Cervical Cancer Awareness Month- Katrina's Story

If anyone desires a wish to come TRUE, they must first capture a BUTTERFLY and WHISPER that WISH to it.

 

I had my Butterfly, January 30, 1985, her name is Katrina Danielle Fisher. Free spirited, stubborn, loving, giving, caring, feisty, and a person who believed in BUTTERFLIES, Hope, Faith and Love and the FUTURE…

 

As we traveled through life together there was always a lot of LOVE, and Laughter, and Happiness, and the occasional time when mom and daughter butted heads, got angry with each other….But it never lasted long with my Feisty, BEAUTIFUL BUTTERFLY, who loved life and who celebrated her life by marching to the beat of a different drum.

 

In April 2012, Trina’s belly had swelled. This started back in November 2011. She would have an appetite, then not have an appetite. She had excruciating pain, trouble with BM’s, feeling full faster than usual, back pain that would keep her in the bed ,her weight went up and up, she was tired all the time, and had to urinate everytime we turned around. Then all the sudden she did not have to go as frequently. She was throwing up, and fatigue- OH MY GOSH, she was always tired. She has big dark circles under her eyes. Everything about the way she looked and acted had me SCARED. A MOMMA knows when something is WRONG WITHTHEIR BABY…….

 

Now mind you, she had just given birth to her 3rd child, a son Kamron Lee, on May 18, 2011. We visited Katrina and Kamron and Kevin all the time, but something was not right with my baby girl, I could tell. She had went for her 6 week checkup, and had been to the hospital several times for this bleeding- ONLY TO BE TOLD SHE WAS FINE!

 

In May, I took Katrina to a private OB- he tried to reset her period, he did a couple of other things, and we would go back and see him- she was getting no relief. And in between seeing him, she was in and out of the ER a total of 36 times! They always did blood work, CT Scans and internal exams, ultrasounds, only for them to tell her she was fine, the pain was in her head. All the while she was getting worse and worse.

 

Finally, the OB said we have to do a hysterectomy. So, on Aug. 8, 2012 she went in for the hysterectomy. They took my BEAUTIFUL DAUGHTER back and said, "she will see you in a couple of hours". Next thing I knew I was in the waiting room with my husband and the nurse called my name. I turned to my husband and said, “This isn’t good she has only been back there about 40 minutes!”

 

The nurse took David and I to a surgical consultation room (a private room). When I looked up here came in the Dr. – you could tell he was crying as a tear was rolling down his cheek, probably as he remembered he had delivered all of her children.Calli Hope age 4, Daniel Lee( who passed away at birth), and finally Kamron Lee about 1 ¾. He started out with, "I am so sorry to have to tell you this Kari, we are dealing with CANCER." I went numb, my mind spinning, my heart hitting the floor, everything swirling around me. Finally, I got a grip on things, and he explained once he got her to sleep, and totally relaxed and he internally checked, her cervix was like WOOD as he knocked on the desk. Through my tears and numbness and broken heartedness I asked him, "WHAT DO WE DO? IF THIS WAS YOUR WIFE, YOUR DAUGHTER, YOUR MOTHER WHAT WOULD YOU DO?” He said “I would get them to Birmingham UAB, WIC Hospital ASAP." I said, "Fine that’s what we will do."  HE said, "I will get her an appointment up there ASAP, as I want her there ASAP. " The Dr. and I walked back to the recovery room, arm in arm, my head resting on his shoulder, and I saw my BEAUTIFUL KATRINA. She was smiling and happy, she thought she had had the surgery, and it was over. He walked to one side of her bed, me to the other. He started to cry as he told her what he found. What had to be done, what to expect to be done in Birmingham. HE hugged her and held her, and said I will get everything setup ASAP Katrina, don’t worry about a thing.

 

We came home in shock and disbelief and numb and needless to say a million tears, but true to his WORD he had an appointment set up for August 15, 2012 at UAB WIC (Women’s and Infants Cancer Center). So, the day arrived and we drove up there. Katrina so full of life, and hopeful. I have pictures of her from that day where she looked gorgeous.

