Tag: cancer risks

4th Grade, Zoom, and Searching for Balance

Published on by beatingcowdens2 Comments

I sat on my couch Thursday for the first time since September. It was an odd feeling to sit somewhere other that the desk chair that seems to have a permanent imprint of my bottom.

I sat down after releasing my 29 “rectangles” (read my adorable remote-only 4th grade class) from their daily Zoom meeting early so that they could play in the newly fallen snow.

It is just shy of 2 years since the fall in my classroom that changed my world on 1/8/2019. The need to teach remotely, which was generated by the suggestion of my diagnosing geneticist to minimize my exposure to Covid-19, and was sealed in securely by my foot’s stubborn inability to recover, even after a theoretically “corrective” surgery on 6/25/20, had been an experience that has absorbed almost every hour of every day since September.

After over a decade of working as a “cluster teacher,” teaching predominately a math lab, I was assigned to a fully remote 4th Grade as their real, actual full-time teacher. I was given student copies of the reading, math, science, and social studies program. Teacher’s guides were in hot demand. I was given online access where it was available. Fortunately, I was also gifted with 4th-grade colleagues who value, live, and breathe teamwork.

But, even with an amazing group of teachers to work “with” I was largely on my own. Some of the teachers were fully online like me, but most were teaching “blended” or “hybrid” programs where they were in the building with different students on different days.

Google Classroom was learned through “YouTube,” as were mostly all things Google. I figured out slides, docs, and a working knowledge of forms. I navigated TeachHub, got a recurring Zoom link set up, and vowed to give them the best I could in these crazy times. I figured out BitMoji, and tried to entertain through morning slides. I learned a curriculum I never fully taught. One day at a time.

If nothing else, I am stability for them, and they for me. The class began as 16 and has swelled to 29, but our routine is solid, and I am, for the most part, there “with” them all day. The whole thing is less than ideal, for everyone. But it is life mirroring reality at this point, and a Global Pandemic is less than ideal – for everyone.

In this capacity though, in my mind, it is all about the children, I will NEVER be able to give them a “real” 4th-grade year, but I will strive to give them order, organization, consistency and knowledge they are loved. Beyond all the adults that are out of their elements. Beyond all the political opinions. Beyond the emotionally charged debates, here on my screen daily are very real children, who are being very affected by everything we do and say. There are humans in those boxes. There are humans that are in their homes for different reasons, each with their own personality and very real story.

They are someone’s child. And as my child sits on her computer “attending” a very bizarre Senior Year, I think of the 4th grade her. And I try even harder. I think of the families that are not able to sit with their children because they are working from home, or there are grandparents watching who are not computer savvy, and I think about being raised by a hard working single mother and my ever-loving grandparents. Those children are my child. Those children are me.

I have put in more that my share of 12-15 hour days. I’m not super proud of that, as I have neglected self- care and the needs of my family. My family misses me. But, they understand. I have cried real ugly tears of exasperation and frustration at changing regulations and policies. They understand that too, and bring a hug, chocolate, flowers, or a glass of wine as needed.

I will not reach all the children. I will try, but I will not. I do not like to be anything less than successful, and that reality sometimes keeps me up at night. It would be hard to ensure 29 children in front of me mastered all their subjects. They are humans. They miss people. I get it. But, I can’t fix that either.

My girl handled the college application process almost unassisted. She worked through her essay, vetted her schools, created online interviews, and “meetups.” She is applying for scholarships and has a few promising offers for Physician Assistant programs, a career goal that seems perfect for her. Thank God she is who she is. I paused only to do FAFSA and proofread a few things and the acceptances began to roll in.

While life continues around me I plod on. I arrange science experiments at my desk and I live to provide supplemental digital resources from “Teachers Pay Teachers.” I do, as I have always been taught, “the best I can with what I have right now.”

And this week, when I got to pause I had a hard reality check. I am behind on almost every maintenance appointment. Cowden’s Syndrome, as I have been told since my diagnosis, carries with it cancer risks that peak at 50. Despite my mastectomy and hysterectomy, I remain at great risk for renal cell carcinoma, colon cancer, and melanoma among others. My care team has dissolved. The hospital I once centered out care out of has lost one doctor after another. No one has agreed to take the reigns of a less than basic life. And in this time of Covid-19, it is even harder to establish new care.

Losing track of my own health for a period of time, to benefit the mental and academic health of the children I have come to care greatly for was a necessary distraction. Now as we face the holiday season and the start of a new year, it is time to strengthen my resolve and figure out a way to strike a balance.

I need those children as much, or more, than they need me. But I need to strike that self-care balance. I need to step away from the computer, and silence the phone from time to time.

I loathe establishing care at new offices, attempting to break doctors in, when their very schedules disrupt every aspect of my life, and their care has often proven sub par.

Maybe the last few months I have been quiet because instead of #beatingcowdens, I felt a lot more like we were SURVIVING.

I have a feeling we are not alone. I wouldn’t know for sure because I’ve lost touch with almost everyone. These are crazy times. Take good care of the little people in your life. Know that however you feel about what is going on in the world they hear it and feel it.

I continuously remind myself to “be kind always.” Now more than every, everyone you meet is fighting a battle you know nothing about.”

We remain forever sometimes barely surviving, but ultimately

#beatingcowdens.

Difficult To Work With

Published on by beatingcowdens4 Comments

I am so tired of fighting.

All the time.

My Grandfather told me  many years ago that I was “difficult to work with.”  He said it with love.  I don’t remember the exact context.  I do remember it was said with a smile.

And he was undoubtedly right about that, like so many other things.

I had a boss a few years back that told me, “If you continue to hold everyone to the same standards you hold yourself to, you will always be disappointed.”  Strong words, but also not  inaccurate.

I am a lot to take.

I am intense almost all the time.  I have a mouth full of words that last long  past the attention span of anyone I strike up a conversation with.

I am passionate about things I believe in.

I make lots and lots of mistakes.  But, I truly do my best all the time.

So I just sometimes struggle to understand why it seems everything I touch or encounter is a battle.

I spend hours upon hours sorting through medical claims.  I look up who paid what, and when.  I call on bills that need to be refiled.  I take names on post-it notes with dates and times, in case things don’t get rectified.

I file out of network claims, and then I watch them processed in error.  I make three phone calls to try to sort out the change in policy, which was simply just a mistake no one will own.  I take names again.  I am told to wait 6 more weeks for hundreds of dollars owed to me to be reprocessed.  It’s only a little about the money.  It’s mostly about the notebook, and the folder with the copies of the claims, and the alarm in my phone to remind me when I need to follow up on the call again.

