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For several months, Katie had been battling neck pain. It was a pain that had been around prior to the birth of her daughter Cozette in June 2019. After Cozette's birth, the pain continued. Katie often was unable to turn her head. We thought it was due to a pinched nerve. Katie has three small children, works full time as the manager of a bridal/prom store, and is an active wife and mother. When the pandemic hit, we all thought stress contributed to her neck pain. She made numerous trips to a chiropractor for regular adjustments. She tried wearing an inflatable collar, and wore another collar that emitted electrical shocks. Nothing was helping. She was losing weight, and then started losing feeling in her fingers. It was becoming more and more difficult to raise her arms. A trip to a medical doctor resulted in extra strength ibuprofen. Her bloodwork was all normal. She was becoming more and more discouraged.
On June 24, the pain became so great that her husband Oscar took her to the ER. A CT scan showed an abnormality, and she was sent to the University of Nebraska Medical Center at 2:00 am. After a battery of tests including two MRIs, the results showed a tumor on her brain which had also dipped down to her spine. She was told surgery would be scheduled for within the next two weeks.
On July 1, Kate and Oscar had a teleconference with a neurosurgeon in Omaha. She explained the location of the tumor, and informed them they believed the tumor was a slow growing, very rare, low grade cancer. They could not be sure until surgery was performed. The doctor told Katie that the tumor had been there for quite some time. Katie asked, "Weeks?" and the doctor responded, "Years." She also told them she was turning over the surgery to another surgeon as he had more stamina, and this surgery could last over 8 hours. Dr. Daniel Surdell would be forming the surgery. The surgery was set for 7:30 am on July 7.
Just a quick note of joy...after two weeks of waiting, we got all the results of Katie's MRI: it was clear! The doctor said there was nothing to be concerned about, and she does not have to come back for 6 months. Something to watch: he thought she may have some hearing loss in the future because of radiation and the location of the tumor, but we will take that! SO thankful this evening. Thank you, friends, for your many prayers!
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