see. Just to yell out to Ella that she’s doing awesome on a whim, or teach words to Ada bug. I had to stop reading to Ella 4 weeks ago. Harder on me. She’s amazing with the changes. We cuddled in the morning 2 days ago when my speech was better. Was able to tell her I wish I could talk more, she said “it’s ok mama, I love you whatever you can do” (of course).  She is so great at listening intently, she probably picks up even others don’t. And always asks if she doesn’t. I love her. I feel like she has always known me better than anyone. 

Currently I’m getting only one immunotherapy instead of 2 because my liver in LV. But also steroids to see if they help my brain calm down. 

This has been a hard month for the Reinhardt family but there are still more smiles and laughs than tears...still a good amount of tears. We’re human. 

When a friend asked what they could do. I replied “if you could shoot rainbows out of your heart to mine, like a care bear, I’d take that”. I had a dream when i was pregnant with Ella where I was trying to Tame a terrible creature with my rainbow heart. Maybe melanoma is the creature in me. Send the rainbows!!

Thank goodness for all of you support. The amount of kindness in this world I’m certain outweighs the bad I’ve seen in my 38 years. I definitely thrive on positive energy. My current condition isn’t positive but what ahead could be. We’ll keep thinking that way. ❤️💪🏼

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