Well, some know, some don't, but on Tuesday morning our world came to a screeching halt- and that my friends, is an understatement. For those that know Mary, even on her worst day, she's happy, kind, and full of all good things. She started feeling bad about two weeks ago. Her symptoms were fatigue, headache, nausea, vomiting, hard time concentrating, and some memory loss. We started getting worried when she could not keep any food down and she wanted to sleep all the time, and soon stopped eating altogether. We made a list of all possible things and started crossing them off. The quick version is Tuesday, I took her to an endocrinologist. During that visit, Mary mentioned she suddenly had no vision in one eye. That is the piece that shook us to the core, and we quickly realized this was not going to be the easy fix we wanted it to be. We went directly to CHOA (Children's Healthcare of Atlanta-Scottish Rite) and had a CT scan, followed by an MRI. Our worst fear was confirmed. Brain Cancer. Two tumors were found. One larger one that is sitting near the optic nerve (causing loss of vision in one eye) and also near the pituitary gland (explaining why she has not grown very much) as well as low thyroid and low cortisol (causing nausea and vomiting). There was also a smaller tumor near the pineal gland in the brain (this gland modulates your sleep patterns). The type of brain cancer is a mixed germ cell tumor. This is a malignant tumor that is treated with chemotherapy and radiation instead of surgery as the first line of treatment. This particular cancer has a track record of also sometimes presenting tumors on the spine. Yesterday the team performed another MRI of the spine and no tumors were found there. Praise the Good Lord. A lumbar puncture was performed specifically searching for cancer cells in the spinal fluid. Those results will be back in a few days. A chemo port was also put in yesterday- and day one and two of chemo are now complete. Each cycle is three days in the hospital. She will have six cycles of chemotherapy in the hospital every three weeks as long as she recovers from each cycle by then. She is still her happy little self-making friends with everyone in all parts of this hospital. We know we have some very tough days coming. With COVID restrictions no visitors and limited activities, this has been especially hard hearing this and not being together. To say we are sad- well, that just doesn't even begin to describe this one. We never thought we could ever feel the pain we endured two years ago, and yet this one was another gut-wrencher. The hardest part is knowing, and not knowing. Never in a million years did we see this one coming. We've had a few days to internalize, listen, cry all the tears, and now it's time to move through another storm. We have found ourselves, members of another club, we never wanted to join, but we will learn what we need to learn- and we will do what we need to do. God is in control, and He is the ultimate healer. Thank you so much for your love and support. We have some long days ahead, and we so much appreciate any and all prayers for our sweet Mary.
