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Back in August my Mom came to me, Andrea, complaining of a sore throat where she had 2 lumps on the side of her neck under her jaw bone that was noticeable just by looking at her. She had been having this pain for the past 3 months & that was starting to worry her some. This was when all the medical appointments and testing had began.
September 2nd she developed a pretty severe infection within those lumps that ended up transferring her from Spectrum Hospital in Ludington to Buttersworth Hospital in Grand Rapids. At this point she had already completed a series of tests such as Ultra Sound and MRI of her neck. The ER doctor was able to look at those images and new we needed to jumpstart this process as soon as possible. She was at Buttersworth Hospital from September 2nd through September 6th where they performed multiple tests and a biopsy of the lumps before she was finally released to come home and do follow-up appointments from there as they were able to get the infection under control and stabilize her vitals.
The biopsy they got at Butterworth Hospital the Grand Rapids ENT was not satisfied with and wanted to have another one performed which was done at Spectrum here in Ludington and follow-up was done with Dr. Hengy our local ENT to cut back on drive time. Again, the biopsy was inconclusive and the pain she was experiencing was still there! It was very discouraging the unknown and getting so many different answers or theories for not only her but our whole family. Dr. Hengy ended up referring her to U of M where she was seen on November 20th for a biopsy from there team that specializes in cases such as this. We got conformation that she does in fact have Cancer of her left tonsil with a tumor growing near her jugular vein which has also affected 3 of her lymph nodes but it has stayed confined to just the area of the neck, THANK GOD!
She had to go back to U of M on November 27th to go over the treatment with the Radiologist and her Doctor, she will be under going Radiation and Chemo, it will be 5 days a week for 6 weeks. They were able to have treatments done in Grand Rapids to be closer to not only her home but her support system. Our mom, Lori Swathwood has not been able to work sense November 20th and she missed a lot of work even prior to November 20th due to hospitalizations and/or doctors apt's. She is officially taken off work until further notice to get through all of this.
A lot of our family, friends and people in general have been asking how they can help in this time of need. We are asking for help towards her unpaid/unforeseen medical expenses, basic living expenses, gas, etc. Anything to help her not have to endure any more additional stress where she can just focus on beating this and getting better! We appreciate ALL the love and support she has received thus far. We are all very grateful and appreciative of that! Please continue to pray for our Mom and our family in this time of need. Please help us share this and spread the word.
Thank-you for taking the time to read this and we will keep everyone posted throughout the process. Love to all!
September 2nd she developed a pretty severe infection within those lumps that ended up transferring her from Spectrum Hospital in Ludington to Buttersworth Hospital in Grand Rapids. At this point she had already completed a series of tests such as Ultra Sound and MRI of her neck. The ER doctor was able to look at those images and new we needed to jumpstart this process as soon as possible. She was at Buttersworth Hospital from September 2nd through September 6th where they performed multiple tests and a biopsy of the lumps before she was finally released to come home and do follow-up appointments from there as they were able to get the infection under control and stabilize her vitals.
The biopsy they got at Butterworth Hospital the Grand Rapids ENT was not satisfied with and wanted to have another one performed which was done at Spectrum here in Ludington and follow-up was done with Dr. Hengy our local ENT to cut back on drive time. Again, the biopsy was inconclusive and the pain she was experiencing was still there! It was very discouraging the unknown and getting so many different answers or theories for not only her but our whole family. Dr. Hengy ended up referring her to U of M where she was seen on November 20th for a biopsy from there team that specializes in cases such as this. We got conformation that she does in fact have Cancer of her left tonsil with a tumor growing near her jugular vein which has also affected 3 of her lymph nodes but it has stayed confined to just the area of the neck, THANK GOD!
She had to go back to U of M on November 27th to go over the treatment with the Radiologist and her Doctor, she will be under going Radiation and Chemo, it will be 5 days a week for 6 weeks. They were able to have treatments done in Grand Rapids to be closer to not only her home but her support system. Our mom, Lori Swathwood has not been able to work sense November 20th and she missed a lot of work even prior to November 20th due to hospitalizations and/or doctors apt's. She is officially taken off work until further notice to get through all of this.
A lot of our family, friends and people in general have been asking how they can help in this time of need. We are asking for help towards her unpaid/unforeseen medical expenses, basic living expenses, gas, etc. Anything to help her not have to endure any more additional stress where she can just focus on beating this and getting better! We appreciate ALL the love and support she has received thus far. We are all very grateful and appreciative of that! Please continue to pray for our Mom and our family in this time of need. Please help us share this and spread the word.
Thank-you for taking the time to read this and we will keep everyone posted throughout the process. Love to all!