 

We arrived at WIC to meet Dr. Alvarez. What a wonderful man. And his staff were top notch. He confirmed our fears, it was CANCER. The Dr. said the day of surgery, the Dr. from our home town was saying she was stage C2, but in a matter of a week she went from a C2 to a 4B. She went through PET SCANS, CT SCANS, BLOODWORK, X-RAYS, you name it, every test imaginable she went through and they concluded “The OUTBACK” was the TREATMENT for her. We were sent home after meeting her OB -ONOCOLOGIST and Radiologist, and had a plan set up. THEY NEVER TOLD US KATRINA WAS GOING TO DIE. They had us so built up with HOPE; that that was not even in the realm of our possibilities. We came home started packing our things and were waiting for the one week mark to get there.

 

As we waited Katrina’s father and step-mom; (Ray and Tammy) got Calli, and our best friend from Florida came racing up here. Thank God she came rushing from Florida, the day she got here there was something wrong, terribly wrong with Katrina. Patty and I rushed her to our local ER, told them she was recently just diagnosed with cervical cancer. Katrina could hardly breathe. The next thing I know they are telling me they are flying her to Birmingham. Then the Dr. in the ER came in and said no it’s too risky, too unsafe, we  will be sending her by ambulance.  I asked why what the heck was going on? He said to Patty and I, “Katrina is in full blown RENAL FAILURE!”  Before I knew it they were there to get her, I held her hand, kissed her , and held her for a moment and said “I Love YOU Butterfly, Aunt Patty and I will be coming up behind the ambulance, but we are going to run home real quick and get our luggage.” She replied PLEASE hurry and don’t make me wait on you too long. LOL that was my Trina.

 

When Patty and I got to Birmingham Katrina was in surgery her kidneys were not working. She was drowning in her own fluid. They rushed her in to surgery without me being there. THANK GOD THEY DID!

 

As Patty and I sat and waited, and waited, and waited. Finally the Dr. came out and said everything went fine. HE mentioned the word Nepstronmy Tubes and something about her kidneys, and they had pulled 8 gallons of water off of her. My head was dizzy from everything he was saying, he said she coded once she got there, but everything was OK now. And she would be able to start her Treatments as scheduled.

 

As they came to get Patty and I, we both wondered what we were about to see as we entered Katrina’s room. There was my BEAUTIFUL GIRL; groggy, looking a lot less swollen, and smiling at us. After a while another Dr. came in, and was showing and explaining to us about the “TUBES” coming out of her kidneys. My God it looked like the Alaskan Pipeline. It looked uncomfortable, but she would never KNOW LIFE AGAIN WITHOUT THESE TUBES THAT SAVED HER LIFE. SHE WOULD DIE WITH THEM IN PLACE.

After that she started her Chemotherapy and Radiation- everyday 7a.m. Sometimes Chemo would take 2 hrs. Sometimes it would take all day, depending if she needed blood, or they could get the needle in to start it. I was screaming put in a PORT, put in a PICC LINE, but no one was listening. This just made us feel more and more like guinea pigs. One Dr. would come in and tell you one thing, and another Dr.would tell you something else. And sometimes you were bombarded with 20-30 Drs. at one time. One day Trina was at chemo, and as we got there she said “Mommy I am cold, can you run and get my blanket that you have your apartment?” I said “OK, I will be back in a few minutes”. As I was coming out of the apartment, my phone rings. It's my Katrina on the other end screaming and crying, “Mommy, just get here, just get here, I can’t take this anymore!” I flew, and ran into the Chemo room, and she was crying hysterically, blood running down her arms, the nurse telling her we got to get this in Katrina, she said matter of factly. I said “How many times have you all stuck her?" Trina piped up "32 times momma they can’t find anymore veins”. I said ”WHOA that is enough, I want see the Dr. now!" They got him, and I said “Why have you not put in a port or PICC Line in yet?” He said "ok we are directly admitting her right now for surgery to put in a PICC LINE, and a PICC LINE will be in place in just a little bit!”Sure enough the sweetest PICC LINE Nurse I ever met came to do Katrina’s PICC LINE…… I got to gown up and watch the entire procedure- AMAZING- First shot in PLACE……WOW…. And my Katrina, my HERO, went through that, the CHEMO, RADIATION, Brachy Therapy with such HOPE, FAITH, STRENGTH, DIGNITY and GRACE and a SENSE OF HUMOR.

