Mayzee & Brekka’s Story

Site created on January 16, 2015

Welcome to our CaringBridge site. We've created it to keep friends and family updated, post surgery dates or photos and plan to print it out for our little one some day! That way when things get busy and one day melts into the next we can still remember the milestones as we go through them. We appreciate your support and words of hope during this crazy time!


We originally made this page while expecting baby Schultz #2 as we found out at our 32 week ultrasound we should expect a cleft birth defect. Well amazing baby girl Mayzee Grace entered this big world on 2/16/15!!! Not only did she have a bilateral cleft lip and cleft palate, but also a much more serious heart condition (two holes in her heart). Caring Bridge has allowed us to keep you all updated during her numerous surgeries and milestones! Fast forward to 8/20/15, soon after celebrating Mayzee turning 6 months old Brekka was diagnosed with stage 3 invasive ductal carcinoma (breast cancer) the week of her 27th birthday.


Thank you for the prayers, love and support. It is what keeps us going! We are learning a lot and one thing that we know is we have the most amazing friends and family! We hope you can learn something new along the way too!


Lets beat this together!

Newest Update

Journal entry by Brekka/Garrett S

Ok, so I totally just had a "Baw humbug" moment...I had a whole journal entry typed, and if you know me it was quite long...I went to post it and vanished. I thought I learned my lesson as this has happened before and I always said I would save it many times. Well here I go again, just keep in mind the last one was much better because I wrote it on Christmas and that is my FAVORITE day of year!!! (you will see the Journal is dated 12/25/16, but it is actually 1/18/17 now...it took me that long to start over without being crabby over losing the last one haha!)

Another busy year in the books, but looking back at last Christmas compared to the one before that and now this one it's crazy how different each of the last few have been.

2013 was out first Christmas as our own Family, Adley was 4 months old and things couldn't have been more perfect!!!

2014 we found out about Mayzee's cleft the week of Christmas just a few months before she was born. I remember not knowing how to tell family and not wanting to put a damper on Christmas. We thought we had a lot going on then and that was before heart issues and cancer. So excited for a new baby on the way, but very scared too.

Christmas 2015 I honestly felt awful. Looking back on chemo, Thanksgiving to Christmas time were my worst weeks. Between winter germs, being around more people and all the preparations and stress that come along with the crazy holidays I was run down. We were also preparing for Mayzee's palate surgery and that always brings some anxiety too. We did receive a HUGE outpouring of love and support especially during the holidays and our Christmas was still filled with much joy!

Now this Christmas, there is no surgery around the corner, no feeding tube to mess with, no chemo and a whole lot less stress! I was able to enjoy decorating, baking and wrapping gifts and the girls have been sooo excited about each thing we do! We had a day with my side a few days early due to the storm, then spent Christmas Eve with Garrett's side. So much fun family time and great food (that I actually felt like eating)! It was a wonderful few days together! Christmas Eve night is my favorite church service of the whole year! Hometown church, candlelit Silent Night and a reminder of the true meaning of Christmas.

So after looking back on the past few Christmases, one things remains the same. Jesus is the reason for the season. God sent us a miracle filled with hope and new life. We need to remember what CHRISTmas is all about and celebrate the birth on that holy night. We are so grateful for our faith, renewed hope and beautiful life. Christmas is a wonderful time to focus extra on God's never ending gift of love to us.

So now that I filled you with our holiday love, here is a recap of our fall and start to winter!

November I had my last Infusion of Herceptin and Perjeta! No these drugs didn't make me sick like chemo had, but they did take up a lot of time a required lots of appointments and close monitoring. I had a lot of anxiety leading up to "ending treatment" I was so looking forward to less hospital time and more "normal" but terrified of not feeling like I was actively doing something to keep the cancer away. It is hard to wean off of appointments after such close monitoring. I am so afraid of missing something, especially after my cancer was already stage 3 by the time is was diagnosed.

When you finish treatment, the infusion center has a big bell you ring three times to celebrate. It was 14 months, 1 week and 3 days from my first infusion of chemo to my last infusion of targeted therapy. I had weeks of multiple visits, and at my slow time was still going at least every 3 weeks. In other words I spent a TON of time sitting in an infusion chair. During this time I got to hear the bell many times. Some were a familiar face or even someone I had shared a story with, others I had never seen before, but one thing that was always the same...hearing the bell ring "three times well" would being tears to my eyes EVERY time. It signifies so much, moving on, hope, gratitude towards the amazing nurses. Well as much as I loved the sound, it also completely freaks me out. Maybe it is superstition, maybe it was because I knew I would cry like I did when I finished radiation. Either way, after much convincing from family, friends and my favorite nurses, I rang the flipping bell and cried like a big old baby! 14 months, 1 week and 3 days worth of tears came out on a short drive home. I was a mess, but what a relief to be done!

