Amanda & Peter's Recovery

Hi friends, family, and prayer warriors!

Something like this is surreal to write, definitely not something we could ever imagine having to do, but it is our current reality. We are fully trusting God, and the medical professionals our dear Amanda and Peter fall into the hands of through this process.

This is created by Bobbi (Amanda's mom), and Sam (Amanda's sister). Allow us to introduce Amanda, and some context of what has transpired into the current situation. Amanda is a mother of 3 boys, with baby boy #4 (Peter) quickly on his way. This entire pregnancy has been hard for Amanda, and while she knew pregnancy could cause nausea, increased headaches, slow "Pregnant Brain", among may other symptoms...what she has been experiencing her entire pregnancy has been anything but normal. Amanda has told the doctors in charge of her care many times over of how horribly she has been feeling, with constant headache, nausea, vomiting, dizziness, lethargy...to the point where she could not bend over, because of the immense pressure in her head. She could not play and interact as much with her toddler son. She got to the point where she could not even drive without veering off road. Her medical team had nothing to say about any of this. She is a very thin person to begin with, but has continued to lose weight throughout this pregnancy, due to how truly sick she has been.

Amanda went to the emergency room in August, hoping to get relief. She was ordered a spinal tap, MRI, labs, IV hydration and meds to ease pain and vomiting. Unbelievably, the hospital missed not one, but massive tumors AND two very large cysts, even though the emergency room staff was told she had a known brain tumor. They still chose to send her home with antinausea meds, and tylenol without second thought. Amanda got diagnosed with gestational diabetes, but her drs office essentially told her to manage until they could get her in nearly 3 weeks later. She became so sick that she was passing ketones. Researching online what she could and could not eat, yet regardless of what she did, her sugar continued to climb. She was yet again, failed by doctors.

In addition to all that was going on, Amanda's hours at work were cut, putting her in an unbelievably difficult place financially, while she was still able to work. They cut her hours to the point of her being unable to provide for her self, and her children. They should have taken the extra step to officially terminate her, so she could at least file for unemployment, get state medical insurance, and other state assistance, but they would not....they only reduced her hours to the point of living so far below the poverty threshold, but not being allowed to seek state support, or another job with competition clauses.

On Tuesday (11/28/23) Amanda was rushed to the hospital with stroke like symptoms. They discovered she has 2 massive brain tumors, and 2 separate very large cysts, with the cysts overlapping at the edges. She was transferred to U of M where they quickly evaluated her condition, and her brain tumors were discovered to have grown to massive sizes. She was conncted with a neurosurgeon at U of M who said his goal is for Amanda to leave with a healthy baby in her arms, and no tumors nor cysts. He does not want to operate with Peter in the womb for obvious reasons. U of M scrambled to get whatever imaging they could from Holland Hospital, Amanda's retina specialist, and her primary care physician to see where exactly the tumors and the cysts were located previously, to help them pinpoint where they want to open her skull for best access. The cysts are very large for where they are located. 4cm-5cm to be precise. Picture a lime.

They are going to insert essentially a shunt to relieve pressure. The cysts are taking up every mm of free space in her head. She has obstructive hydrocephalus and cerebral spinal fluid (CSF) leaking into multiple areas of her brain, pressing on her brain stem. The obstructive hydrocephalus means that it is greatly obstructing the flow of CSF. CFS is still able to flow, but very slowly. This is something that has been building for a long time very slowly. The medical team is not considering it Life-threatening, but it is definitely life-altering. The longer it's there, and the more it increases, the more it will damage her brain tissue, brain stem, everything else that the brain stem controls, like breathing, for context. That being said, they absolutely will not do an epidural or insert any needle or puncture anywhere on the spine, to avoid further upset in the the pressure in her head and causing further damage...which brings us to where we are now.

This morning (Fri 12/1/23), Amanda will be put under general anesthesia to remove baby Peter prematurely via cesarean. As soon as Peter is out safely, the neurosurgeon will step in and place the shunt. He will then do everything within his power to safely and effectively remove the brain tumors, AND the cysts. They anticipate this 3 part, multi-specialty surgery to take anywhere from 4-6 hours (which is why they have not been able to do the surgeries yet). Amanda is in for a long road to recovery, with a newborn.

With her current situation comes a multitude of financial burdens. Medical bills, co-pays, travel expenses, prescriptions, the cost of prescriptions, and newborn supplies for Peter...as well as and additional needs Peter may have, being born prematurely. Given the situation with her place of employment, she has been unable to financially prepare for time off work. Recognizing the generosity of those who love Amanda and her boys, Amanda's family has decided to start a GoFundMe campaign to help alleviate the financial strain and ensure she can focus on her recovery, her older boys Marshall, Warren, and Archer at home who have been missing their mother dearly, and are incredibly worried for her, and their baby brother Peter. If you become part of her financial support team, we would be extremely grateful. As her family we wanted to give you an opportunity to bless them in this way, as many have asked.

We are asking for:

●Prayers for Amanda, the baby, Amanda's older 3 boys, the medical team she is in the care of, and as smooth a recovery as possible

●Financial support in the coming months, as it's unknown if Amanda will be able to go back to work, and filing for disability is a lengthy process

●Meal and grocery shopping help

It is nearly impossible to update everyone via text message and we certainly wanted to tell each of you personally. Please follow along on Amanda's CaringBridge page, rather than trying to contact Amanda, or the family. We will do everything we can to update that page as much as possible with medical updates, as needs change, and as situations change. We will also post photos of baby Peter here on that page.

Thank you dearly, from the bottom of our hearts, for coming alongside Amanda in this. Again, it's something we would love to thank each of you for personally, we honestly appreciate you for visiting Amanda's page, and sharing her story with others. Please know this is the only place we will provide updates, and the only place to donate to Amanda and her children.

Visit Amanda's Site https://caringbridge.org/visit/amandagraham3

Site Name: amandagraham3