Juliette's Duel with Cancer

Hey all, kids of Juliette Bouma here

On Friday, March 9th, 2023, Juliette Bouma was brought into the Emergency Room at St. Patrick’s Medical Center in Missoula. She was incredibly weak and fatigued, with respiratory issues and chest pains, and had been running a fever since the previous Monday. Upon entry into the hospital, Juliette went into Atrial Fibrillation and was immediately given medication to bring her heart rate down and Tylenol to manage her high fever. At first glance, the Doctors were not sure what was causing her symptoms and thought they might have been triggered by a virus, so they began drawing blood for tests and ran scans on her heart, lungs, legs, and abdomen to check for liquid or blood clots.

They did not find an immediate cause, but they were able to stabilize her vitals, so she was moved up to the 5th floor on Friday evening to be monitored for a long-term stay, and put on oxygen, and IVs for hydration and antibiotics. Her initial blood tests showed high platelets and extremely low blood counts, so she was given a blood transfusion that night, and several more over the week.

For the next week, the Doctors scrambled for an answer to her illness and sent off dozens of blood tests, ran CT scans, and performed a bone marrow biopsy. All tests were coming back negative until finally they received results on her biopsy and narrowed the search down to a blood disorder within her bone marrow. Another test was sent out, and on Monday the 20th she was diagnosed with Myelodysplastic Syndrome (MDS), a precursor to Acute Leukemia.

On Tuesday the 21st she began chemo treatments in an attempt to keep cancer at bay and prevent it from worsening. Juliette is still extremely weak, as she had not been able to get down much solid food and is still fighting off constant high fevers and A-Fib episodes.

Though she is slowly beginning to improve with the help of treatments, the road ahead while she recovers will be a long and difficult one. She will be remaining in the hospital until she is strong enough to be released, and her husband Louie will be traveling back and forth from the Bitterroot Valley to care for her.

For the next several months, Juliette will be receiving blood transfusions every 2-4 days and week-long chemo treatments every month to keep cancer at bay. The goal is that she will gain enough strength to be accepted for a bone marrow transplant at an out-of-state cancer treatment center, as that is the only possible cure for this particular blood cancer.

If you would like to aid in her recovery, whether it be giving prayer for healing, your time to keep her company, or even frozen meals for Louie, please leave a comment.

We have set up this designated GoFundMe for financial assistance, which will be put towards her ongoing medical bills.