Meg Hospital Update

Dear Friends and Family,

God is good-all the time. Thanks to all of our friends and family that have helped us so much over the past week. Thanks for the love, the support and all of the prayers. God has answered so many prayers and we trust Him to continue to lead us through this difficult time. We are overwhelmed with the response of so many people that want to help us walk though this journey. In Christ's strength we can do all things!!!

Following is a summary of the events of the last few months, mostly starting Monday November 10.

Lead-up to visiting the Urgent Care/Hospital

Ever since Talin was born Meg has been tired and has not seemed to bounce back like she did with Annabelle. We just figured it's harder with two little ones. Since his birth she has been dealing with some back pain which would come and go, we both thought she just kept pulling back muscles. She would take some Motrin and keep on with life. Within the last two weeks another problem started-she started having some blood in her urine. She worked with her OB doctor and it was thought to be a UTI (urinary tract infection) and a prescription was prescribed and Meg took it for 3 days. It cleared up for a few days but then the blood came back. She was in communication with her doctor and the plan was to drop a sample off on Monday for analysis. On Sunday Meg was not feeling well (dealing with some back pain and just really tired and was out of breath after standing awhile or walking stairs). The plan was to let the urine sample that was going to be dropped off at the doctor Monday explain why she was not feeling well. Monday came and Meg felt a little better than Sunday, but her back hurt. She took Motrin in the morning and went on with life. She dropped off the sample at the doctors office and they did not seem very concerned as they still thought Meg was dealing with a UTI, but did not want to do anything until the urine sample was analyzed. After dinner Monday Meg decided to get groceries as she was feeling decent. In a short period of time her back really tightened up on her and by the end of groceries she was in much pain. She called me at home crying in pain and upon arriving home I knew I needed to get her to Urgent Care (she could barely move her left arm and had shooting pain in her left shoulder and rib area). I had Meg’s parents come to the house to take the kids and off to the Urgent Care Center we went.

Monday night November 10th-Tuesday November 11th at 9 am

Upon getting to the Urgent Care center they quickly did a few chest x-rays and upon the doctor reading the x-rays he noticed some spots on the lungs and we were pretty quickly sent to ER at Spectrum Downtown, but not without prayers from the nurse attending to us. Upon getting to the ER more tests were done. From 8 pm Monday to 5 am Tuesday tests performed included more x-rays, a CT scan of the lungs, an EKG, many blood draws for cultures, urine sampling and testing and multiple ultrasounds. During this period of time as test results came back the diagnosis changed. The first theory was that the spots showing up in the chest x-ray were either small blood clots or some bacterial infection, potentially pneumonia. Upon getting results of the urine test, the doctor on staff informed us that Meg was pregnant. We were shocked as we just had Talin 4 ½ months ago and couldn’t figure out how Meg really could be pregnant. It did not add up to us, but the test was saying that was the case. We were shocked, upset and confused all at once. We were not ready for another baby and it was hard to wrap our head around this diagnosis. In order to verify the pregnancy, two separate ultrasounds were performed. After sitting and waiting for what seemed like hours but was probably minutes the results came back. Our emotions were running wild because we didn’t want Meg to be pregnant but worse we didn’t want her to have a miscarriage. We were informed that there was not a beating heart, but that she was still showing pregnant-miscarriage (so the doctor’s and we thought). Later on it was discovered that the uterus had a mass that resulted in a positive pregnancy test, but that the mass was never going to be a viable fetus. Meg was not going to have a baby and Meg did not have a miscarriage, Meg had a molar pregnancy (mass). We were informed that they could perform a procedure to remove that mass but as time moved forward things changed again. At this point they knew it was more than just some back pain and we were admitted into the hospital (left the ER Triage area)-around 5 am Tuesday. Now the goal was to determine if the spots on the lungs were blood clots or bacteria (they would not start on treatment until that was resolved as the treatment was not at all the same). They told us that they would start Meg on blood thinners if they figure out it is blood clots or start her on antibiotics if the spots were from a bacterial infection. From 5 am-9 am Meg had to do another CT scan of the lungs and also a CT scan of the abdomen/uterus and a CT scan of her brain. By 9 am the doctor’s had put all of the information together from the blood work, urine sample, x-rays and CT scans and had figured out what was wrong. The spots on the lungs were not blood clots and were not from a bacterial infection. The spots were part of a disease called choriocarcinoma or sometimes called gestational trophoblastic tumors-which is a form of cancer. In this disease the molar mass in the uterus is full of cancerous cells and those cells spread beyond the uterus, in this case to the lungs (those were the spots that showed up on the original chest x-ray). It is believed that this mass was generated from tissue remaining in Meg after the delivery of Talin.

