Family and friends - I wanted to reach out and update you on Anna's condition.
As many of you know, Anna has battled stage IV ovarian cancer and today is cancer free (PTL). This has truly been an ongoing battle – one that rages on even as I type this.
Roughly a year and a half after her last surgery and shortly after enrolling at Ole Miss for the 2017 Fall semester, Anna began experiencing pain in her abdomen that radiated around her right rib cage and into her upper back. She tried to fight through it, but it became more severe. Several weeks into the semester, her Mom and Dad decided to bring her home to seek treatment.
First, they wanted to rule out return of cancer - which they believe they have done. Since then, they have been focused on finding out what was causing the pain and finding a treatment option that would allow her to have the quality of life a 19 year-old should have. We cannot put into words how difficult it is to see her suffer every day. ...to wake up every morning to her moaning and in tears. Some of you may have experienced something like this first hand - but if you have not, we pray you never do.
Anna has seen internal med docs, neurologists, oncologists, pain management docs, acupuncturists and physical therapists. She has had numerous CT scans and MRIs. Blood work is done monthly to check her tumor markers. She has had two celiac plexus nerve blocks and three intercostal nerve blocks with minimal success in relieving her pain. Obviously, her spirits are low. Chronic pain is not fun - especially for one so young and once vibrant. She takes opioid pain medicine every six hours - along with all the other medication she has to take due to the damage cancer inflicted. Some of the meds make her nauseated, so her appetite varies wildly. And, long-term use of opioids – especially for someone so young – is very bad and can be deadly.
Ted and Ellen have done a LOT of research and soul searching over the course of the past 8 months and kept coming back to a clinic called Clear Passage (clearpassage.com). They have clinics across the US and in Europe. This clinic has developed a technique for treating Adhesions/Scar Tissue caused by surgery or trauma. One woman stated in her testimonial that she felt like she left Clear Passage after a week of therapy in a different body. Still, I was cautious. This has been on their mind for months.
One morning this week, while getting ready for work, her Dad Ted heard moaning and soft cries coming from Anna’s bedroom. When Ted got to her bedside, she was trembling in pain. Her teeth were chattering like she’d been out in the cold for hours. Her skin was pale, eyes dark and sunken – perhaps the worst he had ever seen her in the 8 long months she’s been home. All he could do was kiss her and tell her he loved her. Then he got in his truck headed to work – crying. At that moment, Ted thought of Clear Passage again. He started thinking that God may be trying to tell him something.
The plan is clear and Ted and Ellen plan to take Anna to Clear Passage in Gainesville, FL for a one week treatment cycle. The cost of the weeklong treatment at Clear Passage is $5,200.
My hope is to help raise as much of the necessary funds as possible through the generosity and caring of our friends and family. It is possible this week of treatment will make a significant difference but in the event it is only temporary, I am trying to reach a larger goal so that Ted and Ellen can plan resources as needed to help sweet Anna feel normal again.
Finally, I ask that each of you pray for Anna and our family. Pray that she can be pain free and return to her “normal life.” Pray that someday, Ted and Ellen can wake up and not think about cancer and the scars and destruction it continues to create daily with their sweet daughter.
God Bless and Thank you again,
Janette
As many of you know, Anna has battled stage IV ovarian cancer and today is cancer free (PTL). This has truly been an ongoing battle – one that rages on even as I type this.
Roughly a year and a half after her last surgery and shortly after enrolling at Ole Miss for the 2017 Fall semester, Anna began experiencing pain in her abdomen that radiated around her right rib cage and into her upper back. She tried to fight through it, but it became more severe. Several weeks into the semester, her Mom and Dad decided to bring her home to seek treatment.
First, they wanted to rule out return of cancer - which they believe they have done. Since then, they have been focused on finding out what was causing the pain and finding a treatment option that would allow her to have the quality of life a 19 year-old should have. We cannot put into words how difficult it is to see her suffer every day. ...to wake up every morning to her moaning and in tears. Some of you may have experienced something like this first hand - but if you have not, we pray you never do.
Anna has seen internal med docs, neurologists, oncologists, pain management docs, acupuncturists and physical therapists. She has had numerous CT scans and MRIs. Blood work is done monthly to check her tumor markers. She has had two celiac plexus nerve blocks and three intercostal nerve blocks with minimal success in relieving her pain. Obviously, her spirits are low. Chronic pain is not fun - especially for one so young and once vibrant. She takes opioid pain medicine every six hours - along with all the other medication she has to take due to the damage cancer inflicted. Some of the meds make her nauseated, so her appetite varies wildly. And, long-term use of opioids – especially for someone so young – is very bad and can be deadly.
Ted and Ellen have done a LOT of research and soul searching over the course of the past 8 months and kept coming back to a clinic called Clear Passage (clearpassage.com). They have clinics across the US and in Europe. This clinic has developed a technique for treating Adhesions/Scar Tissue caused by surgery or trauma. One woman stated in her testimonial that she felt like she left Clear Passage after a week of therapy in a different body. Still, I was cautious. This has been on their mind for months.
One morning this week, while getting ready for work, her Dad Ted heard moaning and soft cries coming from Anna’s bedroom. When Ted got to her bedside, she was trembling in pain. Her teeth were chattering like she’d been out in the cold for hours. Her skin was pale, eyes dark and sunken – perhaps the worst he had ever seen her in the 8 long months she’s been home. All he could do was kiss her and tell her he loved her. Then he got in his truck headed to work – crying. At that moment, Ted thought of Clear Passage again. He started thinking that God may be trying to tell him something.
The plan is clear and Ted and Ellen plan to take Anna to Clear Passage in Gainesville, FL for a one week treatment cycle. The cost of the weeklong treatment at Clear Passage is $5,200.
My hope is to help raise as much of the necessary funds as possible through the generosity and caring of our friends and family. It is possible this week of treatment will make a significant difference but in the event it is only temporary, I am trying to reach a larger goal so that Ted and Ellen can plan resources as needed to help sweet Anna feel normal again.
Finally, I ask that each of you pray for Anna and our family. Pray that she can be pain free and return to her “normal life.” Pray that someday, Ted and Ellen can wake up and not think about cancer and the scars and destruction it continues to create daily with their sweet daughter.
God Bless and Thank you again,
Janette
Organizer and beneficiary
Janette Johanson
Organizer
McKinney, TX
Ted Hill
Beneficiary