Tag: pain

Forced Pause…

Published on by beatingcowdens1 Comment

My sister had a series of hamsters when we grew up.  I don’t remember how many.  I actually don’t remember much besides the smell of the cage, and the wheel they used to run in.  They never seemed to tire of it, and each spent long periods of their day there.  Maybe it’s because they were caged with few other options.  Maybe they didn’t know any better.

Regardless, I’ve thought about those hamsters a lot lately.

I feel very much like we live on the wheel.  Every day is centered around executing a well-oiled machine where an insane amount of activities, assignments, and appointments fit into a tiny window.  So at an early hour we hop into the wheel in a sense, and we run all day.

When you’re in the wheel you may think about nothing except for the next task.  Or you may wonder if there is a better way to get through the day.  You may long for a break from the routine and the schedule.  You may wonder what you’d do if…

We are chronically busy.  Sometimes out of necessity and sometimes by design.  Sometimes, in the case of those of us with chronic illness it is a little of both.

In my house we are busily maintaining health, through frequent appointments and therapies.  We are also busy trying to fit a regular life around it.  There is constant motion.

Until there isn’t.

I spent so many moments wishing I could take things a little slower.  I wished I could have some time, for a full nights sleep, to clean my house the way I want it, to visit with friends, to take long walks, and…

And now I’m here.

A January foot injury at work has morphed into a monster that refuses to heal.  Stress and strain and alternate gait patterns protecting the original injury continue to set the healing process in the wrong direction.  A stress fracture of  the cuboid bone continued to worsen.  It’s now my first official “fracture.”

It is time for me to pause.

This time there is no rushing out of the boot.  There is no making believe its all ok.  There is waiting.  Resting. Minimal weight bearing.  There will be additional imaging to clear the healing before I head to physical therapy.  There are only very short car trips to doctor’s appointments and to transport my girl.

I am here.  In my house.  Alone.

And it sounded to heavenly when I was dreaming about it in the middle of the chaos of the day to day.

Now it sounds a lot like the tick-tock of the clock hanging over my head.

It feels a lot different when I have to let someone else teach my students.

It is not as productive as I’d hoped, since all the cleaning and sorting and organizing I promised myself if I ever had time is currently off limits with the whole restricted movement thing.

It is a battle not to let my head overthrow me with its worry about “real” Cowden’s issues that may at any point smack us in the face.  It is tough not to think about the backlog of surgeries that will come, but have now been placed in triage.

And yet I have to make a choice.

There was a very inspirational GoalCast in my Facebook feed this morning.

Claire Wineland Dies at 21 and Leaves Beautiful Message

And I’d encourage you to watch it if you have a moment.

Her life was way more challenging than mine.  Yet she made a choice that I still struggle with sometimes.

These last few months without the proper use of my feet have often left me battling depression.  I do not have it all together, or have an inspirational message as this young woman left behind in her short time on earth.

What I do know is if I choose to wallow in this I will miss the “pause” that has been placed in front of me.

Instead I will make the conscious choice to make what I can do, more fulfilling.

I am going to try to write a lot more.  I am going to have some people visit.  I am going to handle a few “sitting down projects” that are in my path. I am going to open the windows and appreciate the fall weather even if I can’t walk in it this year.

I’m going to look at my orchids, and their beauty and crazy, stubborn irregularities that make them magical for me.

I am giving small pieces of my life back to reflectiveness and prayer and simple mindfulness.

Someone took the wheel out of my cage.

For however long it’s gone, it’s on me to decide how to view it.

If you take the time to watch the link above you’ll understand when I say today I am looking to add some lights and a few throw pillows.

This is not easy.  If you’re reading this you likely go through hard things too.

I am a work in progress.  Thankfully God’s not finished with me yet.

I’ll be here with my feet up.

This too will pass eventually.

#beatingcowdens

Six Wheels and a Boot

Published on by beatingcowdens4 Comments

At any given point during our 10 days in Disney, our party of three also had six wheels and a boot.

We must have looked unusual to anyone who passed us by.

I traveled with a virtual pharmacy in my purse, which is really simply a string bag on my back, because who really wants to be fancy anyway?

The week before we left we had a PILE of appointments.  I think I lost count at 17 in the 5 days.  One of them was the orthopedist Meghan sees a few times a year.  He was catching up on the new diagnosis of Ehler’s-Danlos Syndrome, paying careful attention to her knee, which by all accounts has been her ‘Achilles heel’ her whole life.   There had been pain in that knee for weeks prior, which is always a concern.  One of the surgeries she has had repeatedly has been to correct the tracking of the patella.  Anxiety is warranted.