I send medication to the mail order pharmacy because we have no choice.  And then I wait for them to screw it up.  That sounds negative, but it’s simply accurate.  They have an entire notebook in my world to help manage the 9 mail away prescriptions between us.  There is a perpetual box on my ‘to do’ list which tells me to check on the progress of any refill.

I make appointments.  The list has 20 specialists between us.  They vary from twice a week to once a year.  A psychologist once told me not to let the appointments interfere with “preferred activities.”  So there is a matrix with the impossible task as the ultimate goal.  Except none of the 20 doctors know about the other 19.  Or the full time job.  Or the high school honor student’s schedule.  Or swim practice.  Or theater.  Or voice lessons.  Nor do they care.  And I get it.  They can not hear everyone’s story. So when I call to try to carefully place that appointment in a very tiny window of time, they are always unhappy with me.  They think I’m being unreasonable.  And maybe I am.  But, I can’t imagine why I wouldn’t TRY to get everything to keep her physically healthy and still let her be a teen.

I deal with unexpected schedule changes.  Like when I carefully stack 2 appointments in one day, and then one has to move to right smack in the middle of a week long summer internship that was planned forever ago, because now instead of two doctors with Friday hours at the same facility, one has Monday and one has Friday.  No overlap.  So I erase,  and juggle.  Except I’m not great at juggling in a literal sense, so one got cancelled and hasn’t been rescheduled.  Actually two… because summer can not be ALL about doctors.  Nor can every day off.  But, neither can every day at work or school…

“What do you mean you’re not going to reschedule today?”

So much of our condition relies on screening.  Early detection is a blessing.  It is the key.  It is also tedious and time consuming.  It is possible to be grateful and overwhelmed simultaneously.

So much of this is case management.  And, when last I checked my master’s degree is in education, not medicine.  But, with no one to coordinate care I have to guess a whole lot.  I have to decide if 9 months will be ok instead of 6.  I have to decide when to push the doctor for more lab tests when the fatigue won’t quit and the thyroid is ok but the spleen…eh, no one is quite sure about the spleen…

And there are doctor’s whose pride won’t let them return a call because I haven’t seen them recently enough.

There is the genetics appointment lingering again.  Because maybe Cowden’s wasn’t the WHOLE answer…

And the “normal people stuff”  like the seemingly never-ending root canals because my stress is played out in the jaw clenching that overtakes the episodes of sleep. That is on the occasions everything is calm enough for me to make it to my bed.

Or the foot injury.  The “rare” lisfranc ligament partial tear.  Close to 6 months later.  Not a soul wants to hear me tell the story again.  No one wants to believe that it still hurts badly enough that I haven’t take a real walk since last fall.  I’m not lazy.  I’m horrified by the state of my body in the absence of real physical activity.  I am trying to be patient.  My patience is running out alongside my sanity.

And the IEP.  Oh, the Individualized Education Plan… and the meetings.  Over and over and over again…  Meghan is on the waiting list for a service dog.  She has PTSD and generalized anxiety disorder.  The dog is coming.  The process is wearing me out.

I am a lot to take.

I am often “difficult to work with.”

I hold myself and others to a high standard.

I am intense most of the time.

I am tired.

I am so very tired of fighting all the time.

There is no choice though.  No choice at all.

So, in the mean time I will be here.  Strengthening my resolve.  I may bend, but I will not break.  I will continue to strive to show my girl that she can have a rare and currently incurable disease, while excelling at school, at sports, being active in the community, and being a generally decent human.

Last month we walked out of a screening appointment.  It was not critical.  It was an hour behind.  We rescheduled.  Also a valuable lesson.

I am tired of fighting, but I am far from done.

As my Grandfather said, I am “difficult to work with.”

I am also loved.  I am flawed.  I am also forgiven. 

 

When I have no more, I put my hands together and ask… and I am never disappointed.

Through God’s Grace alone we remain…

#beatingcowdens

The Carousel

Published on by beatingcowdens2 Comments

Life is very much like a carousel… you must hold on tightly.  It will not stop until it is over…

I always heard about the body changing every seven years.  I never gave it much thought.A quick Google search brings a couple of interesting articles.Every Seven Years…

This has been on my mind a lot the last few weeks.  I’ve never been one to spend New Year’s Eve wishing a year away, or blaming one for my misfortunes.  However I do have a rock solid memory for dates, and 2012 is a year I will never forget.

Digesting our PTEN diagnoses from the fall of 2011, 2012 began with thyroid biopsies for my girl.  It was the year of risk assessment and triage for us.  In February there were breast and neck MRIs for me and another in a long string of embolizations for an AVM in Meghan’s knee.  In March came my prophylactic double mastectomy that showed DCIS on pathology.  In May of that year came my hysterectomy, as well as breast and an external pelvic ultrasound to assess my then 8 year old.  In June she had another thyroid sonogram as suspicion of her nodules increased.  She also had an MRI to assess the progress the embolization made on her AVM.  Insert recovery times, and “normal people stuff,” and that took us only to the end of third grade.

In the summer she had kidney and bladder ultrasounds, and an MRI of her pituitary gland.  I added an abdominal MRI to baseline hamartomas that to this day have continued to slowly outsize my spleen itself.  That MRI was repeated in November, and we ended the year with an uptick in concern about my girl’s thyroid.

Things have not really calmed down since then, and I have never counted surgeries and procedures from 2012 alongside any other year to see if it truly was our most medically active, because by all accounts the year you spend trying to process this diagnosis is the longest one ever.

Over time we have adapted to our lives, dancing in between appointments, carefully trying to schedule doctors and surgeries around life, and not the other way around.

Its a valiant effort.  Sometimes I am successful at it, and sometimes it is an epic fail.  Regardless there is no alternative but to keep pressing forward.  Adapting and changing.

Sometimes the adaptations make us stronger.  Other times they make us more efficient.  I am not sure the impact of the adaptations on emotional health.  I am focused on not letting this diagnosis take away my life.  I am determined to live my life in spite of it.  But, sometimes I do wonder.  I keep in touch with virtually no one.  Unable to make plans for the likelihood they will need to be cancelled or changed.  A deep fear of not being able to hold down a non-medical conversation reverberates through my soul.

So as I was hopping around on the crutches this morning it occurred to me that it is now 2019.  It is seven years since the epic 2012.  This year is shaping up to be one for the record books.

It is hard to tease apart the Cowden’s from the “Normal People Stuff,” because at this moment life seems to be a bit of an all-consuming medical drama.

That confuses people who see me smiling through the day at work with a large boot attached to my left foot for well over 6 weeks.  It makes people I run into at the mall think all must be well.  I smile.  Most of the time.  Frowning gives you uglier wrinkles.

Today was to be the day the podiatrist freed me from the walking boot.  Instead he told me to trade it for crutches in the house.  The boot is starting to hurt my knees and my hip.  My foot is simply not ready to be full weight bearing.  The partial tear is not healed.  In fact it seems no better, if not worse than when I fell at work on January 8th.  The delay in diagnosis caused by a denied MRI likely made things worse.