 

Her brother RJ came from IL in October for a weekend visit to see his sister. On the day he was leaving he said, “I can’t leave her Mom, she is to sick, I need to be here and she needs me and you need me to take the load off!” He NEVER left her side. He was there caring for her when I was totally worn out. He held her hair back as she was throwing up, made sure her ice pitcher was constantly full, and she had water, he held her as she cried, he made her laugh, he never ever let  her go through anything ALONE. One night she got a pass from the hospital, and RJ said “Katrina what do you want to do?" She said, lI want a Daiquiri”. He said "ok fine, I will push you over to the Doubletree and we will get you a Daiquiri,"  and off they went! Soon they were back.  She thought she was buzzed from the Daiquiri, but what she did not know was her brother got her a “VIRGIN DAIQUIRI"! We didn’t want to take any chances with all the medicines she was on, so he ordered her the VIRGIN. She was so Happy, and Excited she got out for just a little bit…SHE HAD SO MUCH FUN!!!!

I can’t begin to tell you how many surgeries she went through, she developed DVT’s in both legs. First the Left one, her leg swelled to 88 cm and larger at times. Then the right one started in, and then they were putting stints in to make sure they (the blood clots) did not break off and travel to the heart, lungs or brain.  She developed heart problems. Everything you can imagine, my Butterfly went through.

 

Now, I will roll forward to Feb 28, 2013. Dr. A. walked in Trina’s room as Trina and I were visiting with our patient navigator Elyse.  He slowly walked in the room and greeted all of us, he then actually CLIMBED INTO THE BED WITH KATRINA, and took her in his arms, and started to cry. He told her there was nothing more that could be done. He was sending her home to die. The way they had discussed. She told him at some point "Dr. Alvarez, if it comes down to it and I am not going to make it, please let me go home to die, so I can have a death with dignity and be surrounded by the people I LOVE."  He told her, “If I had a magic wand I would WAVE it for YOU, because Katrina, I have grown to LOVE YOU and YOUR FIESTINESS and the way YOU HAVE HANDLED THIS WHOLE SITUATION AT YOUR AGE. If I could save one of my FAVORITE patients, IT WOULD BE YOU."

 

Friends and family came from near and far. Ray and Tammy( her father and step-mother) were here when we brought her home, as was her Uncle Robert Ellingsen, and her Brother Bradley, and Uncle Toby and Aunt Kari, Charity Heilman and of course her daughter, Calli Hope.Shortly after arriving home, Katy Ling our Hospice Nurse,  said it has gone to the bones……… TALK ABOUT PAIN…. And then a couple of weeks later she had some test done, and it was now in her brain. That cervical cancer had now spread to her blood, bones and brain and every vital organ. DEVESTATED is all I can say. My nights and days were filled with making sure she had the correct dosage of meds, emptying her urine bags, keeping her fed and clean, changing bandages to the PICC Line and her TUBES. ALL I could do was focus on her- and I was PROUD of her and she is MY HERO.  

 

Bobby and Leanne Kidd, Melanie Garner, Tiffany Popwell, Charlotte Pevehouse, Wade Young, Tiffany Caswell, Brother Billy Berry and his wife Gayle, Sandra Popwell, Pastor Gene Bridgeman and his wife Julie,  and all my FACEBOOK FRIENDS were following Trina’s progress on my page under Katrina’s Journey. Bobby and Leanne held a benefit to help cover her funeral cost. The community all came together in our time of need. Everyone in our lives who was suppose to be here during that time- was here- whether physically here or in spirit.

At the Benefit Singing with the Gospel Group "Anointed Harmony" that Bobby Kidd sings with, we were unsure on April 6th if Katrina would be able to make it that day. The family showed so we could thank everyone. My phone rang. It was Trina. She said "Momma, please send my brothers to get me, I may only be able to stay a few minutes cause I am sick." I said," if you are not feeling well people understand." She said "Send them, I need to be with everyone, and in God’s house today." I never told anyone Trina was on her way!