This doctor suggested an MRI to confirm the knee was tracking correctly.  He also said that she was ‘not to walk consecutive distances longer than one block’ at least until the pain in the knee settled.  He prescribed a painkiller and a muscle relaxant.  He told me she was not to walk the parks in Disney. She needed to spend most of the day confined to a wheelchair.  And while there is gratitude for the temporary nature of this situation, there is a mental and emotional adjustment to enduring it.

This was not a totally new arrangement for us, as the knee has limited her walking in the past.  However, there is always the hope that with age things will change.  And while Meghan is healthier and stronger than I have ever seen her, the realities of Ehler’s-Danlos and its wear and tear on the connective tissue are real and very present.  So, out came the wheelchair.

And, one of my appointments was an MRI follow up for the foot that has been a disaster since I fell at work January 8th.

The initial fall partially tore the lisfranc ligament.  Which might have been easier to recover from, except ligaments don’t show on xray.  So the initial diagnosis was a sprain.  Which was treated with 5 days rest.  Then 2 weeks later when the pain was more than it should have been and my primary asked for an MRI, GHI decided I didn’t need one yet and I could wait 6 more weeks.  So, I forced the foot into a shoe for a total of 8 weeks post injury before I couldn’t stand it anymore.  At that point an MRI finally picked up the partial tear.

I was booted for about 6 weeks.  I was pulled out of work and off my foot, but largely too little too late.  I returned and handled the foot conservatively, waiting to feel better.  Or at least closer to being able to walk like I did on January 7th.

Every other week there have been check ups at the podiatrist.  Two visits to a specialist in NYC. Days blended into weeks and my patience started to wear thin.  I began Physical Therapy, but even the PT was baffled by the amount of pain in the foot and encouraged me to keep looking for answers.

A repeat MRI was scheduled for 8/2.  I obtained the results on 8/14.  While the pain in the foot should have been an indicator, I was not prepared to hear that I needed to return to the walking boot, as I had a likely stress fracture in the cuboid bone, and a neuroma in between my second and third toes.   This mess courtesy of my body compensating to protect the lisfranc ligament while it healed.  I had unconsciously shifted all my weight to the outer part of my foot.  I was to limit my walking.  By that night I was back in my walking boot ordering a knee scooter for the trip to Disney.

I remember after the fall in January, and even after the diagnosis in March, feeling so happy that I would at least be healed and back to walking before our trip.  The best laid plans…

So when we headed out for a 5AM flight on 8/18, we had all our suitcases, a wheelchair and a knee scooter.  We checked three bags, and Felix pushed Meghan while I scooted behind.  We were a sight.

And after waking up at 2:30 for our flight and traveling via scooter through the Magic Kingdom, I wanted nothing more than to go home.  Immediately.  I felt like I had done a bad step aerobics video over and over on only my left thigh and butt cheek.  You might not realize the strain on the thigh when you rest the knee with a way-too-heavy boot hanging off the back.  There was just no way I was going to make it.

So Monday morning I released Meghan and Felix to the Magic Kingdom.  I sat in the hotel room.  I cried for about 10 minutes.  I called my mom. I made a cup of tea.  And then I made a plan.

I researched a new set of eyes to consult on the foot when I arrived home.  I rearranged our return flight to a more civil time to I could book an appointment for the 29th with confidence.  I stretched.  I took way too much Advil.

And sometime that morning between the NSAIDs and the caffeine, I started to feel the magic.  I sat on the hotel balcony.  I strengthened my resolve.

I am not sure at all why it seems everything is so hard.  I couldn’t fathom why I had sent my otherwise healthy kid off in a wheelchair, while I sweated inside a walking boot,  all the while healing from the Fine Needle Aspiration thyroid biopsy two days prior for thyroid nodules recurring on my previously quiet and well-behaved remaining thyroid lobe. (Partial thyroidectomy 1993 – dx multinodular goiter, 18 years before I had ever HEARD of Cowden’s Syndrome)

In that moment most of what we were facing had nothing at all to do with Cowden’s.  And yet, the same choice existed in that moment.  I had to decide that I was going to make the best of it.  I had to decide that I was not giving up my family vacation for more medical nonsense.  I had to decide to find a way to enjoy.  Because the struggles, the pain, and the drama would all be waiting for me at home whether I found the “magic” or not.