Today actually marked 1 year since my last true chemotherapy as well...what a difference a year makes! This also means we are almost at 1 year from Mayzee's Palate repair surgery and next month will be one year since my mastectomies and lymph node removal at Mayo. Man did the start of last year suck compared to this year!

So another year passed, now what for 2017...

Mayzee eats like a little piggy, something we defiantly didn't say at this time last year. She is doing great with speech and is nearing her 2nd Birthday (Feb 16th) and with that a bunch of follow up appointments. In coming weeks she will have her local cleft clinic, her annual BECEP evaluation and a visit with her pediatrician. Cardiology will be next, but not scheduled yet. She has been enjoying a nice break from appointments, but we are actually looking forward to these upcoming ones. I think everyone will be blown away by how great she is doing since that have seen her last! We are very proud...feisty little peanut, but man we wouldn't change a thing about her (ok I wish she wasn't quite so stubborn like her dad, but otherwise she is perfect!)

Miss Adley is 3 and 1/2 now and smart as a whip. She just finished her 2nd gymnastics class and really enjoyed them! She has an amazing imagination and is very protective of her "baby sister" The other day Mayzee was being stubborn and refused to put on her coat. I pulled the typical mom line and said "fine you can stay here and Adley and I will just go without you." Mayzee was totally fine with that and still wanted nothing to do with her coat. Adley on the other hand freaked out and screamed "NO mommy! We can't leave without my baby sister" Obviously I wasn't actually going to leave her, but Adley was making darn sure I wouldn't. She has a heart of gold and is such a sweet girl. (other than seeing "emotional teenager" all over her, we think she is perfect also!)

Garrett and I have found ways to stay busy as well. We are officially crazy people, (as if we weren't already)! Life calms down a little, so we decide to move...with two young kids...during the crazy holidays and an ugly winter...while working on do it yourself renovations...Yep, officially crazy ;)

We have been off and on house searching since we found out about baby #2. We knew we were quickly running out of space in our starter home. Our hunt was shut down a few times due to our health situations and we learned to live with the space we had! This summer we got serious about it again. We loved spending Sunday afternoons going to open houses and imagining something different. We quickly realized we weren't looking for a "new house" like we had originally started, but more searching for a "new beginning". We really needed to push the reset button and almost start over in a way. We decided a move was just the ticket! Yes we know it's not just our furniture that moves with us, our emotional and health baggage comes too, but it has been a wonderful distraction and a much welcomed happy change! First the hunt, then getting ours on the market, then DIY renovations and actually moving... It had it's stressful moments, but overall we were very lucky in many ways during the whole ordeal. Not only did we find a wonderful fixer upper in a great neighborhood, we were able to sell our home in 1 day for over ask price...we knew the move was meant to be! It is funny how life throws you a bone when you need it most!

Garrett has proven to impress me yet again with his awesome handyman skills! We have done a few cosmetic renovations in the new place and are already making the house feel like it is our home. We will miss many things about our first home, we really loved it there and had many great times in that house. Over 6 years and two kids later that house was very good to us, but moving on and starting over has been a wonderful blessing too. We will continue to find fun projects to keep us busy and have been loving it here more and more each day! Plus, the girls don't have to share a room anymore and Garrett will finally be able to park inside a garage (if I ever finish unpacking those last few boxes haha!)

In other words, we are very excited for a new year and a new beginning in a "new to us" house! My oncologist said it best...None of us know if we will get to go home to our families tonight. Live in the now and do what makes you happy. Not only is he a wonderful doctor, he is a great man too and I am so grateful for him and his staff being a part of getting us happy, healthy and cancer free in 2017!

When my oncologist was instilling me with positive wisdom, we decided there was no reason to leave my port in "just in case" my cancer would return and we would need it again. He said some oncologists require 1 year, or even 5 years, but talk about a daily reminder, I have enough scars for that already. Kind of like Mayzee's feeding tube...if you get to stop using it, why leave it in? I will soon schedule to have it removed...freaked out and skeptical yes, but I will enjoy his positive attitude and follow suit! For now we are just flushing it every 6-8 weeks, quick, easy and I get to visit my nurses up at infusion!!! I will continue to see him for blood work and physical exams every 3 months for the next few years, but man what a nice break that will be! Please pray that I don't drive myself nuts with every ache or pain I notice. Even if the cancer goes away, the port comes out and the appointments slow down...the fear is with me every single day...and that is why cancer sucks so bad.