 

Bobby had made sure there was a chair, a big overstuffed chair if Trina should come. The group was singing, and the back doors opened up, it was my sons bringing Trina in by wheelchair. Everything STOPPED, Bobby Kidd up there singing, just cried, and said,"MY HERO just came through the door." And he came down and hugged her like he never wanted to let go. And then Susanne Coleman, one of the singers, had sung at Trina’s wedding, MY GOD IS ABLE and that was Trina’s song all through this JOURNEY- SANG THAT FOR TRINA RIGHT THEN AND THERE. Not a dry eye in the house, and Bobby sang ,I Can’t Even Walk Without Holding Your Hand! So many emotions that day. And Trina was in her glory. She LOVED EVERY MINUTE

OF IT –and felt up to staying for the entire Benefit. A young man walked up to Trina, he wanted to hug her, but was afraid he would hurt her, she told him “Get down here so I can HUG YOU SAM THOMAS!” And Tiffany Caswell hugged Trina, and Trina told me afterward “Momma, I think I was hugged by angel."

On April 17th Katrina went into in- patient Hospice Care at Gentvia Hospice in Columbus, GA. We all gathered. Everyone came. We fell in love with her nurses and staff. You could tell they loved Katrina. They did not treat her as a patient, but like a member of their own family. Thenway they touched her, talked to her, tenderly cared for her, help her, and were just not there for her, but us her family as well. We are forever grateful for THOSE BEAUTIFUL ANGELS.

And for all my friends that were there every minute they could be  to help me through it. I LOVE YOU GUYS.

Sadly, on May 3, 2013 at 6:15p.m. our BUTTERFLY ANGEL TOOK FLIGHT TO HER ETERNAL HOME. Katrina Danielle was just 28 years old and she left behind a husband, Kevin, a daughter Calli Hope 4 ½ and a son Kamron Lee who would have been Two 15 days later, and her FAMILY WHO LOVED AND ADORED HER.

 

Katrina would tell people about her cancer,"Listen to its whisper, it sneaks up on you” and nobody knows your body better than you. If we can SAVE ONE LIFE because of Katrina’s Journey through the colors of Teal and White, it will have become HER REALITY, HER DREAM. So please get your sons and daughters vaccinated for the HPV Virus, and WOMEN get your SMEARS. And if YOU feel there is still something going on and something wrong don’t stop, keep going till YOU ARE SATISFIED. As Katrina would say "My God Is Able!”

 

By making a WISH and GIVING the

BUTTERFLY its FREEDOM

The WISH will be taken to

The HEAVENS to be GRANTED!

Cervical Cancer Awareness Month- Brandy's Story

 I'm Brandy Shinkle, a 30 year old mother of 2 girls from Milford, Ohio. 

My journey started in 2008 with my first abnormal Pap smear.  I was married for 2 years to my high school sweetheart, and we had a beautiful 2 year old daughter together, so getting an abnormal result after 10+ years of paps was a little alarming. The doctor wanted to do a colposcopy and biopsy to determine if it was something more serious. The results came back; mild dysplasia. She assured me that with me age (25 at the time) my body would heal itself and they just needed to monitor it. So started the every 6 month pap routine. It never went away. Every pap was abnormal, every colposcopy showed mild dysplasia, and every answer was it will go away. I asked many times to have something more done. My thinking was if it's precancerous now, who's to say it won't turn cancerous? I was continuously told being in my prime child bearing years and only having 1 child they didn't want to do any additional procedures for fear it would hinder my ability to have more children. I knew something wasn't right, but I listened and went on. I knew no different and thought that they are the doctors, they know best. Looking back I see now that I had some whispering symptoms that I chalked up to normal female problems. I had had issues in that area for many years, so I just thought it was how my body functioned. Random bleeding, severe abdominal pain, bloating, painful intercourse. Nothing to out of the ordinary. I gave birth to my 2nd daughter on 6-4-12. She was a big surprise. We were happy as a family of 3, and weren't trying for another. She had a purpose though. She was born by an emergency c-section, and the doctor that delivered her, I had never seen before in all the years of going to the Ob/gyn. She reviewed my chart and advised if my post-partum pap smear came back abnormal she would perform a leep procedure, and that would end my every 6 month visits. Well, just like the last 4 years worth, the post-partum Pap smear came back abnormal. So, in September 2012 I had a leep done. I was supposed to go back for a follow up in October, but life got in the way and I never made it. In November the doctors nurse called and said that it was necessary for me to come in. November 14th I went for what I thought was just a follow up. When the nurse took me to the room and told me to stay dressed I knew something wasn't right. The doctor came in and that's when my life changed. She advised me that the pathology results from the leep showed that the mild dysplasia was actually cancerous. It was imperative to have a hysterectomy since this had been going on for years. She wasn't sure how far it had progressed. Almost 6 months to the day after delivering my daughter, I was back at the hospital having a hysterectomy on December 3, 2012. Biopsies performed showed abnormal cells were present on the uterus and ovaries. Because of this, the doctor removed everything, including lymph nodes. I am happy to say I am now 1 year cancer free! 