All the positive thinking in the world was not going to make anyone’s pain go away.  Not even a stomach burning amount of Advil and a few strong cocktails could do that.  But, I am a huge believer in a positive mindset.  And in that Monday morning overlooking the Hawaii themed resort, things started to fall into place in my mind and my heart.

We get 2 weeks a year to spend as a family, free of other obligations.  We get 2 weeks a year.  And I wasn’t going to waste it.

I joined them later that day, and never left them again.  We traveled together – a family of three, six wheels and a boot.  We laughed a lot, we argued a little, and generally found the best in each other.  We met up with my sister and her family for a super fun night together. 

We got to Mickey’s ‘Not So Scary’ Halloween Party for the first time.  We saw more characters than we’ve seen since she was quite young.

Finally, after many years of staring at the giant “Hot Air Balloon” in Disney Springs, I got myself on.  Because, Why not?  Magical.

 

We found that our resort had a stand serving dairy free Dole Whip – the first time my 16 year old ever had soft serve.  Magical.

 

Some people wonder how we do the same vacation year after year.  They wonder how we don’t tire of it all.  For us, there is a magic that can’t be explained, only felt.  There is wonder in eating safely in restaurants and having access to a bakery free of gluten, dairy and soy.  There is joy in eliminating something so basic as food isolation, and sharing meals, sometimes as a family of three, and other times with some Disney friends.

Even Donald was checking on my boot!

There is magic running into Pluto in the lobby of your resort, or finding the Seven Dwarfs waiting to meet your family.

There is magic in roller coaster selfies, and Figment reminding us to use our imagination.

There is magic in all things familiar, and always finding something new.

There is magic when you seek it, even with six wheels and a boot.

Because there will always be battles to fight.  So sometimes they can just wait 2 weeks.

The foot problem is not solved.  It’s time to find some serious answers.  I won’t open the school year for the first time in 22 years.  These next few weeks will be about making plans to heal.

There is no magical solution for my foot.  There will be more MRIs, and more doctors.

My patience will be tested in new ways.  I am not sure what to expect, and that makes me nervous.

But there will never be a single second that I regret adding 4 wheels and a boot to my own self to enjoy and appreciate the magic with my family.

I know the body can not heal if you don’t nourish the soul.

#beatingcowdens

 

 

Sweet Sixteen

Published on by beatingcowdens6 Comments

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Dear Meghan,

When we started this journey I never would have chosen this path for you.  I never would have selected a life of hospitalizations, tests, rare diseases and pain.  I would have chosen an easy life for you.  But, I didn’t get to choose.

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And, maybe that’s better.  Don’t get me wrong.  Everything that you have endured is overwhelming.  I wish I could take it away.  But, this adversity and these struggles, they have guided you as you have become a young woman I could not be more proud of.

This has been a twisty and winding road, and we are still only at the beginning.

Since you were very young you have had an unimaginable determination to accomplish whatever you set your mind to.  You never cease to amaze me.

From the days of Early Intervention and CPSE Speech/OT and PT, you just never quit.

You decided early on that you would do well in school.  And you exceed any expectation I’ve ever had.  You continue to seek classes because you genuinely want to learn new things.  You want to be your best self.

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You have always had the heart of an athlete.  You tried every sport you could and constantly had to reroute due to pain. Then, you landed in the pool.  The pain there is pain you can manage.  You are continuing to set, meet, exceed and reset goals.  Despite some seemingly insurmountable physical obstacles, you are an athlete.

You are deeply principled, a trait that has made you the young woman you are becoming.  It also makes me want to scream out loud some days.  Sometimes balancing socially was a struggle.  You look for the good.  You make your decisions based on the heart of the people you are with.  You would not compromise your beliefs. You had patience.  You have friends now who love you for being “fiercely yourself.”

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You have faith.  You believe in a God who loves us all.  You believe in GRACE and forgiveness, and even though you haven’t had a traditional church upbringing, I am proud of the questions you ask, and your desire to learn.  I am mostly proud of your heart.

Every day you are growing, stronger, wiser, and more confident.  Every day you are seeking out ways to improve.  You are constantly reflecting and growing.

No one outside of our home can fully understand this journey.  And while having TWO rare diseases I think may give us magical unicorn status or something, there is no one I’d rather have to traverse these trails with.

