Flossie Ringold

Those of you that know my mom, know that she is a very strong and independent lady.  Luckily she has been pretty healthy.  She stays on top of her diabetes and high blood pressure and isn't shy about going to the doctor if she has concerns.  So last week she did that very thing and was given very unexpected news.  Monday she was admitted to the hospital for low hemaglobin and an endoscopy .  She has been noticing it feeling "funny" when she swallowed for the past couple of weeks and has been having trouble with heartburn more and more over the past 6 months.  So they were concerned that this might be caused by a few things.  


Now I have been an Oncology (cancer) nurse for 30 years, so I was aware that cancer could be one of the things they could possibly find.  But you talk yourself out of going down that scary road until you have all the information.  I have been present when my patients were given  the bad news, but when they are telling your mother "you have cancer", you world just seems to tilt just a bit.   


Mom was given the diagnosis of adenocarcinoma of the esophagus (the tube that goes from your throat to your stomach that food passes through).


We don't have all the information we need to make a decision about treatment at this point.  She has an appointment for a PET scan (whole body scan) on Tuesday morning and with the Oncologist on Tuesday afternoon.  Thankfully I have friends that are very skilled at dealing with this and I trust them to take care of her as if she were their own mother.    There are several different treatments that would be appropriate, but until we have more information from this scan and possibly other tests, we won't have a clear plan.  We are hopeful this next week will bring good news.


She received a blood transfusion and iron before she left the hospital on Wednesday and is feeling a bit better, more energy and not dizzy.  She even joined Robin and I on a day trip to St. Cloud yesterday to watch Lindsey's last speech tournament before the State Tournament.  It was a beautiful day for a drive and we laughed a lot (as usual).  
 
For now, as always, Mom is leaning on her strong faith in God that she will get through this.  She is confident that she will be "just fine".  She has a very positive attitude and in my experience, that can make all the difference.   


With so many family and friends, we thought this would be a good way to let everyone know what was going on and share updates.  We ask for prayers for healing and strength as we move forward in this journey.  Mom is a warrior (probably the strongest lady I know), but we can use all the help we can get.