So questions I get asked frequently...

Will I have reconstruction? For now no, and probably never. I do not want to go through another recovery not being able to lift, carry or enjoy my wild monkey children jumping on me. I totally understand that it is important to some, and I do not want to down play that one bit, but for me it just doesn't make sense right now. There continues to be this little voice telling me "not only do you have young children, you have daughters that look up to you." No only that, but Mayzee will eventually have to make some cosmetic decisions and I do not want her to feel pressure to fit a certain mold of what looks good or normal. For now I am enjoying a bra free life ;) To be honest, I miss my lymph nodes way more then my breasts. My darn arm still gives me issues, but it has been manageable.

When will you have your next scan now that you finished treatment? They will do blood work and physical exam every 3 months, but no scans unless there is a reason to. I had some hip pain during chemo, took an MRI and it was nothing. I had a bad headaches in October and they did an MRI right away...I had sinusitis (clogged sinuses) What I'm saying is, if I nothing something isn't right they look into it and do not take it lightly, but otherwise...I have no breast tissue so there is nothing to mammogram, they look all the lymph nodes on the effected side, plus they already blasted me with a ton of radiation. Avoiding scans when possible is good, but they will do them ASAP if something gives them a reason to. My oncologist also said that so many people get anxiety anticipating scheduled scans. They try not to do them unless something triggers a reason to, and in my case none are needed for now!

Will Mayzee need more surgeries? Yes there are a few we know she will NEED, like a bone graft and dental work, but there are also a few that may be specific to her healing and some that may be elective. We continue to take her cleft journey one step at a time, but her heart is doing very well and should not need any more surgeries!!!

How is your mom? Mom is doing well! She has grown back some salt and pepper gray hair and looks awesome! She has been having some arm trouble and tight muscles due to surgery/lymphedema, but is working to improve that. She continues to have Herceptin infusions, but feels good and seams more herself with better energy each day! She continues to kick cancers butt and keep the family in line too! The annual bull sale is right around the corner so they are busy getting ready for that and soon after calving!

Are you back at work? Yes, I have actually been back for quite awhile now! Late March of last year I was healed enough from surgery and no longer so sick from chemo, that I decided to work during radiation! From March to early May I was a little late getting to work, but have been back full swing since I finished radiation. I am able to get almost all of our appointments on days I don't work now...I have become a master at keeping an organized schedule! I can tell I forget easier, have to write down more and it is harder to focus, but overall is was quite easy to jump back in to reality! I now believe that..."chemo brain" is real, neuropathy does exist and the dental/medical technology never stops changing. I knew all of those things were true before, but man experiencing them first hand isn't that much fun! Overall work is going well, we all REALLY needed and craved structure and I wanted to feel productive again!

What is your new address? 3532 Hackberry St, Bismarck ND 58503. With that we have enjoyed all the adorable Christmas/New Years cards! I wish I were more organized to had gotten one out this year. I always have the best intentions then fail miserably. I have saved EVERY card and address since this journey started and had planned on finally sending out responses. Then I realized quickly... like one letter into the box, that I wasn't ready to revisit that. It is a box full of love, wisdom and words of encouragement, but also a box full of more emotion then I am ready to face. I read and absorbed each one as they were received and always had big plans of revisiting that place again and sending out well deserved Thank You notes. Please forgive me for STILL not being able to do it...Take this as my ongoing thank you note! On the plus side, my Christmas card intentions were so good that we did get some family photos taken! I will add them on here to show off how much the kids (and my hair) have grown...Garrett on the other hand still needs a stocking hat to keep his head warm this winter!

Well if you made it this far into my "book" I will explain a little more about why I write such long entries. I see this journal as a gift...not only has it forced me to update those who love and care about us, it will be something for the girls. They are so young, thankfully a lot of this mess will not be remembered by them. I want them to know why we are who we are, and how we got to where we did. Garrett and I WILL be around to help them grow, but a journal is something we can pass on even after we are gone.

So with that, we are very happy to say things are going well and the year is starting off great! I will still continue to update on here. The entries may be fewer and further between, but as life goes on, so will this journal (even if I'm the only one that reads it ;)! We will continue to update on big appointments, milestone or just random thoughts! Thank you to everyone who takes the time to follow our journey, sends prayers and supports us in so many ways! God is good, we are blessed and nothing but positive thoughts moving forward!

Here is to a great year filled with God's love...and MANY more to come!

Xoxo The Schultz Family!

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