I could go on forever.  My heart spills over with love when I think of the young woman you have become.  I am full of anticipation and excitement about where the journey will lead you.

Know that forever and for always I will always be your biggest cheerleader and your most vocal advocate.  Know that I love you to the moon and back times infinity.  FOREVER!

Remember – sometimes we don’t get to pick our path.  Yet, if we open our hearts we can make the bumpy roads the most meaningful.

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I love you more – ALWAYS

Happy Sweet Sixteen!  Enjoy the day!

xoxo

Mom

And if you’ll take a bit of motherly advice – most of it can be found in these three songs….

I Hope You Dance…

 

Always Stay Humble and Kind

 

And, Know When To Hold ‘Em…

 

Forever #beatingcowdens (and #hEDS) with you!

Rare -ER? More Rare? Where to Begin?

Published on by beatingcowdens6 Comments
A new diagnosis came our way this week.  On top of the existing one.  I have wavered between frustration and relief.  I have felt some questions answered and developed a lot of new ones.  My girl got her words together before I did…
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My name is Meghan. I am a 15 year old high school student. I just finished my second year of high school in a place I love. I am an A+ student, who loves to learn. I am in all honors classes. I strive to learn and grow as much as I am able. I live, laugh and love. I hang out with my friends. I lay outside and tan. I take my dog for walks. I swim for a competitive travel team where I work my butt off in the water 6/7 days in a week. I improve. I grow. I train. To anyone who only knew me superficially, it’d seem like I was living the dream. I’ve got a couple close friends, good parents, a nice house, a dog who loves me. It’s perfect. Right? Wrong.

Here’s the other side of my life most people don’t know; I’ve got some shitty genetic luck. Because on the inside, I am far from an ordinary high school student with the perfect house and parents.
I was diagnosed with my first- yes that’s right, my first- rare genetic disorder when I was eight years old. By then I’d already had so many surgeries it was hard to keep count, and a bunch of random medical problems that never seemed to add up. That disorder is Cowden’s Syndrome. It’s a mutation on the PTEN gene that causes benign and malignant tumors, increasing cancer risks and letting things pop up all over my body that hurt like a mother.
I’ve lived with this disorder my entire life. Hospitals, waiting rooms, specialists, MRI’s, and every other extremely uncomfortable medical situation you can think of became my life. To date, I’ve had 18 surgeries, multiple procedures, over 30 hospital visits, and 25+ MRI’s that have put wayyyy to much metal into my body. From countless medical traumas I’ve developed PTSD, anxiety, and depressive disorders. What doesn’t help that is the fact that I’m always in pain. I fight every damn day. I fight to live my life, and to get my body to the levels that others can reach with half the effort.
Now here’s the best part, so I’ve got a crazy smart mom, who wouldn’t stop poking around to figure out the other piece to this puzzle. Because, we both knew Cowden’s wasn’t it. There was something more, because this debilitating chronic pain in a relatively healthy 15 year old, plus other random symptoms that just didn’t add up, had to come from somewhere. So, we went back to my geneticist. And, guess what? We BOTH got our SECOND rare genetic diagnosis. hEDS( the hyper mobile sub type of Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome). Fun, right?
I know it’s a lot to write at once. It may seem crazy to anyone else who lays eyes on this post. But guess what? One very valuable life lesson I’ve learned from living this life is to stop giving so much of a damn what other people think.
Just live. ❤

Until inspiration strikes again!
(Or I’ve got some unusual free time 😉)
Meghan
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#beatingcowdens  AND #hEDS…  I guess some updating may be in order…

Behind the Scenes…

Published on by beatingcowdens1 Comment

We don’t post the awful pictures.  We leave out the ones where we look less than our best.  Social media allows us to live in the delusion that everyone’s life is “perfect.”

I’ll be the first to admit the ugly truth.  It’s far from perfect.  It’s not neat or clean.  There is no bow.  And yes, most of the time I do delete the awful ones.  Those images and experiences are seared into my soul.

I prefer to go with the theory that the body forgets pain…  At least your own.  It’s how we survive.  But, if you live watching a loved one in pain – you know the memory will not slip even a tiny bit.  If you hold your child as they cry out in pure agony, or when they are weak from fever, you can remember where you were each time.  If you watch your teen wince simply through a series of steps, or check to make sure they are breathing as they sleep the better part of two or three days at a clip – you don’t forget.

