Challenges

In 2013 far too many stories of people I know, or know of were diagnosed with cancer. A little girl in my Moms of Multiples group was diagnosed with a cancer in her stomach that was removed, treated, and she is now a survivor, all at age three. My husband's uncle was diagnosed suddenly with Pancreatic cancer, and it took his life last week. Robin Quivers of the Howard Stern show came out this last month with her story of discovering, fighting, and beating cancer. However, the one that is closest to me is my aunt, my mother's sister who is fighting Leukemia as we speak.

Around May my aunt was severely fatigued to the point of going to an urgent care. She was tested and tested for many things, but a doctor found something in her blood that was startling enough to tell her, you will go home, get some things, and you will check into the hospital. What? Not long after being admitted, a bone marrow biopsy showed she was positive for a form of Acute Leukemia. Since then, my aunt has been in and out of the hospital for three rounds of very aggressive chemo treatment. Unfortunately, none of these chemo treatments worked meaning that she never entered the remission stage, or more specifically, if she did enter remission it was not longer than a week. The options for my aunt's treatment became one of two: if she went into remission for 28 days or longer, she would go to a hospital in Arizona for a bone marrow transplant. If she did not reach remission, she was going to be a candidate for a drug trial at MD Anderson in Houston, TX.

After some red tape and a support team, may aunt was accepted into the trial program, and uprooted to Houston. Her friends dropped their stuff, and drove her non-stop from Las Vegas to Houston in record time. A cousin has committed to giving up her time to be with my aunt as long as needed, on her own expense, in Houston for the duration of the treatment. My aunt has designated one friend as her medical directive/power of attorney, and she has another friend who was able to rearrange her life to move into my aunt's house in Vegas, and take care of the house and her many pets.  When I mentioned a  support team, I meant it. It is great to see how many people care and love her. I don't have time and availability in presence to be there in person, but in my own way I have offered what I can; a listening ear, regular cards, and regular photos of the kids mailed. My mom and grandma have been out to visit her before she left, and that meant a huge deal to my aunt, and I know she was able to have some much needed time with my mother in which many misunderstandings were cleared up.

There is a lot of hurry up and wait right now as the course of treatment is being determined by the many tests being run. My aunt has been keeping an online journal through Caring Bridge. The good news is that she is where she needs to be, and is getting the care she needs to receive. The drug trial will hopefully do it's magic, she will reach a state of remission, and she will be able to qualify for a bone marrow transplant, in Arizona. There are many stages on this recovery road, and it may be a very long time without any guarantees.

Now, to the point of the post. Someone (I won't disclose who) said the most peculiar thing to me this weekend, "She is where she needs to be, it is in God's hand's now." I paused, thought about responding, and said, okay. Some people feel the need to turn to whatever gets them through, I understand this. But, it is not in God's hands. She is in a hospital so she is in the hand's of science, doctors, and medicine. Pure and simple. I don't accept giving credit to an imaginary friend in the sky for a problem that was created and allowed to happen. I wish nothing but a speedy and healthy recovery for my aunt. May she be with her fur babies for a very long time and walk in the sun, and grow her hair, and do mundane things like work again. May the advancements in science and medicine provide this future for her and her family. Be strong, fight the fight!