We are hoping to alleviate much stress, anxiety, and questions by keeping everyone informed about Mom (Tiffany) and Hunter through these posts. We are so very grateful for the outpouring of love and support from everyone, and we know that you all want to stay updated on what is happening. We will try to keep this updated as much as possible, and hope that you will also be patient with us as we get things up and running. I don't know if everyone is aware of all of the crazy things that have happened over the past month, so I will give a brief(ish) overview of what has been happening. I know that I won't possibly be able to give all of the details, and some information may be missing. But it will give you enough information to know what is going on.
- August 27, 2014 - Hunter's 12th Birthday. Happy Birthday!!!
- Sept. 5th - Tiffany had her 1st Mammogram (was called to schedule a followup mammogram)
- Friday, Sept. 6th - Hunter Got sick
- Monday Sept. 8th - Tiffany took Hunter to the Dr, they were told he just had a virus.
- Friday Sept. 12th - Tiffany took Hunter back to the Dr, and they started him on an Antibiotic. It didn't work. He started throwing up. After 4 days of not getting better, and throwing up, Tiffany took him off the antibiotic.
- September 17th (ish?) - Tiffany's followup Mammogram, during which she was told they needed to get a biopsy from a mass in her left breast.
- Friday September 19th - Dr. Daynes (family Dr.) called Tiffany to follow up on the news he had received after her 2nd mammogram. Tiffany told the Dr. Hunter was still not getting better, and she was told if he wasn't better by Monday, to take him back in.
- Monday September 22nd (2 weeks since Hunter got sick) - Tiffany took Hunter back to the Dr. where they did some blood work, a chest x-ray, and urine sample. The X-ray came back fine, and the urine sample showed dehydrated.
- Tuesday September 23rd - Tiffany's Biopsy went well, the Dr. said they got a good sample. Tiffany hadn't been home for even an hour when they received a call to take Hunter up to Primary Children's Medical Center. They were admitting him. Hie blood work had come back and his white blood cell count was through the roof. Normal is supposed to be around 4? Hunter's was in the 40's. They were initially sending him to be tested for things like Leukemia.
- 6:17 p.m. -"They are concerned about weakness on his left side. Going for a CAT scan to check his brain for infection or tumor, then running labs for blood infection or leukemia. Also x-raying leg to look for bone infection."
- 9:57 p m - "Results of CAT scan are negative. No large masses. Having an MRI tomorrow to take a closer look. They want to be certain that the weakness on the left side isn't neurological. After a bag of saline and dinner, he has perked up. Thank you for all the prayers!"
- Wednesday, September 24th
- 12:03 p.m. - "Just saw the Doctors. Hunter's white count has dropped significantly; A promising indicator that it isn't leukemia, but still leaves plenty on the table. Had MRI, results later today. Looking for tumor, infection, or possible small stroke. All possibilities of the left side weaknesses. Doing more blood work also. Negative on Enterovirus that's been in the news, so at this point, they are thinking he is not contagious. Sooo... still a lot of unanswered questions. They anticipate at least another day or two to narrow it down. MRI is a biggy. If it's clear, we get to check several things off the list. Pray for that! In a nutshell, the 3 things they are still considering are infection, cancer, or immune disorder. Hunter is, of course, scared, but is in fairly good spirits and seems to be feeling better today. Love you all!"
- 1:42 p.m. - "MRI is clean! No tumors of infection there. That's good news! The mystery Continues."
- Thursday, September 25th -"Good morning all, not much to report. They mystery continues. Mono was negative, he has abnormal liver and feratin levels (iron) and anemia. They are checking for a disease called HLH. White cells attack red. It is in the cancer family. More blood tests needed. Also doing heart ultrasound today to rule out Kawasaki disease. So, in other words, still more questions than answers. White count was down a little today again. He is a medical mystery. Pray that they can figure this out! Thank you for all the prayers and concern. Hopefully we will have more answers soon." (Cancer specialists later came in and said they didn't think they were dealing with cancer)
- Friday, September 26th - "Not a lot to report. Still looking for cause. The search has narrowed some. Some of the bacteria tests came back negative, but still nothing definitive. There are some results that we are waiting for that won't come until next week. He was doing really well yesterday and there was talk of letting us go home today, but then he spiked a fever again last night and he's not doing as well today, so we're not going home today. We are all doing our best to hang in there. We appreciate all your love and prayers."
- Monday, September 29th - Tiffany received a call in the morning from the Dr.'s office confirming that Tiffany has cancer.
- Tuesday, September 30th - "Okay folks, here is the long awaited update. Tighten your seat belts! First... good news... I met with the nurse over my case today and my prognosis is good. I will meet with the surgeon on Friday. The cancer is still confined to the duct, and hasn't spread so the plan is to do a lumpectomy and then radiation treatment. No Chemo!!! Yay for that! They may consider hormone therapy as well since the type of cancer I have feeds on the hormones. The down side to that is the menopausal symptoms that go with it. Okay, now to Hunter. The biopsy results [from a rash on his back] show that there are cells associated with some cancers. So, the focus has turned and we are now working with the hematology/oncology group. They have scheduled a PET/CT scan for tomorrow at 3 pm. They have also ordered a bone marrow biopsy that will be done at 11 am. So hopefully by the end of the week, we will know what we are dealing with. This is a very unusual case and it is almost unheard of to be here a week with no answers. Please pray that the people over his care will be able to find the cause and know how to treat it. We love you all SO much and we feel the love and support and prayers you all are sending our way. Love to all!"