Recently, Meghan was in a production of “Beauty and the Beast Jr.” with the Staten Island Children’s Theater Association, Inc.  She loves the experience of working with a theater group and has been with this one a few years now.  It is such an enjoyable time in her life.  She spends months of Saturdays with genuine quality people preparing for the show.

Meghan as “Madame de la Grande Bouche”

And during those same months she is thriving academically.

And training for swimming.

And making regular appointments, routine, follow-up, and therapy.

And contending with seasonal allergies that are nothing less than relentless.

And, she is, every single day a person living with Cowden’s Syndrome and the effects it has on her, both physically and emotionally.

The show was almost 2 weeks ago.  It took me a little bit to get my thoughts together.

I think I have it now.

Living with chronic illness, chronic pain, chronic life altering physical ailments, is in some ways similar to putting on a production.

You set your sights on what you want to accomplish – large or small.  In some cases it’s going to a party, and in other’s it’s going to the backyard.  But, you plan for it.  You practice it.  You consider every detail.  You may have to select the right costume and even stage it so you don’t sit or stand for too long.  You know just what your body can do and there is a short window where you have to make it all work.

The rest of the time you are backstage.

You are in pin curls and shorts with a tank top.

You are rubbing your feet.  You don’t have make-up.  Backstage and rehearsals, these are what life is made of.  But, we don’t take the camera out while we are there.

Everyone’s preparation is different.  I can only write about ours and confidently say everyone has some level of preparation before the “show”.  Some people make it onto the stage more often than others.  Some people have fewer performances, but make them count as much as they can.  Those people take nothing for granted because they have no idea when they will step out into the “stage” again.

That’s what social media looks like to me, anyway.  Every picture is on the stage.  Some have more than others.  But, because of the world we live in it is easy to judge based on what we see without considering what we DON’T see.

The night of the show Meghan went to the diner with her friends.  She got home close to midnight.  It was Sunday, and a school night, and I had already decided she’d stay home the next day.  It wasn’t a reward.  It was a necessity.  The amount of energy her body had expended could not be recovered quickly.  She slept until 2pm the next day, and was asleep again by 9.

I sent her to school that Tuesday – ready to roll.  She swam at 5am, did a full day of school, an hour of physical therapy and another 2.5 hours of swim practice.

Probably not the best plan.

The physical therapy is in place to try to strengthen her overall.  Joint laxity, ligaments subluxing… all sorts of cracking, popping and shifting.  The search for answers is on, but in the mean time we do PT…

By Wednesday she couldn’t move.  She made it to school – barely.

Her IEP meeting was that afternoon, and we had lengthy conversations about all sorts of physical and emotional needs relating to school.  We also spoke at length about the service dog we are in a holding pattern waiting for, and how he will fit in to the big picture.  So many questions…

Thursday we got in the car to go to school.  By 7:30 I had her back in her bed.  She just could not.  She slept until early afternoon Thursday, followed it with and early bedtime and slept again until early afternoon Friday.  There was a little less sleep as the days went on but it was a slow process.

The show that was so incredibly worth it in every way – cost her a full week in recovery time.  Her body hurt so deeply.  This is not an out of shape child.  This is a person living with a chronic pain and illness that is affecting her body in ways not even the doctors fully comprehend yet.

But I didn’t post pictures of her wincing in agony, or sleeping for days.

To the outside world she doesn’t look sick.  She’s 5 foot 8, full of muscle and extremely well-rounded.

She works hard at it.

Some days are easier than others.  But every day she works.  She is fierce and relentless and she does not quit.

Next time you catch a photo of her smiling or singing in a pretty dress know that it took a lot of staging to pull that off, and there will likely be a lot of recovery on the back end.

But, she wouldn’t have it any other way.  Not for a moment.  She is my inspiration to 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

 

 

Normal People Stuff

Published on by beatingcowdens1 Comment

Two weeks of as much rest as I can possibly stand.

The trouble with having a rare disease, as I’ve said so many times before, is that you ALSO have real life.  You ALSO have “normal people stuff.”

After that early January fall, I was quite consumed with my shoulder, and pretty bothered by the flippant attitude of my breast surgeon.  All of which still stew inside of me as the real possibilities of breast implant associated illnesses are all over the news this week.

Just one of the many stories this week outlining a possibility. That’s where it begins. With someone saying it “could” be. 

