Those of you who know Katie, you know how much she loves getting out in the sun and spending time with her family and daughter Macy. Recently Katie decided to go on a last-minute vacation to Duck Key, Florida, about 1 ½ hours north of Key West, with Macy, her brother Casey, sister-in-law Jen and their daughter Callie. It had been 2 years since they had all gone last. After enjoying the resort, conch and pool the first day, they ventured to Key West with the plan to end the day at Sunset Bar and Grill – a must do on every visit. For those that don’t know, it’s right at the start of the 7 Mile Bridge and one of the most beautiful places to catch the sunset. After arriving in Key West they ventured down Duval street over a mile to see the Carnival Cruise ship that had just docked at port and the girls marveled at its size. The walk was aggressive given the heat, so they ducked into the iconic Sloppy Joe’s bar for an adult slushy and kiddy cocktail and then finished another mile back to the car. It was evident Katie was overly exhausted by the time they got back to the car. Everyone cooled down for the hour and fifteen-minute drive back to the Sunset Grill. When they pulled in Casey headed in first with Jen and the girls close on his heals and Katie trailing, as she usually does, only this time she took one step onto the steps and collapsed into a seizure that seemed to last an eternity. Thankfully Jen was able to distract the little girls and get them back to the resort, while staff called 911. At first, they thought it was the heat, maybe a mild stroke or dehydration. She was taken to the local Marathon Hospital where she underwent a series of tests and waited to find the cause of such a random but rather large event. They learned Katie fractured her shoulder and more significant, the doctors identified a spot on her brain but were not equipped to diagnose it. A few hours later she was transferred two hours north to South Miami Baptist Hospital. Katie is now terrified and 2,000 miles away from home while her brother is trying to keep it together for her while figuring out the next steps. In the middle of the night Casey, Jen and the girls threw everything into their luggage and were on their way to Miami, booking a hotel while on the road so Casey could be at the hospital when Katie arrived. At the same time Kelsey was feverishly looking for flights for her and their mom. By 2:30 the next day, Katie was surrounded by family to support her through some of the hardest days of her life.
Once in Miami a more thorough MRI was complete, and they all sat with Katie patiently waiting to learn more with a pit sitting in their stomachs. Tuesday evening the doctor came up to deliver the news - it was what they gathered - a 3cm cancerous tumor on Katie's front right lobe of her brain. Whilst they cannot say for certain it’s cancer without a biopsy, based on experience and imaging they can assume it is. Terrified and speechless, Katie kept herself together to understand what needed to happen next and thankful her family was there by her side to help endure the beginning of this battle. The good news was that the doctor delivering the news said there was a Neuro Oncologist that had already accepted her case at the cancer center just miles away and they were just waiting on a bed. The next morning Katie was moved into the Cancer Center at Miami South Baptist. After rounds and rounds of tests, the doctors began evaluating Katie and discussing the best options for her case. More good news started to come. They had determined that it is low-grade, slow spreading tumor and the symptom (seizure) presented itself much sooner than expected – a true miracle. Knowing this, the doctors were comfortable with getting Katie closer to home with a team to manage her care in Wisconsin. First sigh of relief! They wanted her to stay in Miami for a day or two more before flying and then would send her with a disc of all of her images and a medical record the size of a book.
Fast forward to today, Katie is now under the care of a fantastic team of doctors at Froedtert Hospital in Milwaukee and is expected to have a successful surgery on 6/5/2023.
Welcome to our CaringBridge website. We are using it to keep family and friends updated in one place. We appreciate your support and words of hope and encouragement. Thank you for visiting.
Katie is having brain surgery today at Froedtert in Milwaukee. The Dr is hoping to remove the entire tumor today then follow-up with oncology team the week after to learn the next steps in her journey.
Blessed be the hands of the surgeons and team that will be caring for Katie today!
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