I was given names for a second opinion, and cautiously handed a script for PT, which cautions the potential therapist to be “NOT TOO AGGRESSIVE” with my foot.  The weather is getting warmer.  My pleasure comes from new sneakers and long walks…

Simultaneously working the juggling act with a few other issues, I have seen just about a doctor a day for the last week.

Fortunately my daughter’s brain MRI for lesions being watched for the last year was gloriously “unremarkable” on Tuesday and I am grateful for the little things – because they are the GIANT things.

My ENT was perplexed, as most doctors are.  The hearing test was normal.  The fluid that I feel was not visible to him as it had been to the other doctor.  He spent a good deal of time listening.  He decided he would offer me a tube to drain the ear with an anticipated 5% success rate. (No thanks) and an MRI of my head which would show the ear.  He said he was 99% sure the MRI would show nothing.  Then he corrected himself to say he was 99% sure it would show nothing in the ear… but I should anticipate incidental findings that will likely need follow up.  Whatever.  Brain MRI with Cowden’s is not a bad idea anyway.  MRI tomorrow.

My thyroid labs, after 3 weeks on the new medication regimen indicated the need for another change.  I’ve been having heart palpitations, and the highest blood pressure reading of my life.  I’m awaiting the arrival of the new dose, and setting up the next blood appointment, all while wondering if this is an exercise in futility as it looks like the rest of my thyroid will need to be removed in the not so distant future.  My partial thyroidectomy was in 1993. Clearly the body keeps changing.

I had a routine bone density screen on Weds.  I also went for my abdominal sonogram to monitor the spleen.  It’s a 45 minute ultrasound that requires 4 hours of fasting, but checks the spleen hamartomas for growth, while evaluating the liver and kidneys.  Except it was done in 6 minutes.

Apparently there is a drop down menu somewhere when you order an abdominal ultrasound.  I think the first item is Aortic screen.  The “Complete” that I needed was a few clicks down.  I’ll need to reschedule.  But, I am looking forward to hearing the random screen I didn’t need was “unremarkable.”  Results pending…

I am a different person than I was 7 years ago.  We all are I suppose.  If you evaluate your life in 7 year increments, you will definitely note changes.

The question is, will you be happy with them?

I am stronger.  I am more fit.  I am more confident in my knowledge.  I am less drawn into drama.

I am also less social.  I am less knowledgeable about world news, and more knowledgeable about rare diseases.  My attention span is shorter.  I am easily distracted.  My brain is always on.  Sometimes I catch really important things.  Other times I torment myself…

I am introspective and honest.

Happy is a relative term.

I’ve spent a lot of time watching Netflix. More than I ever have.  I picked up Grey’s Anatomy and keep hearing Meredith quote her mother.

“… But the carousel never stops turning.  You can’t get off.”

I will hold on tightly and remain

#beatingcowdens

 

 

It’s This Day to Day Living…

Published on by beatingcowdens3 Comments


And that might be an accurate description of my current assessment of living with Cowden’s Syndrome.

It’s so hard to put into words.  Those who don’t understand are likely to think I’m insane.

When you know your mission, you carry it out.  You are driven.  Focused.  There is something that needs to be accomplished, or an adversary beaten.  You have a crystal clear goal.

As difficult as those moments have been, I am starting to find the ‘forever’ aspect of this syndrome to be overbearing at times.

Some days it seems no matter which hurdle we clear, something else is in the line of fire.

I waffle between doctors who are either not interested, or are so overworked that they lack the time, energy, or desire to research and think from the alternate view required for a 1 in 200,000 mutation on the PTEN (tumor suppressor) gene.

Research.  Real research  (yes, I am smart on the internet and know what to read and what to brush off,) is surfacing so often that it is hard for me to even keep up.  I don’t expect my doctors to be on top of it.

I expect them to treat me as a partner in my own care.

They have gone to medical school.  I have not.  However I have more extensively studied Cowden’s Syndrome than they ever will.  And I still have a great deal to learn.

Gone are the days when “doctor knows best,” and I should comply without question or explanation.  This is my life. This is my daughter’s life.  And wherever I can assist, I intend for those lives to be long and strong – physically, mentally and emotionally.

Tuesday the 26th was my “doctor day.”  It became a necessity years ago that I take a personal day and “stack” my annual appointments.  This makes the day out of work worth it.  Some years things are smooth.  Other years, well… not so much.

After a fall at work in January, where my 5 foot 7 frame ever so gracefully landed on my right shoulder and implant, I have been uncomfortable.  The implant that was previously easy to ignore was prevalent in my thoughts all day.  It is not ruptured, and I was able to get MRI confirmation of that.  However it is just annoying.  It sits slightly off place, a constant reminder to my brain and body that it is THERE.  I am grateful it is not painful.  I am not content to live with this situation indefinitely.

My discomfort, and the knowledgeable people I share some Facebook support groups with, let me down a path of research on silicone implants.

I learned a whole bunch of things.  Most of those things are probably inconsequential in my life, but they made me angry.  I had double mastectomy with immediate implants in 2012.  In 2016 the implants needed to be replaced way ahead of schedule. (With a maximum of about 10 years on average).  I had one breast surgeon and two plastic surgeons.

No one spoke to me about a condition called BIA-ALCL (breast implant associated anaplastic large cell lymphoma).  The risk is minimal, but it exists.  No one ever talked to me about it and allowed me to make an informed decision.  We have a rare disorder that predisposes us to greater cancer risk.  No one has thoroughly studied the occurrence of BIA-ALCL, and certainly no one has considered it in relation to PTEN Mutations.  No one knows.  But, I deserve the uncertainty discussed.

Further down the same page is the screening recommendation that women are screened via MRI for silent rupture 3 years after the first implants, and every 2 years following.

Not a word. Ever.

https://www.fda.gov/ForConsumers/ConsumerUpdates/ucm338144.htm

There are other pages.  Solid articles.  But if you read the above link you get the point.

So I saw my breast surgeon first.  All was good on exam.  That was a relief.  I began a discussion about the above, and was really upset by her flippant response.  I was told I was reading too much on the internet.  I was told that there was no conversation about possibly removing my implants.  Granted this is not something I was ready to do tomorrow, but it was something I wanted to learn about.  I was told I would be subjecting myself to unnecessary surgery and she would counsel my plastic surgeon against even entertaining it.

I honestly felt like I had been hit.

I asked her what her thoughts were on BIA-ALCL related to Cowden’s Syndrome.  She had no answer.  I asked her how many PTEN patients she sees. 20? No 10? No 5? No, less than 5.

