Samantha Lind Sammy Lind

Samantha lost her battle with Ewings Sarcoma on
January 16th 2010 @ 8:40 am

She is missed beyond belief, and will be loved forever by the many hearts she touched.





This all began just before Halloween. Sammy was having leg pain, causing her to start limping, we assumed it was still from a pulled groin muscle she got during LaCrosse season back in May, we had been told they take a long time to heal, so we didn't give it much thought. The pain then started to go into her back, but at the same time she had become increasingly tired, and was spending alot of time sleeping, so we assumed the back pain was coming from "laying around".

The weekend of Halloween Sammy didn't get out of bed hardly at all, and she was not eating or drinking, by the following Tuesday (11/4), we decided it was time to take her to the Dr. They could not really say what was going on, they thought also that it might be a pulled muscle, or maybe a virus, or combination so they ran blood tests, urine samples and throat cultures. All the basic tests came back negative, except a test called a Sed Rate which came back at 70, a normal Sed Rate is 20, but this still did not indicate anything specific, just that there was an infection or inflammation somewhere in Sam's body, but we did not know if it was from a past infection or a current one.

Sam started to feel a little better, temporarily, so she went to school Wednesday & Thursday. On Thursday (11/6) the Dr. decided to run some more tests and take some x-rays, she was expecting to find the Sed Rate decreasing, but instead it had shot up to 99. Now it became a matter of waiting for more specific blood tests to come back. By Friday night the pain in Sam's back had become so severe that we were no longer able to bring her any comfort with over the counter pain medications, so we needed to take her back to the Drs. Saturday morning (11/8) for stronger pain meds.

Later on Saturday afternoon her Dr. called to tell us that some of the blood test results were starting to come back showing elevated rates, and that we should consider taking her to the hospital, she indicated that Childrens Hospital might be our best option, because of the many different specialists available.

We brought Sammy to the ER at Childrens Hospital in Minneapolis, they immediately started running more tests, EKGs, X-rays and yes, more blood tests, by this time poor Sammy was already feeling like a "pin cushion". But true to Sam, through it all, she kept her sweet smile and gentle disposition with all the Drs. and nurses.

At first, the thought was that she might have Rheumatic Fever, so she was admitted to an isolation room on the 7th floor. Then began another battery of tests starting with Echocardiograms, MRI's and more blood tests. After ruling out Rheumatic Fever they started searching for other answers, which brings us to where Sam's journey really begins.



Sammy was diagnosed with Ewings Sarcoma on Sunday (11/9/08), and after a biopsy on Monday (11/10/08) it was confirmed. Ewings is a form of childhood bone cancer. In Sammy's case it started deep in her pelvic bone, which would explain the leg and back pain. Because it was so deep and undetectable it has had a chance to metastisize into her lungs and head. Because of this she will be on a very aggressive treatment protocol. The protcol starts with chemotherapy every 14 days alternating 2 and 5 day hospitalizations for 14 sessions, they will be adding in radiation sometime in the middle of the chemo treatments, depending on her progress. They will continue to monitor the progress with MRI's, Bone Scans and other various tests. Then ending in a stem cell transplant if needed.

We are CONFIDENT Sammy will come through shining stronger and brighter than ever. She is Strong, Tenacious, Intelligent and EXTREMELY STUBBORN! We know that with her faith, family & friends all will be fine. We will NEVER understand why these things happen to the ones we love so very much, or why some of us are tested. But we do know that the Lord does not close a door without opening a window, sometimes we just have to look a little harder.

We would already like to extend our sincerest graditude to everyone, our families, friends, co-workers, Champlin Park H.S., the Doctors, nurses, Zion Lutheran Church, everyone, you all bring comfort in your own special ways. Thank You.

We would also like to especially thank all of Sammy's friends, they are truly a gift. They continue to be a fabulous support system for Sam during her battle and will remain important through her recovery. They have become a vital part of our extended family. THANK YOU.

We love you all! and we know we are not in this battle alone, we will ALL stand and fight.

The Lind Family