I owe my life to my youngest child. Had it not been for her birth I don't know how much longer the doctors would have let this go on. I wouldn't have been as lucky as I am had it not been for her. If anyone takes one thing away from my story, it's this: I got my check ups religiously, never missed one, and I still got the diagnosis of stage 1a1 cervical cancer. Why? Because I didn't listen to my own body and gut instinct that something was wrong. I thought what I was going thru was normal and trusted that the doctors I was seeing knew best. Had I listened to my myself who's to say it would have gotten to this point. Listen to your body and heart it won't ever steer you wrong. 

Cervical Cancer Awareness Month- Kelly's Story

Kelly is from the St Louis area. Kelly at age 31 was a happily married school teacher when she found out she had cervical cancer. Kelly was told she may not live to see her 33rd birthday. She was diagnosed in December 2011. 

Since her diagnoses Kelly used her instinct and fought hard. Kelly had multiple surgeries leaving her with a complete hysterectomy, without several lymph nodes, bladder and urethra. She went through multiple rounds of chemo and radiation. In May 2013 her scans had shown her to be cancer FREE!! She lived to see her 33rd birthday!

Kelly was on "The Jeff Probst Show" first episode and she announced her diagnoses on the show. The show has also checked in on her and her battle with cervical cancer. 

Kelly was at Our Panties Across the Bridge on July 13, 2013, the 3rd Annual Event. Kelly shared her inspirational story and why it is important to know the signs and symptoms for cervical cancer. At our lighting ceremony Kelly flipped the switch to make the Purple People Bridge teal for the first time in Cincinnati history! 

Thank you Kelly for making the trip to Cincinnati to help us raise awareness for gynecological  cancers. We are rooting for you all the way as you continue your fight.

View Kelly on the Jeff Probst Show

http://www.jeffprobst.com/posts/1582_kelly_pozzoli_one_big_exhale/

http://www.jeffprobst.com/posts/2569_kelly_s_incredible_update/index.html

Cervical Cancer Awareness Month- Kristen's Story

Kristen was a recent college graduate with a whole career ahead of her when she was diagnosed with cervical cancer. 

Kristen was 23 when she lost her battle to cervical cancer. Only 11 months after her diagnoses. You can watch Kristen's story here: http://vimeo.com/m/15494353

After Kristen lost her battle her father Kirk took her diary entries and used them as his basis to write "Love, Kristen" for cervical cancer awareness. Kirk when on the tv show Dr. Oz to talk about prevention. You may see the clip here: http://www.doctoroz.com/videos/hpv-vaccine-right-your-child-pt-1

Kristen's family created an organization to raise awareness for cervical cancer: The Kristen EVE Foundation. Their goal is to have a cervical cancer free Indiana. Visit their website at www.kristeneve.org. 

Kristen EVE Foundation is our ally in the battle against cervical cancer. Follow them on Facebook and Twitter. We are all in this together. 

Lisa Kalmar's Story with Cervical Cancer

I was diagnosed November 2010 with cervical cancer stage 1b2 with a + node. I was 32 years old with three children and was pregnant. My symptoms were unusual spotting and bleeding with intercourse.  In December I had Radical hysterectomy and lost the baby. I went thru 6 wks of chemo and 30 days radiation. I have 3 beautiful children and the best finance and best of friends and family that was by my side thru it all. I have a Angel baby that saved my life! 3 yrs cancer free!! I pray everyday for strength and guidance to get me thru this terrible disease.

Thank you Lisa for sharing this story of your strength and courage. We are honored you allowed us to share this. Thank you!

Cervical Cancer Awareness Month- Sarah's Journey

This is Sarah’s Journey, our 25 year old Angel. She had the most beautiful blue eyes and a smile that could light up the darkest room. Even when pain set in she always managed to give a smirk or flash that smile of hers.

In Feb 2012 Sarah had a normal Pap smear; it was months following that she would start having issues.  It started with spotting between periods that became more intense through the summer months. She was a stay at home mother of 3 children, just bought a house to and started to remodel it so her family can move into it.