I asked about screening MRIs.  I was told they were “unnecessary”.  I referred her to the above link.

I could not believe that I sat in the middle of a major cancer center in New York City.  I felt violated and angry.

Next came my oncologist.

She is a kind woman with very few answers or helpful tips on risk management.  She pretty much looked up Cowden’s and checked that I have no breasts, no uterus, and half a thyroid, so I should be easy to manage.  I asked her questions about bone density,and heart health, (30 years of thyroid replacement, 7 years into forced menopause) and she simply said, “I don’t know.”  I asked about the lymphangiomas on my spleen that currently outsize the spleen itself.  She started to talk to me about spleenic “cysts” but I drew her back to lymphangiomas and the vascular component that often affects PTEN Patients.  I have not desire to lose my spleen, nor do I have a desire to harbor a potentially destructive organ.  We settled on a bone density and an abdominal sonogram to measure the lymphangiomas.  At least this makes sense to me.

Off to the otolaryngologist with a hopefully not PTEN problem.  He did vocal cord surgery for me 2 years ago to remove some growths.  This day the vocal cords were clear.  The right ear however has been an issue since September.  I spent a bit of time treating for migraine, and blaming the chlorinated pool spectator sections.  I had 4 doctors prescribe antibiotics when they saw fluid in my ear, and another a short course of steroid.  All cautioned me about hearing loss.  I regained my sanity to some extent when a friend gave me Mucinex sinus max.  Something about it helped the pressure.  The doctor got a look in my ear and used his camera to show me the fluid inside the right ear that is not draining.  He also looked deep in the ears and told me something was “off” with the ear canal.  But that was as far as he would or could go.  He gave me the name of a doctor to treat me.  He also told me to get a hearing test, and to understand that they must find a cause prior to any treatment.  April 18th was the first I could get.  Mucinex for all till then.

The endocrine surgeon came into my world post diagnosis in early 2012.  I believe her function was to evaluate regularly the remaining 1/2 thyroid, as thyroid is one of the greatest PTEN related cancer risks.  My thyroid was partially removed in 1993 due to a diagnosis of “multi nodular goiter.”  At the time, the prevailing wisdom was to leave one of the lobes intact and suppress it with high doses of synthroid, keeping the TSH (Thyroid Stimulating Hormone) low.  For years I operated with a lower than normal TSH, but it worked for me and seemed to keep the remaining tissue quiet.

When I was diagnosed and my team changed, so did some of the management theories.  This endocrine surgeon, who was only managing my medication as a courtesy, not as a regular practice, preferred a slightly higher TSH level.  We jousted a few times about fatigue, and other side effects that come with adjustment.  We had made peace on a split dose, until I had my levels measured in January and they were WAY to high for my physical comfort zone.  After my initial glee that I was not totally losing my mind, and that I needed medication, I started to wonder why the level change.  My weight was consistent…. my activity level consistent…

She did a routine sonogram of my neck in the office.  For the first time in 7 years she paused.  “There are small calcifications.  They were not there before.”

I asked about a biopsy and she told me she would not even know what to biopsy.  She’d be “guessing” as the thyroid bed is undefined.  She said she wanted me to consult with a colleague who is an endocrinologist well versed in molecular genetics.  She told me it was no rush.  She was going to Email his staff, and I could reach out when I have a school break in April.

That was Tuesday afternoon.

Wednesday morning I received a call that it was suggested I book the first available appointment.  I did so for March 12th.

I was told to obtain an ultrasound for basis at a local facility.

Thursday morning the phone rang again directing me to get the ultrasound at the hospital before I see the doctor.

Things seem to have moved from very casual, to lets not dawdle, quite quickly.

I’m not emotionally attached to too many non-essential organs anymore.  I’m vested in getting anything out before it causes me trouble.

Life is a juggling act.

I have plans.

Doctors appointments get in the way.

I know people who use sick days to vacation.  I use mine on the Gowanus Expressway.

I want to get it together, and see people.  I want to have casual conversations and catch up on people’s lives.

I will.  One day.

But for now the energy remains focused on a kind, lovely, compassionate teen, and keeping these two “Rare” ladies in their best health.

Oh, and that fall in January left me with a pain in my right foot that just won’t quit…

Tick tock… the waiting continues…

And we remain forever

#beatingcowdens

 

 

Rare Lives, Rare Disease Day, and So Much More to Come

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Thursday, February 28th, 2019 is World Rare Disease Day.

There was a point close to forever ago when that meant nothing to me.  I had never even heard of it.

Our initial Cowden’s Syndrome diagnoses came in the fall of 2011.  Meghan got her’s first, and mine followed soon after.  2012 held the most insane whirlwind of medical and surgical experiences we have ever known.

By the time Rare Disease Day came around in 2013, we had begun to feel the need to raise awareness of our PTEN Mutation causing Cowden’s Syndrome.  Even though we were grateful to have each other, to be 1 in 200,000 can be isolating.

At the time my girl took to the Global Genes Project and learned all she could about rare diseases.  She was most struck by the reality that many children diagnosed with rare diseases don’t live to see their 5th birthday.  She promised she would always try to speak, not only for herself, but also for the “littles” who couldn’t tell their story.

Meghan’s Speech in 4th Grade…

The text of her speech – Meghan Speaks Out!

In 2013 she spoke at her school and at mine.  We handed out denim ribbons, and started opening eyes.

In 2014 we stood together, as she was a student at my elementary school.  She created a video, we did a fundraiser.  There was something empowering about sharing knowledge.

February 2013 Article

In 2014 she met Borough President Oddo and they are still in contact.  He has been a mentor for her through the years.

RDD Blog Through Meghan’s Eyes 2014

Rare Diseases as a whole are common.  One in ten people suffers with a rare disease.  Yet, there are over 7,000 rare diseases and each carries with it it’s own specific challenges.  More than 350 MILLION people suffer from a rare disease, yet it takes 8 years on average for a diagnosis.  https://globalgenes.org/rare-facts/ In the interim, so many people trudge through the day to day challenges alone.  Typically there is no one to relate to their experiences, and even the best intended friends and relatives often tire of the chronic nature of a disease that won’t ever leave.

Raising awareness became a mission of Meghan’s to help people become more compassionate and kinder towards each other.  We have always worked with the understanding that “everyone has something,” and the more we learn empathy and compassion, the further we will get.

Meghan’s early days of speaking in schools, and creating awareness videos evolved into “Jeans for Rare Genes” a fundraiser involving friends, family, and the community.  There have been 4 so far, each one different than the ones before, but all helping to raise funds and awareness for rare diseases.

In December 2013 the PTEN Hamartoma Tumor Syndrome Foundation was born, through the blood, sweat and tears of Kristin Anthony, and with a village, it is growing into a helpful, guiding light in our community.  And, finally Meghan has found the focal point for the fundraising!