- Wednesday, October 1st - " Crazy Day! Hunter did well with his tests! He was in very good spirits tonight even though he is sore. We are hopeful for a good nights sleep! We should have results tomorrow. We feel very blessed to have so much love and support! We love you!"
- "When the night is dark and the clouds are thick, we have an opportunity to put our hand in the Lord's hand and rely on Him to help us through." We will be holding on tight!"
- Thursday, October 2nd - "We just talked to the Dr. and the bone marrow came back looking okay so they feel confident that they can take leukemia off the list. However, in closer examination of the PET scan, there are some irregularities. The colon wall looks thicker than it should. There is a rare form of Lymphoma that is in the lymph nodes in the gut. His symptoms are consistent with this type of cancer. They are bringing in the gastro team to see if they want to do a colonoscopy or surgical biopsy. Pour on the prayers! We need a miracle!"
- Friday, October 3rd - " Today's update.... I don't really know what to say. The roller coaster is so extreme! Basically, the Dr., and the surgeon don't agree so the colonoscopy and surgery are off for now. I'm speechless about that and have no idea what to think. The cancer on/cancer off bit is killing me, and I'm sorry to have dragged you all there with me! So... back to the drawing board with more tests for shot in the dark possibilities. In other news, I had my meeting with the Surgeon today. She wants me to have an MRI on Thursday of next week. They want to take a closer look at things before continuing with treatment. If everything checks out, then we will proceed as mentioned before. Surgery and then 3 to 6 weeks of radiation followed by hormone therapy. If we don't get some answers soon on Hunter, I may need helpers for a couple of hours in the afternoon to play with Hunter so I can get some rest. Having one on one time helps him stay distracted. We are so grateful for all your love and prayers! We feel it! Love you all."
- Sunday, October 5th - "Hello family. Not much to report. Drs. are mostly doing research to decide what to do next. They want to do another biopsy of the rash and then possibly an MRA. It's like an MRI but focuses on the arteries. They are looking to see if he has a condition that enlarges the arteries and causes fevers. The fevers persist. He spikes at least one every day. Our stake presidency and bishop came this morning and Hunter, Mark, and I all got blessings. It was comforting. We had a miracle happen that let me know that the Lord is mindful of us. I happened to share a little more about our family than usual with the nurse and mentioned I had a son on a mission. She asked me where he was and when I told her, she got this big smile and she told me that her father-in-law was Nick's mission president. Of all the nurses in this hospital and all the missions in Brazil, what are the chances! Anyway, she called her in-laws and gave them the heads up and they told her to give us their personal phone number. She was our nurse again today and she gave us the number and we talked to his mission president this afternoon. He was very compassionate and said we could call Nick if we wanted to. We have decided to wait until we have more answers before that happens. Tender mercies! Gotta love 'em!"
- Monday, October 6th - "I'ts a new week and we have been passed to a new group of doctors. Everything is starting fresh. I'm praying that someone in this group will be guided to solve this mystery. He is scheduled for the MRA this afternoon and they are also scheduling a conference with all the specialties that have worked on his case to meet together in person to discuss his case and hopefully come up with a new game plan."
- Tuesday, October 7th - " Hey y'all, the plan seems to keep changing. The MRA was cancelled because radiology felt like they had enough images to determine the condition of his arteries. His arteries look fine. All the doctors met yesterday and discussed his case for about an hour. They were going to do another rash biopsy, but that is on hold for the moment. They also considered the colonoscopy again, but that is still under consideration. They ran more blood labs but nothing has come back positive yet. He didn't have much fever in the night but still had the sweats like he normally does. He spiked a fever about a half an hour ago [12:30 pm] though. He likes to keep us guessing. My MRI got moved up to this morning. Glad that's over. I agree with Hunter.... really loud and not very fun. I kept telling myself, "If Hunter can be brave, so can I!" Should have results tomorrow or Thursday. After results are in, we will schedule surgery. When the Doctors decide what's next, I'll let you know. Love!
- Wednesday, October 8th -
- 11:16 am - "Here is the latest.... He had several fevers yesterday and a pretty high one last night with vomiting. One of the tests for inflammatory bowel disease came back inconclusive. Not positive or negative. He is having an MRI of the bowel at 1:30 today and then possibly a lower and upper scope plus liver biopsy on Friday. Right now they are leaning towards Crohn's disease. These tests will either verify or eliminate that possibility. The doctors feel like they are close to a diagnosis."
- 1:00 pm - "Good news! My MRI showed nothing additional so we will proceed as planned. Surgery is scheduled for next Wednesday the 15th."
A few years ago for a Family Home Evening, my Dad said our family motto was "We Can Do Hard Things". The other day, Zac jokingly said that we can't have that motto because it sends the universe a message. We all kind of laughed about it, and moved on. But you know what? We CAN to hard things. I've turned back to that motto so many times in the past few years, and especially now. "We CAN do hard things. In the strength of the Lord, we can to ALL things."
And so we will.
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