In the beginning of October 2012, she finally went into the doctor after months of irregular periods and heavy bleeding.  Her doctor referred her to go to the James Cancer Hospital in Columbus, OH.   There,they discovered Stage 2B cervical cancer. In the beginning of November, she was prepped for chemo, radiation & brachytherapy.   They tacked one of her ovaries to keep it out of harms way from the radiation so it wouldn’t throw her into menopause.

Heidi (her sister) was the one who took her back and forth to OSU's James Cancer Center. It was usually 2 times a week for chemotherapy. She would be there for hrs. Most of the time she would tell Heidi to go home and she would call her when she was done. She didn't want Heidi around for much of that, Heidi was pregnant. They wanted to do a round or 2 before they started radiation. The radiation started we were driving to the hospital 3-4x a week. Then internal started. That was the hardest to watch. She would be at the hospital for hours upon hours. Some days her counts weren't good enough for her treatment. Some days she was too sick to get out of bed. Some days she wanted to give up. We weren't going to let that happen. She had 3 kids she was fighting for. 

She fought like a champ, always kept a smile on her face. EVEN with all of the poking with needles and rods she still smiled. She was very tired all of the time. Didn't want to eat. The only way we could get her to eat was say hey there is McDonald’s or Wendy's. She would smile and say "Yum!"

November 26th is when chemo & radiation started.  She finished round one of her treatments on January 29, 2013. The following week she started the brachytherapy.  On Feb 15, 2013 she did a MRI at James and they found, she was making great progress and was almost done with this round of treatments. She would finish her treatment at the James. Five days later she would be admitted to OSU for a blood clot near her lungs, she was cleared to go and finished all of her treatments on March 15, 2013 and headed home to Uniopolis, OH to be with her family.

In the beginning of April, Sarah was life flighted from Lima, OH. to James Cancer Hospital for a large mass discovered on her cervix and a blood clot close to her heart.  As it turned out, James knew of the clot and the large mass was the pinned up Ovary.  This was quite the scare and everything was ok, per James Cancer Hospital.   

On April 17th the doctor said everything was a GO to start her second round of Chemo. She never made it to her second round of Chemotherapy due to her car breaking down in route to her appointment at the James Cancer Hospital in Columbus, OH. With newly found clots and kidney damage, Sarah went into surgery to place stints in her kidneys.

On May 7th she had surgery to have stents placed in both kidneys. They were not sure if this would work or not due to all the scar tissue from recent treatments. She is not responding well to the anesthesia, her O2 sats are in the low 80's. They are taking her to recover until they get the breathing tube out and her oxygen saturation back up in the mid 90's. 

Facebook Updates from her husband: she is doing better, getting a blood transfusion now. Her vitals have finally begun to stabilize and we are waiting to get her a room in ICU step down. I probably won't update anymore tonight, but thank you for all the thoughts and prayers. God has always been good to us and I know He will lead us through this if we let him!

A May 7th Update from Lee: Sarah is feeling pretty rough today, her kidneys have all but shut down. She is malnourished and her cancer has become very aggressive. All of the treatment that she needs has to be cleared by her kidneys, which are not working. Sarah will be going down to place Neuf Tubes in her kidneys today. This will hopefully take some pressure off of her renal system. If this does not work, she will need dialyses. She really needs everyone to humble down and pray from your hearts that God will reach down and bless the hands and minds of her doctors. We HAVE to get these kidneys working so that she can get back on chemo! Thank you for the support and love.

May 8- Update from Lee: Sarah is feeling much better today. The neuphrostomy tubes seem to be working. With the help of Lasics, she has been filling the drainage bags quite frequently. Her coratinin levels dropped down to 5.2 from 6.93 yesterday. We are finally heading in the right direction. Sarah is actually sitting in a chair today! We will continue to work on regaining strength, getting her off O2, and getting her pain in control. We have yet to hear what the exact plan is for going home or for starting chemo. I am confident in Sarah and her recently renewed will to fight! We will get out of this hospital, we will beat this cancer, and we WILL live long enough to call this nothing more than a distant memory!

May 9th- Doctors at James have exhausted all medical resources to help our Sarah; she will be going home on hospice on May 14th.

