Welcome to our CaringBridge website. We are using it to keep family and friends updated in one place.
After surviving cancer not once, but twice. After 5 years of remission, a routine x-ray showed a spot on Glenda's lung that was cause for concern. After several scans and tests, including a biopsy, we were left with more confusion than answers. A PET scan showed some more concern in her lymph nodes. It provoked a bronchoscopy to try and get a second tissue sample to biopsy. Within 48 hours of the bronchoscopy Glenda started running a low grade fever. We called the Dr. who instructed us to go to the ER to get checked out. We went to Hamilton Medical center where they did some tests and blood work. They suspected pneumonia, gave her an antibiotic and sent her home. The next morning we got a phone call to come back to the hospital, that her blood cultures had grown a bacteria. We went back and got admitted and was told it wasn't pneumonia, that she had a UTI and was septic from that. She was on IV antibiotics for 4 days in the hospital and was sent home for what would have been a total of 14 days of IV antibiotics. She was not improving and continued to run a low grade fever. On July 26th Glenda woke up in severe pain and shortness of breath. We took her to Erlanger in Chattanooga where her oncologist and pulmnologist worked. She was admitted that day. They confirmed she did have pneumonia, was still septic, and got the results from the bronchoscopy. Her cancer had in fact returned to the lymph-nodes in her lungs. The good news was that her type of cancer is treatable with a targeted chemo therapy. Meaning it will only attack the cancer cells, making her less sick and should have very mild side affects. It is combined with another drug that also has mild side affects, but she will still more than likely loose her hair again and have a very long road ahead of her. While her cancer is not curable, it is manageable. She can still have many years of life to enjoy her family and friends. She now has a small window to try and recover from the pneumonia, the sepsis, and her kidney disease. She now is no longer septic, her kidney function is improving. She has had her first round of chemo, one of the tumors is pushing against her airway. If we can get a few chemo treatments in her, it should start shrinking the cancer. Making it easier for her to breathe and help her start regaining her strength again. She is still extremely sick right now, but if anyone could survive cancer 3 times. It will be Glenda. She is a fighter, and she's not ready to give up on this life just yet.
We appreciate your support, prayers and words of hope and encouragement. We will continue to update and post needs as they arise on this site. Thank you for visiting, Heather and Kim
Its a party over here! Talk about an amazing turn around! This pretty lady is breaking out of this joint tomorrow and going to a rehab facility! Notice shes no longer on oxygen!?! 3 weeks ago we were on the verge of calling hospice, today we're all together celebrating her leaving the hospital. This is one strong lady, and she's not giving up yet! She is sleeping with 2 liters of oxygen, she also still needs to have her targeted thearpy every 2 weeks. The plan is for her to go to a rehab to work on getting her strength back, then to my house, and then back to her apartment!
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