I am so pleased to find this little blog of mine is still here. There are so many memories, photos, poems here that I would be heartbroken to lose. I so wish I had kept up with my writings here.
If you are reading this because you’ve followed me in the past or I’ve followed you there is sad news to tell. You may or may not remember my posts about my oldest daughter, Bobbie Jo, she was written about here. Her battle with a brain tumor is here. Her winning that battle is here. What is not here is her battle with breast cancer that brought her and her younger sister closer together. The many trips to the hospitals, the surgery, the many radiation treatments. She beat that cancer, or so they said. Not here is the accident involving a van and a very large moose. My mad drive to meet the ambulance at the hospital, Ibeat it, the waiting was awful. The van was totaled, she was banged up and bruised but otherwise ok. Then came the private behind closed doors talk with the doctor. This was happening in early November 2016. The ER doctor told her and I the CT scan of her head and neck showed no injury, however, there is a growth in her neck and she should see her doctor soon. She said she would. She promised me she would. The holidays were coming, her birthday, Thanksgiving, Christmas, they all came and went. She seemed fine, she really did. She was often tired but that wasn’t unusual. She was losing weight, lots of weight. She finally had a regularly scheduled Dr. appt. and told him about the accident. That’s when the beginning of the end began. More scans, MRI’s, lots of blood drawn, new doctors. The diagnosis was thyroid cancer. After many, many appointments and the “We aren’t sure, we just don’t know, we are confused by the tests”. I kept pushing them to do something, to figure it out. The removing of her thyroid was only suppose to take 3 hours, instead it took 5 1/2. They slit her from ear to ear. The surgeon said he had never seen anything like it. She was full of lymphnodes, many, many lymphnodes. Too many lymphnodes. She spent several days in the hospital after. The day her dad and I picked her up to get her stitches removed she looked like she had the mumps, her whole face and neck was swollen. By the time we got to the surgeons office she was having trouble staying awake. She fell asleep in the chair. The nurse removed the stitches while the doctor spoke with us. The lymphnodeshad been tested, she had lymphocytic leukemia. The nurse alerted the doctor and he checked her over. He told us to take her straight to the hospital and he would call them. We did. She was experiencing respiratory failure, she spent 3 days wearing a bi-pap machine. She went home looking and feeling much better.
I must stop.... Bobbie Jo is no longer with us on this earth. She died in her sleep on June 9th, 2017. Her State medical insurance refused to cover the cost of a sleep apnea study. The clinic wanted $1,200.00 up front. I have so many emotions dwelling within me, her daughter and her sister too. And my Billie Jo is yet another story. Thankfully they caught hers early, she too was diagnosed with thyroid cancer. She is doing well, learning to live without her thyroids and being stuck constantly to adjust her meds. I must stop now, I must rest.... I’ll be back soon to read, to write, to maybe figure out all of these feelings and emotions. Be well, Hug your loved ones often.....
Teresa aka Tess