(check out some of the links below for some of our journeys)

RDD Meghan’s Video 2015

Twelve Surgeries in Eleven Years Article 2015

RDD Meghan’s Speech and Video 2016

Understanding Cowden’s Syndrome Article

Through the years my girl has been honored as a New York State Woman of Distinction, the youngest ever, in 2016.

She was awarded the “Humanitarian Award” at the Teddy Atlas Dinner in November of 2018.  She has racked up close to 20 surgeries in her young life, and yet she has managed to remain a scholar and an athlete.

Lives now forever intertwined. Kristin Anthony celebrates Meghan’s honor with us.

Celebrating Rare Disease Day is sometimes like going to the worst party ever.  Or, maybe it’s the best.  I guess it depends on how you look at it.  We’re here… stronger.  The community is growing.  Support exists.  Hope exists.

Last summer we were contacted by Aldo Soligno on behalf of the “Rare Lives Project.”  He had worked on this project in Europe and had had much success raising awareness to the government about the lives of people with rare diseases.  We were touched to be asked to be part of his American pilot of this project.  And, while it has not received the funding he had hoped, the release of this summer’s photos on social media has been therapeutic for both of us.

Here are some of the picture released to date.  Photo credit Aldo Soligno.

Please follow “Rare Lives” on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter to help them raise awareness of all rare diseases.

Please follow the PTEN Foundation

on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.  Follow their community work, their fundraising, and their efforts to unify with PATIENT FIRST.

This neat initiative is taking place right now, among others!

https://www.facebook.com/ptenrocks/?sfnsw=cl

We are perched in exciting times.  It is a time to reflect, to gather strength and resolve and press forward.

This year I know more people with Cowden’s Syndrome, and more people with other rare diseases.  We are allies and advocates.  We are parents, sisters, brothers and friends.

This year I hold close in my heart a friend’s little one, waiting on her diagnosis.  My heart feels their anguish.  My faith tells me their help will come.

There are still struggles.  Plenty.  But, before telling those stories it was time to remember from where we came.

One thing will not, and has not changed.  We remain forever

#beatingcowdens

It’s possible…

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It is possible to have conflicting emotions and have them all be true.

It is possible to feel so tired you wonder how you will function, and simultaneously grateful for the very things that made you so tired.

It is possible to be full of angst about a schedule that just will not quit, and fully excited that your child is capable of outrunning you.  Finally.  I waited a long time to be more wiped out than she is!

It is possible to feel worried about this week’s pending orthopedic appointment and the news it may bring, while gratefully celebrating your child’s swimming medals from the week before.

It is possible to have anxiety about when the next surgical procedure will come, while gleefully extending the number of days it’s been since the last one to record setting lengths.

It is possible to have a deep unshakable sadness on certain days, months or even seasons, while still appreciating the best daughter and husband ever.

It is possible to feel like having and loving someone with a chronic illness leaves you in shackles, while every day being grateful for them and  time you have to hug each other.

It is possible to live with people who literally complete your soul, and still sometimes need time with other people.  Just because.

It is possible to feel lonely in a full house by the design of your own head and not the people in it.

It is possible to be a pit bull advocate for your child, while wishing you could be a happy yellow lab and get the same results.

It is possible to really want to spend time with friends, but to posture as if you’re too busy so as to protect yourself from inevitable schedule changes and conflicts without having to say “no” again and again.

It is possible to want to talk, but to realize you haven’t much to say that isn’t about topics too tough for casual conversation. (Note to self – try to watch more TV.)

It is possible to have such a deep understanding of the rare disease plaguing you and your child that you are sometimes terrified of the path you will need to travel.  It is possible to be terrified, while full of gratitude for the warning system and vigilance that will allow that path to be long – together.

It is possible to know the road in front of you is still arduous while looking back and simply saying, “Wow, we’ve come SO FAR!”

It is possible to fully understand the reality that life is uncertain for EVERYONE, while processing the gravity of a rare, cancer causing genetic disorder.

It is possible to love the ones your with, while still deeply missing so many of the ones that have gone before, some even decades before.

It is possible the mail order pharmacy uses a dart board to determine their policies each time you call.

It is possible the hospital actually does have BOTH insurance cards in the computer in the right order, and they are just messing with you.

It is possible that the china closet may just not get cleaned and washed for the holidays, and that for the first time you may just be ok with it.

It is possible that the entire holiday shopping list will be handled on line, because those are the hours that work for me.

It is possible that some days, weeks, and months leave you with more conflicted feelings than others.

It is possible because I live it.

And it doesn’t have to make sense to anyone else.

Today it’s really just about my own brain.

And those are my random thoughts…

#beatingcowdens

#thisisfortyfive

 

 

 

(Living) “In Prep for the Climb” – PTEN Awareness Day 10/23/18

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I’m aware of Breast Cancer.  As a survivor now of 6 years and the daughter of a 21 year survivor, I am aware as I dry from my shower facing my mastectomy scars every morning, that breast cancer is reality.  As my Facebook feed and my memory are both too full of those we have lost and those who still face this disease, we are aware.  What I wonder, is how much help is the awareness?  It is a topic that could be debated forever, but I’ll change gears first.

Something else I am very aware of is the PTEN gene located on chromosome 10q23, and the perils its associated mutations can cause.  So when the PTEN Foundation let us know that 10/23 was designated PTEN Awareness Day, we were all in.

This blog has, for years been designated to the ups and downs of this mother- daughter duo dealing with Cowden’s Syndrome, the diagnosis we both received in late 2011 after a PTEN mutation was first diagnosed in Meghan, and weeks later in me.

The few years following were an absolute whirlwind of appointments, scans, screenings and surgeries.  We worked to keep our heads above water and just exist.  We considered keeping my job, and maintaining honors status in her school quite the accomplishment.

We were told things over and over, like “don’t let it define you…”

I’ve got some news for you.  You can only walk so far into the fire without retaining the scars.

True awareness of PTEN for us comes with comprehension of the gravity that you have to remain in a vigilant stance of preparation, awaiting attack from your own body at all times.  PTEN patients have ridiculous cancer risks pretty much all throughout, and the VIGILANCE required to stay ahead is utterly grueling.

We are faced with choices to keep the most high risk organs, or remove them prophylactic ally.  We are asked to play the odds.  With our bodies. All the time.

With Meghan the AVM (Arteriovenous Malformation) in her right knee, though quiet now, has caused damage she will deal with forever.  She is 15.  God willing she will walk on those legs another 80 years, each day aware of the pain, and of the symmetry removed from her body forever.

When you have to be vigilant, you have to plan.  There are trades.  You have to decide if you’ll miss school with friends and fall behind in classes or give up the breaks designed to recharge you.