                                               

May 14- Sarah’s last Facebook post, “Finally home, whoever helped with our house I wish I could hug every single person. It is so breath taking and refreshing.... Now it’s time for me to get better. Love all of you and just asking for prayers.”

May 20, 2013 at 4:45 a.m. Our Sarah took her last breath and became Our Teal Angel.

 

Sarah Jane we love and miss you dearly and we will never forget you!!

Love your parents: Mary, Tom & Sue

Your Sisters: Rachel, Deidre, Arienne, & Heidi

Your 3 little Clones: Lauren, Bubba, & Lyndsay

And your Best Friend Kacey <3

 

 

                                   

 

Cervical Cancer Awareness Month- Meganne's Story

Meganne turned 21 on June 12, 2010.  

She was in a committed relationship with a nice young man. She had health insurance thru her employment. She was generally healthy.  In September she and some friends started planning a cruise to Mexico for the spring of 2011.  In November, about the same time she paid for her cruise, she began complaining of random pelvic pain, nausea, unexplained bleeding and changes in her digestion.  She was busy being 21 and chalked the symptoms off to polycystic ovarian syndrome. Both her sisters had been diagnosed with PCOS and she just didn’t have time to deal with doctors and diet changes.  Besides, her symptoms were not all happening at the same time, they were not happening every day, and they were not severe enough to keep her from working and planning her wardrobe for the cruise.  

In January of 2012 she noticed her daily bowel habits were changing. She was trying to lose weight for her cruise so she tried using laxatives without any real results.  Her pelvic pain was frequent and she also had pain in her lower back. She began living with a heating pad, switching it from front to back and back to front.  She spent many evenings soaking in a hot bath to ease the discomfort she was feeling.  She also began having vomiting episodes that would last for a few hours and subside after a night’s sleep. Her periods were “weird” and she had discomfort and bled profusely when she and her boyfriend attempted to be intimate.  

She began missing work sporadically but refused to go to the doctor, too focused on her cruise! The randomness of bad days was the bulk of her argument to not go to the doctor.  Also, the standard is if you “have symptoms that last more than 2 weeks, seek medical attention.” Her symptoms came and went; she was not generally sick 2 days in a row.  

She went on her cruise in April, 2011, and had a great time!  When she returned she was still in the same pattern – heating pad, hot baths, random vomiting, pelvic pain. 

The first week in May she did a random check of her blood pressure while we were at Walmart. It was very high – but she was feeling good that day, she hadn’t even been on the heating pad! 

The second week in May, she called me from work asking for a ride home because she was vomiting. I said, “Sure, but we are going straight to doctor. This has gone on long enough.” 

Her blood pressure was elevated and the doctor did blood work and sent us on our way. Before we got home they called noting that her blood test indicated an infection and she was prescribed and antibiotic.  She was also scheduled appointments with a kidney doctor and stomach doctor. 

A few days later she woke up with a fever. We made another trip to the doctor. High blood pressure, vomiting, pelvic pain – we were instructed to go on to the ER so more tests could be run.  She was admitted to the hospital for enlarged, infected kidneys.  It was quickly determined that her ureters (both sides) were blocked, not allowing her kidneys to drain to her bladder.  

While in the hospital she was asked if she had ever had a pap smear. She was not taking birth control so was not under a gynecologist’s care.  As far as she knew, she had a pap smear the year before at the health department. We found out that unless the doctor at the health department “saw” anything suspicious they would not have performed an actual pap smear. If a patient is under 21 they don’t perform a smear unless there is an issue or evidence of an issue. This is one question we never got an answer to – did she get a smear or not? 

In the course of that first week in the hospital the biggest question was “Why are her kidneys infected?”  She had what seemed like every antibiotic known to man administered via IV fluids; pneumonia set in; she received 4 blood transfusions; an infectious disease doctor was consulted (due to the cruise taken in early April); a urologist placed stents to allow drainage of her kidneys to her bladder and a gynecologist was called in by the urologist.  The gynecologist confirmed what the urologist suspected - a large tumor on her cervix.  When the urologist came to see us after he placed the stents we heard the word cancer mentioned for the first time. The walls closed in … our lives changed forever.  

She was subsequently diagnosed with stage 3B cervical cancer.  She passed away April 2, 2012, from complications caused by the cancer treatment - a ruptured bowel. It was just 11 months after her first visit to the doctor.