Post cancer diagnosis Tuesday November 11th 9 am-rest of Tuesday

Upon receiving the diagnosis we were shocked and our emotions were running wild. Lots of questions were running thru our heads. In talking to the doctors we were encouraged that it was a curable form of cancer and that getting Meg on chemotherapy as soon as possible was crucial. Before starting on chemotherapy a few procedures needed to happen. The first procedure Meg had to go thru Tuesday afternoon was a lung biopsy. In this procedure a doctor took a needle and inserted it into Meg’s lung while using a CT scan attempting to collect a small piece of the disease in her lungs. The procedure I was told was going to take 30 minutes and 2 hours later I has not heard back. I was in prayer that the procedure was fine just taking a little longer for some reason. About 2 hrs 45 minutes after I dropped Meg off for the procedure, she was done. I come to find out that the doctor made 4-5 attempts to get a piece of the lung that was diseased but could not and all of the lab results were inconclusive. Meg was in pain for having to lay down flat on her stomach the entire procedure. Upon getting out of the lung biopsy, Meg was given another chest x-ray to make sure no air escaped the lungs during the biopsy and then she was taken to yet another room and a pick-line was inserted into her right arm. The pick-line was needed so that Meg could have chemo started the next day-Wednesday. Upon getting back to the room after getting in the pick-line, we were informed that the chest x-ray showed clearly that a small pocket of air escaped the left lung during her biopsy (partial collapsed lung) and that it needed to be watched carefully. If the air bubble did not reduce in size over the next 24 hours the plan was to put in a chest tube that would be used to help the air escape. Next we had a discussion about a transfer to Blodgett Hospital to be with Dr. Harrison and his staff, in which we ultimately decided was best for Meg. After dinner time Tuesday, Meg’s parents came up to the hospital and brought up Annabelle and Talin for a visit. It was nice to see the kids, but upon them leaving it really made it tough to think about Meg having cancer with the 2 little ones. Thursday night concluded with a 10 pm ambulance ride from Spectrum Downtown to Blodgett for Meg as I followed behind in my car. By the time the transfer was done and Meg was settled it was pushing midnight and was time for both Meg and myself to try to sleep for the first time since when we woke up Monday morning.

Wednesday November 12th

Wednesday morning started with getting a roommate in Meg’s room. A nice 70 yr old lady by the name of Lynn was moved into Meg’s room. She was dealing with a spot on her lung and was getting scheduled for biopsy’s to see if she had cancer. Even though Lynn was a good roommate it was tough for Meg as she had to deal with all the visitors of Lynn and the constant nurses in the room checking on one of them. Later in the morning Meg was given another chest x-ray to see if the air bubble was still present outside her left lung. Within the hour we had great news back that the air bubble was reduced in size and that the chest tube would not be necessary-they were just going to continue to monitor the bubble with daily x-rays. With the great news we had such relief, but it didn’t take long before we realized that while the bubble had reduced in size that the x-ray showed a problem because we heard the phrase “now for the bad news”. After that we were told that the x-ray showed fluid within Meg’s left lung and that the fluid would have to be removed by a chest drain as soon as possible. While waiting to hear when the procedure was going to happen to put the drain in, the nurses started Meg’s first chemo treatment. It started at 2 pm and consisted of getting 3 drugs thru the pick-line. The first drug ran thru the IV line for an hour, the 2nd drug also an hour and the last drug for 12 hours (started at 4 pm Wednesday and ended at 4 am Thursday). This treatment was given by a nurse named Nicole-she was such a blessing to our family taking care of Meg so well Wednesday and again on Thursday. At 6 pm Wednesday Meg was taken away to go get her chest drain put in. This procedure took about an hour and went very well. By the time we attempted to sleep Wednesday night about 65 ml of fluid had drained from her lung and she was feeling very good. She also had the ability to breathe deep without pain. Later Wednesday night my parents came and sat with Meg an hour or two and I was able to leave the hospital and get home and clean myself up-it was very much needed and appreciated. Wednesday night to Thursday morning seemed to take forever as barely any sleep was had by Meg, her roommate or I (lots of nurse traffic and constant noise).

Thursday November 13th

Thursday morning was the first time since getting to the hospital that was not full of events. Meg and I were able to rest a little bit as Lynn was taken out of the room for a few tests. Meg’s fluid catch container had filled to a total of 100 ml of fluid by 6 am but after that no fluid drained. This made us feel very hopeful that all of the fluid was out of the lungs and that Meg was finished with at least one battle. A chest x-ray later that morning verified that the fluid was no longer present in her left lung and that the air bubble outside that same lung was also gone. This was a huge relief and huge answer to many prayers. The medical staff decided to leave in the drain even with this good report just to make sure the fluid would not come back. Thursday at 2 pm Meg had her 2nd chemo treatment, this one only lasted 2 hours and all went well (Nicole-Meg’s favorite nurse had everything under control). After chemo was done another prayer was answered as Meg was transferred to a private room. This is exactly what she needed to get the rest she needed to feel better. It was a great room, large enough for Meg and me to hang out and relax in and with a sweet view of the center garden area of the hospital. I quickly deemed the room “The Healing Room”. Upon getting Meg settled I was able to go eat dinner with my kids at Meg’s parents and Meg was able to rest alone in “The Healing Room”, it was what both of us needed. Late Thursday, around 8:30 pm, the doctor of Urology came to check out Meg as by this point in the week the one symptom that did not have a diagnoses was the blood in the urine. After placing a catheter with a little probe, the Urologist found a mass in the bladder. This mass is what has been causing the blood in the urine and with very high confidence was linked to the choriocarcinoma. It was nice to understand the bleeding but tough to realize that Meg’s disease was spread not only to her lungs from her uterus but also to her bladder.

Friday November 14th

Sleep went well Thursday to Friday for both Meg and I. The morning started when we found out that Meg’s cultures had all come back clean for 48 hours and that she could get in her port (the port was necessary for her to leave the hospital and to get her outpatient chemo in the future). The port was successfully put in from 9-10 am and thankfully Meg did not feel much pain during the procedure. Also they successfully removed her pick-line, it was a great morning. By Friday afternoon another chest x-ray was taken and again showed no fluid in the lung. Great, great news for Meg as the chest drain was causing Meg tons of discomfort. Not much time after getting the good x-ray results, a doc came and took out the drain. Meg literally proclaimed her love for that doctor (even though she had known him for a total of less than a minute). Meg was uplifted and able to shower and clean up. Friday night the kids came up with Meg’s parents again and Meg and I were both encouraged to see them for a few minutes. Meg was getting closer to coming home, just needed to make sure she had her pain and nausea under control. She has not eaten much all week and continues to not feel up to eating. She also is backed up from all of the meds and Chemo, so is starting to take some drugs to help clear that problem up.

More to come