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.
Mari (our mom) began her cancer journey on April Fool's Day 2021 (the English teacher found it hilariously ironic). She was diagnosed with stage 3, triple negative breast cancer. She went through three months of two separate kinds of chemotherapy. Mari endured chemotherapy with so much strength and bravery that aside from her hair loss, nobody would have known that she was experiencing the most grueling form of chemotherapy available to cancer patients, including those who went to the appointments with her. Following chemo, Mari had a mastectomy and lymphadenectomy to remove the cancer along with precautionary radiation treatments. Following radiation, she was cancer free!
But because cancer is the worst, it came back almost a year after her first diagnosis on Easter Sunday. This time it had metastasized in her brain; specifically in her language region (an English teacher's worst nightmare). Luckily, her speech and language recognition were not affected for very long. After 11 radiation treatments her tumor was under control. However, in early August of 2022 we learned that her cancer had metastasized again in the form of leptomeningeal disease in her cerebrospinal fluid. She is receiving great care from SSM Health Care in Madison. Her oncology team in Janesville and Madison have been the best a patient and family could hope for.
Our mom has loved two things most in this world: 1. her family; and 2. teaching (a close third is, of course, books and reading). She would love to hear from family and friends, but also from students and colleagues. Please feel free to share any memories or words of support with Mari (or Ms. Anderson for old students). She would love to hear from you! She has also been very sustained by her faith and would appreciate any spiritual support you would like to provide.
Thank you, all. -Tyler and Mikkel Powell (Mari's sons)
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