And then there was the new endocrinologist on March 12th.  It was a backwards progression of sorts.  A referral from the surgeon who has been following me since my PTEN diagnosis.  I never really settled into a new endocrinologist after I disagreed with my long standing one in 1998.  He was bothered by my questions.  I bounced in and out of a few.  I found them mostly arrogant and out of touch.  I held with one during my pregnancy in 2003, but ditched him soon after my C-section.  I had a primary running bloodwork, and I was guiding treatment based on my labs until the Cowden’s Syndrome surfaced.

At that point I was handed off to an endocrine surgeon.  The possibility that the half of my thyroid which remained after a partial thryoidectomy in 1993 could fall into the 35% lifetime risk of thyroid cancer that comes along with a PTEN mutation was real.  We agreed on annual follow-ups using the ultrasound in her office.  All was smooth until February 26th, when she saw some calcifications on the ultrasound.  She got spooked and wanted a “fresh pair of eyes.”  She referred me to an endocrinologist in her hospital.

He sent me for a “proper” ultrasound before my appointment.  He then, with some promising knowledge of what a “Cowden’s” thyroid looks like, went through the images from the exam.  He told me that there were some potentially concerning features, but nothing that appeared urgent.  He questioned why I had not been using the formal ultrasound at the hospital, as there was now no baseline to compare it to.  In another episode of wondering why I don’t ask enough questions about my own care, I had to let it pass…

He told me the radiologist would read the ultrasound with more concern than he did.  He was right.  So there will be another ultrasound in August.  We’ll talk about the status of that right thyroid lobe then.  In the mean time he offered me a change of medication that in 30 years on Synthroid no doctor has ever entertained.  Monday I will begin a lower dose of Synthroid combined with a twice a day dose of T3, liothyronine, in hopes that I might get some of my sought after energy back.  With a standing order every 3 weeks to monitor blood levels, at this point, I have nothing to lose.

So back in circle to the “normal people stuff” intertwined in this balancing act.   April 18th is still the earliest day to contend with the chronic ear pain and fluid I’ve been handling since September.  It doesn’t matter that it has headed into my mouth and is bothering my teeth.  That it is somehow messing with the nerves so badly that I ended up with a root canal specialist yesterday.  Of course, she won’t touch the painful tooth because no one can know exactly what is in my ear.  Pain management.  Maybe it’s Cowden’s.  Maybe it’s allergies.  Maybe it’s simple.  Maybe it isn’t.

And then there is that foot. Snagged on a kids chair in a third grade classroom in the middle of teaching a lesson.  It knocked me on the floor.  I was so worried about the shoulder, and the breast implant that I ignored the foot.  At least I tried to.

About 2 weeks after the fall I saw my primary and asked for help.  She suggested an MRI.  GHI promptly denied the MRI and told me to ice and elevate as much as I could, and reevaluate in 6 weeks.  I was left with no choice but to continue a job that kept me more hours on my feet than off.  By March 6th I couldn’t take the pain anymore and headed to a podiatrist.  He evaluated the foot, ordered Xrays, and got them read within hours.  By the next day he had the MRI approved and I went in for the exam.  About 72 hours later I got a call asking me to come in to discuss the results.

That’s never an actual good sign.

So when I walked into the office in two sneakers, I kind of suspected that I wasn’t going to leave in both of them.  And I was right.

MRI revealed a partial tear of the lisfranc ligament in the left foot.  Apparently this is an incredibly rare injury, (insert shock and surprise here) that the podiatrist anticipated before the MRI.  Apparently you can only get this injury through a twist and fall, you know, like catching it on a student’s chair mid-step.

I got a soft cast, and a giant walking book.  I got pulled out of work for at least two weeks, with no idea when the good people who review these cases will approve this as the clear work-related injury it is.

I have another appointment with the podiatrist tomorrow.

There is State testing at work this week. I’m always there for testing.

But right now I’m actually testing my inner strength.  Resting my foot.

I’m preparing for my clearance to return to work.  I’m preparing for my ENT appointment.  I am preparing to get my ear fixed.  I am preparing to get ready to lose the other half of my thryoid.  I am preparing for another plastics consult…

And all the preparing in the world won’t matter.  Because life will come in the order it wants.  That is the lesson for Cowden’s Syndrome and real life…

The dog hair and I will be here until then….

#beatingcowdens

 

It’s This Day to Day Living…

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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

 

 

(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.

Published on by beatingcowdens2 Comments

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