In the Beginning...

I have been asked by some people how this whole Pursuit all started…so here it is from the beginning…

In 2005, I had surgery on my neck to relieve the pressure my brain was putting on my spinal cord. As a result of the pressure, cysts started to develop in my spinal cord. After surgery and many prayers sent my way, an MRI six months later proved that the cyst had decreased in size immensely. SUCCESS! :) Fast forward five years later...in October of 2009, I developed an itchy skin rash that started on one leg, and throughout the next 8 months spread randomly throughout my body. Towards April and May, the rash found its permanent home on the lower part of my legs and wouldn’t go away. After numerous dermatology appointments with different doctors, creams, pills, steroids, antibiotics, and a biopsy, no one had an answer to my itchy rash besides it’s dermatitis. In March, the back pain I had for months started to work its way in my chest and to take a deep breath started getting harder and harder. In April, I started having swallowing issues when I would take off my shirt or put my hands over my head. But do you think I went to the doctor? Nope, I'm stubborn and I waited until IEP season and the end of the school year was done before I scheduled an appointment with my family doctor. At this point, I even scheduled an appointment with my neurosurgeon in Columbus because I was SURE that the pain in my chest was because the cysts in my spine were so big that I could feel it through my chest.

So on Wednesday June 2, the first day of my summer vacation, I called my family doctor to schedule an appointment. They asked if it was an emergency and I said 'no', so we scheduled it for Friday June 11. I got to the appointment and described my symptoms to the doc. He pressed on my back and it hurt. He started asking unrelated questions to what I thought this was and I was actually getting kinda irritated. He said we already fixed the spinal cord problem, so it couldn't be that and he wanted to do blood work and an MRI. I left there, and on Monday June 14, I went to the Path Lab to get my blood work done. My first clue that something could be wrong was when the receptionist looked at my lab sheet request and she looked at me and said ‘Oh honey, you must be feeling awful!’ I was like, ‘I…guess so?’ in my head. Then, the nurse took five tubes of blood. I have never had that much drawn before. When I left, she said ‘Oh sweetie, I hope you feel better’. Hmmm. And went on my way to get our last minute stuff for our trip to Iowa on Wednesday.


The next day, Tuesday June 15, I got an MRI that took 50 minutes…torture! I did my routine MRI prayer and prayed for everyone I knew while I was in the cube…there really isn’t much else to do in there :) I went to bed that night excited for my first vacation to Iowa tomorrow. We were going to leave at 4:00 pm for Ft.Wayne and stay there for the night at Andrew's brother's house. On Wednesday morning, Andrew was mowing the lawn and I was at CVS picking up more medicine for my rash when I got the call. It was Katie from the doctor's office. I was glad it was her because I was just at her wedding a couple weeks before because she married a man from the fire department where Andrew works. She was so patient as she told me that they got the MRI back and it showed lesions on my chest and neck (explains the swallowing and breathing issues) and the doctor would like for me to get a CAT scan right away...like today. I heard what she was saying, but it was nothing about my spine. So I asked, ‘So is there anything wrong with my spine?’. She replied, ‘No, your spine is perfect, no cysts. There is a bulged disc on your spine, that would explain your back pain.’ I was relieved because I thought nothing was seriously wrong since it wasn't my spinal cord, so I asked her if the CAT scan could wait until I got home from Iowa, and she said no. That the doctor wanted this done TODAY because the MRI said this was an Emergency Read and that the hospital called the doctors office to tell Katie the results personally (Katie told me they don’t usually do this unless it’s serious). I said a confusing ok and realized I had to cancel going to Ft. Wayne and we would just have to leave Thursday morning. I went outside and told Andrew I was going back to the hospital, he looked at me confused, and I just shrugged my shoulders because I didn’t know what to think either.
Thankfully, my sister is a nurse and I explained what had just happened and after her shock, she told me her interpretation of what these lesions could be. Before she left my house that day, she said ‘You know, this could be cancer.’ I told her ‘There is no way, Sarah. That is just crazy. But because you said that, you can not tell ANYONE about what is going on until I know for sure what this is. Especially since baby Maci is going to be born tomorrow.’ She reluctantly agreed to my request, and I was on my way to the hospital for my CAT scan. That night, Andrew and I just laid in bed wondering about all the possibilities. We didn’t know what to say except that no matter what the diagnosis was tomorrow, we would be just fine. Everything will be fine. Then we prayed...the only thing we really knew to do.

