Anna's Journey

My name is Tiffany, I am Anna's younger sister. As many of you know, Anna has been struggling with continued health issues over the past few years. Most recently in April when she experienced pain in her lower abdomen. After several tests, doctor appointments, and antibiotics later she continued to have severe pain when using the bathroom. Finally, she was able to see her doctor in Sioux Falls who found a mass. Quickly she went in for an ultrasound and got to see the marble-sized mass with blood flow either on or in her bladder.

Anna was then referred to urology where they scoped her bladder and could see nothing but a lot of irritated tissue meaning the tumor was on the outside of her bladder. Next, she had an MRI which showed the same thing. They scheduled surgery to remove the mass on June 20th with the hope that life would go on.

On Thursday, June 13, Anna was told to quit taking ibuprofen for pain management. She started bleeding lightly then by Monday the 17th she was bleeding A LOT. She went to the doctor in Brookings and they assured her she would be fine until her surgery on Thursday. She went to work Tuesday morning but, could not handle the pain and again went back to the doctor. She was asked for a urine sample which ended up being just a cup of blood. They said it’s fine Thursday will be here soon. So, she asked Adam to keep the boys as she was feeling so weak and went home to bed. Throughout the night she became confused as to where she was and the pain continued to grow. Wednesday morning Anna called our mom and asked her to bring her food because she was so weak she couldn't make her own. She came, brought food, and decided she was taking Anna to the ER in Sioux Falls. That turned out to be the best choice.

Turns out, Anna was not fine until Thursday. When they got to the ER in Sioux Falls, Anna started to sweat, her blood pressure dropped and they quickly admitted her to Sanford in Sioux Falls. After two blood transfusions, 2 CT scans, a biopsy, surgical cauterizing, and 38 gallons of fluid they had stopped the blood clots and bleeding. They have now determined that the tumor has moved into the bladder. Anna was discharged from the hospital last Friday and was awaiting the pathology report.

The pathology report came back today (Monday, June 24th). The report is still unclear, but one thing we know for sure is that Anna's Journey is not over. She is scheduled to go to Mayo Clinic for further testing on Thursday of this week. Hopefully, after that visit, we will have a better idea of what this mass is, what the next steps will be, and how this will affect Anna.

As most everyone knows, Anna is self-employed. Her income is dependent on her being healthy and able to serve her clients. Right now, she's not able to do that to the full ability and it's really unclear what the future will look like. She's already been out of work more than she would like over the past month due to doctor appointments, unimaginable pain, and her biopsy surgery.

If you feel so inclined to help, it will not go unnoticed. I have had a few requests for how to help Anna, and really anything helps. She appreciates everyone's support, she's read every comment and well wishes. She is keeping a positive outlook and is so strong.

We will continue to update as we know more and when to expect Anna back to full capacity!

Thank you,

Tiffany