There are no breaks.  February – months away has 3/5 of its break and 2 other days devoted to appointments.  Martin Luther King Jr. Day in January.  Yep – that one too.  Don’t worry, the brain MRI is scheduled for April break….

You have to pick and choose.  And the decisions are hard.  You want to give it all to everything, but HOURS of your world are wasted in bumper to bumper traffic, waiting for the hopeful news that you have another 6 months before you come back.  And if, in fact you don’t get that news the schedule is tossed and it’s game on for scans, analysis and biopsies.

The pain.  No one can really tell us yet from why, but it seems to exist throughout.  The fatigue.  Maybe the thyroid issues, maybe some immunological stuff.  Maybe some connection yet to be determined.  But it’s real.

It’s as real as the number of times we had to decline invitations before most people stopped asking.

We’re not blowing you off.  We’re holding it together – by a shoestring.

Chronic Illness is hard to live, and we get that it’s difficult to watch.  But, it’s real.  And short of a cure, it will never “run it’s course.”  It will not BE us, but it will be PART of us – FOREVER.

“You don’t look sick…”

“You don’t look anxious…”

No, as a matter of fact she looks strong and determined.  She’s been practicing for quite some time.

Sometimes I have to bite my tongue to keep from replying, “You don’t LOOK ignorant either – but at least you can fix that if you WANT to…”

Our rare disease journey has opened our eyes to not only PTEN disorders, but “Lhermitte-Duclos disease,” “Nail-Patella Syndrome,” “Lynch Syndrome,” “Spinal Muscular Atrophy,” “Muscular Dystrophy,” “Neimann- Pic Disease,” ” Neurofibromatosis,” “Acute Myeloid Leukemia” to name just the very tip of the iceberg.  I am more aware than every that everyone struggles.

I’m also a big fan of real pure awareness, for the sake of learning something about other humans I share the planet with.

One of the humans I share my home with has grown up in a totally different direction courtesy of this disease.  And while I am grateful for her diagnosis, as it surely saved my own life, I am sad that she has had to see so much, and manage so much already in her life.

So today, on 10/23, if you’re not living with it yourself, direct yourself to http://www.PTENFoundation.org, or the PTEN Facebook Page and learn an little more about PTEN.

My own girl is working every day to make herself better, physically, mentally and emotionally.  When I have down days, or I just don’t feel well, she reminds me to forgive myself.  “You have it too Mom.”  Indeed I do, and it’s quite a ride…

“Prep for the Climb” Disney’s Hollywood Studios

Together we prepare for the climb each day – and seek out that ‘One Perfect Moment’

For as much as this disease has taken, I am grateful that she is starting to take back control, and is finding her voice as an advocate for herself and others.  (And I love listening to her sing too…)

#Beatingcowdens

Bring It On the Musical – One Perfect Moment Lyrics
2012 Broadway
Bring It On the Musical – One Perfect Moment LyricsI’m not freaking out, I’m really okay
I’m totally chill or I will be someday
‘Cause I’m so near the top but there’s so many mountains to climb
There are plans to be planned, drills to be drilled
‘Cause this dream that I’ve dreamed is becoming fulfilled
And I plan to enjoy it but right now, I don’t have the timeFade in on Campbell, an average teenager almost grown
Close-up on average grades from the average life she’s known
Now zoom in the lens on the rest of her friends as she stay alone
Doing the work, getting it right

‘Cause I know we’ll have to be practically perfect
So I’ll go above and beyond and pull through, this I can do
All that I’m asking is one perfect moment in time

I’m seventeen, there are so many things that I can’t control
If I start to freak, or feel weak, I focus on just one goal
Turn down the panic, attack this routine like it owns my soul
Turn up the music so loud that it swallows us whole
And then there we are, we burn like a star
We’re safe inside the world we know
Then suddenly I’m in prep for the climb and here I go
High in the air, there is a moment just before you start to fall
Live in that one moment

I know that if I can just stick the landing
Then I’ll know that somehow my life will be fine
And I’ll go through the rest of my life understanding
What it feels like to shine
The future’s full of mysteries
So please let this be mine
My one perfect moment in time

No Excuses. No Apologies.

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Recently I asked that Meghan’s “Present Levels of Performance” on her IEP be updated.  She no longer receives many services, but I find great value in keeping this section current.

There is a great deal of misunderstanding involving Individualized Education Plans (or IEPs) and many people feel only children who struggle academically have an IEP.  This is just not true.

My daughter has had one in place since Kindergarten.  She has consistently maintained high honors, and as a matter of fact was Salutatorian of her 8th grade class, and is in an intensely challenging International Baccalaureate program at her high school.

IEPs by definition, are to “Individualize” the Education Program as needed.  Meghan’s needs are not academic, as much as they are residual connected to the Cowden’s Syndrome, the PTSD, and the medical trauma.  The resulting anxiety affects every area of life, and is far deeper than “teenage angst.”  We work extensively outside of school to address this in many ways, but sometimes we need the school to be on the same page.

Much like you give a medical history to a doctor when you see them for the first time, and you update as situations change, the IEP is to be fluid and updated as changes occur so all personnel will be aware of Meghan’s needs.

I make a habit on the first day of school of copying a few key pages of the document and giving it to her teachers.  Even though they have access, and technically it is their responsibility, I am also a teacher.  I get the pressures placed on us.  So, I make their lives easier by giving them what they need and an invitation to reach out to me with any questions.  Her teachers are historically receptive and appreciative.

This year I was reviewing that section on the document realizing how much was no longer accurate, and how it should be more detailed.

I sat with Meghan to write the summary below:

Meghan is a 15-year-old sophomore in the IB program at School.  Academically she is consistently above average in her classes, attaining high honors every marking period for the 2017-2018 school year.

She is a student athlete as well, participating on the School varsity swim team, as well as Trident Aquatics, a 12 month competitive swim program on the Island.

Meghan has several medical diagnoses.  The most far-reaching is “Cowden’s Syndrome” a mutation on the PTEN (tumor suppressor) Gene, causing benign and malignant tumors as well as vascular malformations.  Recently PTEN mutations have been correlated with low levels of (infection fighting) immunoglobulins, which Meghan also suffers with.

Because of the low immunoglobulin levels Meghan has frequent infections that often require antibiotics for resolution.  She suffers with gastrointestinal distress with each course, and needs to avoid gluten and soy.  She also has an allergy to dairy.

Meghan’s medical challenges are far-reaching.  She has had 18 surgeries, 8 of which have been on her right knee.  There was an arteriovenous malformation (AVM) in that knee.  While it has been controlled, the long-term effects will last forever.  Meghan has leg and foot discrepancies on her right side.  The blood was restricted from flowing to her right foot for so long, that it stopped growing 6 years ago.  The left foot is a full size larger than the right foot.  That right-sided weakness has been repeatedly treated in physical therapy, but still presents as a struggle with stairs, and long walks.  While she endures these activities, they can cause pain and excessive fatigue, and extra time may be necessary between classes located far apart.