That morning, we were on our way to pick up Andrew’s mom for our trip to Iowa when we talked to the doctor. I talked to Katie first and asked about my results, and she said that the doctor wanted to talk to me. I looked at Andrew who was driving and whispered ‘The doctor wants to talk to me!’. He pulled over in the Metro Park parking lot as we heard the news. I remember it like it was yesterday…
‘Hi Laura, well we got the results back from the CAT scan and it was what we suspected.’
‘Ok’.
‘It’s Hodgkin’s Lymphoma, do you know what that is?’
‘I think so.’
‘Don’t worry because although this seems scary, we can treat this. There is a really great oncologist here in Lima…’
At this point, I kinda knew what HL was, but it wasn't registering. What definitely registered was the word oncologist. ‘Wait…is this…cancer?’
‘Yes, Laura. Hodgkin's Lymphoma is a type of cancer that attacks the immune system, in the lymph nodes.’
My hand went to my mouth, just like in the movies, and I started crying, silently. All I can remember is me asking if it was ok to go to Iowa and after that, I said OK about twenty times to everything he was saying because my thoughts were everywhere. They were the thoughts I never thought I would ever think of in my lifetime...How much longer do I have? Will I need surgery? Do I have to go to a hospital for chemotherapy? What the heck?! How did I get cancer? Did I do something to deserve this? Was God not happy with me? Was I being punished...I mean I cheat in my putt putt score sometimes, but that's not too bad! Am I going to die? I can’t really remember what he said after he told me the diagnosis. Before I even spoke a word to Andrew after I got off the phone with the doctor, my sister was on call waiting to see if I had heard anything. I bawled to her and said ‘I have cancer!’ Through tears, she begged me not to go to Iowa and I begged her not to tell a sole until I got home in four days. I didn’t want to tell my family over the phone and not on the day my niece was born. The doctor cleared me to go to Iowa since it was only five days and Sarah kept her promise, although it was VERY hard I heard. Thank you, sis :)
At this point, I looked at Andrew and he squeezed my hand. We didn’t say a lot again because we were stunned. We just hugged a lot and for some reason I said sorry to him. He looked at me like I was crazy and hugged me harder. Like I said, thank GOD for Blackberry’s because the whole way to Iowa I thought about it as he read up on as much information as possible. Iowa and meeting Andrew’s family again was amazing. I told them what our newest battle was and because they are a praying family, they really started us on the right foot in this Pursuit. That night, June 17, 2010, the night I found out Andrew and I had cancer, I was in Iowa and I want to keep it personal, just between us. Andrew and I shared a lot of thoughts and feelings that bonded us closer than imaginable. I lean on my parents a lot for support, but this time, they where 13 hours away with no idea of my new health situation. I had to rely on my husband of not even a year yet for support. And he passed with flying colors that night :) I love you, Andrew.

Well, we stayed in Iowa though the weekend and got back Monday night. I had my CT guided biopsy that Wednesday June 23. Two days later, I got the call that it was definitely Hodgkin's Lymphoma and my oncology appointment at the Cancer Center was scheduled for July 1...the day this Pursuit all began…at that point, I put all my hope in God and knew that I was Never Giving In to cancer. God would still be glorified somehow, even through cancer, He can be glorified. What did I have to lose by putting my situation in God's hands...nothing. He gladly took it and said, 'That's all you got?' I'm good guys, I have God on my side :)
~Psalms 55:22
Cast your cares on the Lord and he will sustain you.
~James 1:2-4
Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing.