Veronica Monell

On Christmas Eve, Veronica came to my house to celebrate the holiday with us. Before she drove over, she said that she wasn't feeling well -- she had been experiencing shortness of breath for a few weeks. She had gone to her regular doctor on Dec. 11 and he thought that it was her childhood exercise-induced asthma acting up again. She seemed okay when she arrived, so we proceeded to open presents and just have some fun together. The next day, Christmas Day, she seemed alright until after dinner. She said that her back was hurting. She was having trouble catching her breath and after she went to bed she had a fever. She had been texting her dad, and they decided that he would take her to Urgent Care closer to her home the next day.


Her fever was gone when we got up, so I thought things were looking better. She was still having the shortness of breath, so she drove to Federal Way and her dad took her to Urgent Care. The x-ray revealed a very large mass in her lungs, so they told her to go to the ER right away. A biopsy revealed that she has Hodgkin's lymphoma, and that chemo is the preferred treatment for her. I will keep the details (and this post!) short and sweet.