Meghan had her thyroid removed in 2014 and the resulting need for synthetic medication has yet to be regulated.  Her current endocrinologist follows her 4 times a year, adjusting, tailoring, and trying to balance her levels.

Meghan had 2 D&C procedures during 7th grade.  Those procedures yielded precancerous tissue in her uterus and prompted the need for birth control pills to try to stop the cellular growth.  Those pills have also been difficult to regulate and balance.

Meghan has been hospitalized countless times in addition to her surgeries.  She has also undergone over 30 MRIs and close to 10CT scans, each requiring IV.  She spends countless hours being poked and prodded at doctors, monitoring her cancer risks.  She is acutely aware of her mortality at an age when most teens are barely aware of their social interests.

In the spring of 2017 Meghan was diagnosed with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, secondary to extensive medical trauma.  She was also diagnosed with major depressive disorder.

In the fall of 2017 Meghan began to develop panic attacks.  Subsequently, she has also been treated for panic and generalized anxiety disorder.

She sees a social worker weekly and has guidance on her IEP in school.  She sees a psychiatrist monthly who manages the medication, which currently consists of and antidepressant and another script for panic attacks.

The panic attacks were well controlled for a time, but flare up in acute anxiety.  This summer saw several severe episodes.  We are working together to help her through all of this.

Meghan is waiting for a service dog, which should arrive in the next 4-6 months, to address the PTSD.  In the mean time, we are teaching strategies to deal with necessary stress, and tools to eliminate unnecessary stress.

I presented this document to the team to update the IEP.  I was a little startled when I was met first with a challenge on the diagnoses.  No problem I told them.  I would send the doctor’s notes.

I love her school, I do.  But, I was in fact also told “She doesn’t LOOK sick”  and “She doesn’t LOOK stressed.”  While I had to breathe a few times before responding, I came up with “You’re welcome…”

We’ve worked quite hard on all of that.  My girl has goals.  Life goals.

Last week Meghan was approached to remove the section regarding the D&Cs from the document above.  She declined.  She was pushed, and told the information was “far too personal.”

Forever practical, Meghan reminded them the document was about her, and should include factual information.

Again pressed, she reminded the staff she helped write the document they were holding.  She wanted and NEEDED her teachers to understand the validity behind her anxiety and PTSD symptoms.

The final time they told her the information was too personal she reminded them that she had done nothing wrong, and had nothing to be embarrassed about.  Meghan is a factual child.  She likes actual truth being reported.  She knows better than to be embarrassed about truth.  She knows ugly truth is a real part of life with Cowden’s Syndrome.  She also knows that secrets give power to things that don’t deserve it.

These things happened to her.

She did not ask for them.

She did not cause them.

She will not hide them.

She will not apologize for them.

She will not let them define her.

But the things that happen to us do change us.  HOW they change us is the only thing we can work to control.

I will continue to work the Mom end to get this updated.

I am beyond proud of her growing confidence, and her desire to educate.

I am proud of her desire to be a scholar and an athlete in spite of all the adversity.

I am proud of her respect for the clock as she grows as a swimmer, and her desire to be the same as everyone else, by beating the same clock.

My girl is, and shall remain

#beatingcowdens

And that is why we continue to work on the journey towards treatments and a cure.

Please consider joining us or making a contribution.  You can reach us at jfrg.pten@gmail.com

When you reach the end of your rope…

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There is no other choice really.  We must hang on.  We must always hang on.

So often this is easier said than done.

Last weekend I stayed up all night Saturday digging out from under a pile of nonsense on my desk.  It was regular stuff that I had let pile up.  It was junk.  And it was medical bills.

There were 7.  Not explanations of benefits, but actual bills.

I am fortunate to be fully capable of paying my medical bills.  The part that is so often a struggle is sorting out WHICH bills NEED to be paid.  Between Meghan and I we are at at LEAST 2 appointments a week.  And that is a really good week.  Some are close, and some are far, but they are still blocks in our daily calendar.

I try to remain very organized about where we were on which day – but it is a formidable task that sometimes gets away from me.  Both of our insurance companies have moved to electronic storage of claim status, which is really helpful.  Except for my husband’s, my secondary, which won’t allow me access to my records, in some twisted HIPPA attempt to protect me.

But, I digress.  It was about 5 AM on Sunday and I was tired but pleased.  I had pared down the pile and was left staring at these bills.  I sorted, cross referenced the bills to processed claims, and printed what was necessary.  Only one of the 7 was for something I actually owed.  The others were clipped with notes to assist me when I got around to teaching people how to do their job billing when there are two insurances.  When I could combine the energy with time to spend on the phone, during business hours, while working a full-time job.

I was ready to leave for the grocery store by 6:30 AM.  I am grateful for the stamina that allows me to pull that off every once in a while.

I got to thinking about it though, and its been on my mind all week.

We seem to have a good handle on #beatingcowdens.  But, really the day-to-day living with it is not for the faint of heart.  It is that day-to-day that is wearing on me.

We are, my daughter and I, the “healthiest looking sick people” you’d ever want to meet.  I am grateful.  I am lonely.  I am tired.

One thing blurs into another.  Someone asked me how I was spending my weekend, and I replied, “trying to return to zero.”  I think she thought I was nuts.  I have long passed hope of relaxation or socialization.  The schedule is so insane that the weekends are for getting it all re-set.

It’s not all bad.  Some of it is swim practice and theater- normal teenage runs.  I don’t mind those.

And even though our physical therapist, and our chiropractor are lovely, I would prefer to meet them for a social call than so often at their offices.  The orthopedist is a delight.  So smart, and so personable.  Yet- visits every three months I could do without.

Every step seems hard.  I have the unshakable sense that not many people do their job with integrity or pride.  There is so much energy getting through each day, that the residual battles over copays and forms can sometimes be too much.

It seems that any variation to the tightly planned schedule which balances practice and appointments (often layering many things into one day at precise intervals) sets off a chain reaction that is hard to recover from.

Which brings me to the problem of when things go off track completely.

The ‘Lymphangiomas’ on my spleen were first found in 2012 after my diagnosis.  They were an incidental finding during the many screenings I underwent during that time frame.  They were to be monitored via ultrasound.

They grew.  A bunch.  And they keep right on growing.  Annual ultrasound monitors their measurements.  Currently there are at least 4 of them and they are bigger than the spleen itself.

You may not remember, but in November I drove myself to the Emergency Room when I was concerned about this very same spleen. November Post- “You Might Have Cowden’s Syndrome if…”

It held on then, and I was released.

The most recent ultrasound was in April.  One of those lymphangiomas grew a centimeter in 2 of three directions.  That’s quite a bit of growth.

They are benign.  They are vascular.  They are growing.  I am not.  We are battling for space.  I am stalling on the inevitable.

I know exactly where my spleen is.  I can trace it at all times.  It is not painful, but really annoying.  I’m trying not to let it bother me.  Its kind of like a friend who will soon be moving away, forever.  I will miss it when its gone.

I’m used to surgeries that send me on my way in hours.  This one seems a little more dicey.

The oncologist said, “It’s not cancer, so we’ll deal with it when you’re symptomatic…”

This week I met a new primary care doctor.  She was fine.  I’ll need her for pre operative clearance.  Lesson learned during the February surgery debacle was to have a “primary” available.  I have a great deal to teach her.  Maybe she will want to learn.  At least she will be able to complete necessary paperwork so someone can check their boxes.

Checkbox with green tick

She examined me, and then the area where my spleen is housed.  She was confused as to why it is still in my body.

She had a suggestion for a doctor.  I asked if she knew a surgeon.  Her plan was to send me to a gastroenterologist to see who he thought I should go see.

Like I said, she’s got a lot to learn, and we don’t have time for unnecessary stops.

I found the surgeon I want to meet.  I read all about 15 surgeons from 4 hospitals.  I want  to try him first.

I sent an email to my oncologist to see who she recommends.  Not only was I not thrilled, I was more sure that I want to meet the one I picked out.

Last week the hospital that manages my care wanted me to see a genetic oncologist.  I called for an appointment.  They wanted my genetic testing.  Then they told me I would see a counselor first.  I explained there was no way I was spending time with someone who knew less about my disease than me so they could tell me about the effects of the diagnosis.

Nope.  Double mastectomy.  Hysterectomy.  About ready to lose my spleen.  Kid with 18 surgeries.  I’ve got this.  It’s relentless.  I know.  And I have no time to be told again.

So, the appointment I was requesting was with the “director” and there are “steps”.

Not to sound too arrogant, but I don’t need anyone I have to jump through hoops for.

I sent an appointment request on-line to the surgeon I want to meet.  He deals with abdominal tumors all the time.  Of course, not splenic lymphangiomas, being that this article says there are only 189 cases from 1939-2010! But, he spends his life operating in that area.  He’ll be my guy.

From – http://www.archivesofpathology.org/doi/full/10.5858/arpa.2013-0656-RS?code=coap-site

And if he’s not – I’ll find another.

I’m not sure when, but I know in my heart it’s not if anymore.  This has been the long goodbye for my spleen.

Now the plan is to get it all set up on my terms before it becomes a medical emergency.

Game on.

Tick tock.

I’ve got a really strong knot at the end of my rope.  I’ll climb back up.  Until then, I’ll just hang out right here…

#beatingcowdens

 

 

Dear Meghan… Mother’s Day 2018

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Dear Meghan,

Almost 15 years ago you entered this world kicking and screaming.  You scared the heart out of us, the doctors, and the nurses.  The NICU nurses called you “Miss Attitude”.  Even in distress that August day you showed them all you were not to take anything without a fight.  You made me a Mom under the craziest circumstances, and looking back, maybe they were fitting.  How could we know back then, when we were discharged, a few days later, and all of NYC went black in the blackout that no one will forget, that was just the beginning of all things epic?

I look at you now, taller than me, beautiful and smart, athletic and talented, and I burst with pride.  You are good in your core.  You are pure in your heart.  You hold yourself to a fiercely high standard, and you hold others there too.

We’ve long passed the point where summarizing your history is easy, or even practical.  Truth is, most people’s heads would explode to hold inside the medical journeys we’ve taken, and the emotional bumps and bruises along the way.

You made a decision many years ago, that your struggles would be only part of you, and that they would NEVER define you.  You want to achieve, and you do achieve, in spite of your struggles, and not because of them.

Most Magical Moment

Facing your teen years with the cloud of Cowden’s Syndrome always hanging nearby is daunting, to say the least.  You possess knowledge, statistics and realities about your own body that no one your age should have to try to understand.  You have more memories of trips into and out of operating rooms than most people would ever know in a lifetime.  You have been held down, poked, prodded and examined so many times, even I sometimes try to forget.  You have been through Physical Therapy and rehabilitation so frequently that we have the numbers for multiple surgeons and the best PT in the world, saved into speed dial.

Before you were 11 the threat of cancer stole your thyroid, and as normal teenage hormones kicked in, yours were just a bit more complex.  Precancerous cells in your uterus before the age of 12 necessitated more synthetic hormones, and your body… sigh.  Beat up and abused, no wonder it gets annoyed.

The PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) diagnosis was not a shock, rather the exclamation point on the end of a very long sentence.  Before the start of the next paragraph, in what will be a very long story…

The struggle to deal with it takes place mostly behind closed doors, and most people would have no idea.

You just keep going.

It’s not a sprint, it’s a marathon.

The longer, and harder the battle, the more determined you become.

You excel at school.  You continue to make strides at swim.  You are learning to use the beautiful voice you were gifted with.

You are my pride, my privilege, my daughter and my friend.

You have strengthened my resolve.  You have helped me fine tune my “Mamma Bear”.

You have helped me learn self-restraint when I have had to allow you to handle things on your own.

You have helped me become a better human.

Sometimes, my dear, I want to scream, as your stubborn, rigid, principled self, clashes with my “I want to fix it” attitude.  And yet, I count myself lucky in this day and age to have a daughter who is so sure of her principles that she will not bend to the whim of the crowd.

I wish for you the ability to find joy and laughter.  I wish for you, to be able to smile among the good people you meet, and allow them into your world.  I wish for that the  kind souls you meet are able to understand that there is more to you than initially meets the eye.

I want you to know that you are good enough, and that you are enough.  Yet, I want you to remain hungry and goal oriented and kind and compassionate too.

A wise woman (your grandma) once told me, you do more changing in your 20s than you ever do in your teens.  You will continue to grow and learn and change, and develop your personality.  Set your goals, meet them, exceed them, or rewrite them.  Life is fluid, and full of change.

No matter how hard things get, never ever lose HOPE, and NEVER GIVE UP.

You gave me a beautiful necklace today.  The compliment of being referred to as “Wonder Woman” is about as high praise as a mom of a teen could ask for.

If I possess those qualities they are because of you.

We will continue to take this long journey.  The road will never be smooth.  But I would take no other path if it meant traveling without you.

Together we remain #beatingcowdens.

Thank you my dear.  Thank you for allowing me to be part of your world.

Thank God for selecting me as your mother.

Love you always,

Mom