Liz Batey Cancer Costs
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Please help our dear Liz pay for her battle with cancer!
She's a loving mother, gifted musician, passionate teacher, and soon-to-be cancer survivor! Let's show her how much her community cares by helping with her cancer expenses.
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Read the full story in Liz's words:
On April 26, I took my choir to Salt Lake City for a choir tour. Up to this point in time I had been experiencing some numbness in my left hand which was making it difficult to play the piano well. Later that night I awoke with extreme pain in the tricep of the left arm. I gently massaged the area but that only increased the pain. Thinking I must have slept on it in a weird way, I tried to go back to sleep. I ended up watching the clock until 5am when I got up and began to get the choir ready for another day. The pain had increased again so I took 4 ibuprofen and hydrated.
We proceeded with our day; my piano playing getting worse, the pain moving up into my neck, and a pounding headache. All of our performances were wonderful, my students sang well and were well behaved, and our chaperones took care of my students very well.
Part of the trip was a day at Lagoon but because of the pain and numbness, I didn't participate in any rides except one early in the day where I could tell that my body wouldn't handle a whole day of that kind of excitement.
We returned to Boise on the bus that evening, stopping to eat pizza at Costco and a bathroom break between Twin Falls and Mountain Home. Each bump on the road sent a sharp jolt of pain from my shoulder going up to my neck and down to my hand. By the time we got to Boise, I lost all muscle strength and fine motor skills in the left hand.
As soon as I returned home, I planned on going into the QuickCare facility near my house. I didn't sleep that night either.
The next day was disappointing. I shared my story with the doctor but he seemed to think it was an injury I had incurred at work and I KNEW it wasn't. For safety measures he had several x-rays taken of my spine for my GM to assess at a later time. He sent me home with 3 pain pills to get me through the night and a prescription for a steroid. I slept a little that evening but the pain medication only took the edge off.
I went to school with the pain (I'd say a 6 out of 10 on their pain scale) and continued to prepare my choirs for festival Tuesday, a guitar recital on Friday, a piano recital recital for next Friday and substitute teacher for all the days I would be gone. That evening I applied heat to the shoulder and arm and there was a brief reprieve but by average pain that evening was an 8 which means, no sleep again.
The following day was our festival which was an all day, stressful experience. My students sang very well and I was so proud of their progress. By the end of the day I was hurting again so I put in for a sub so I could go see my GM.
Wednesday I had an appointment in the afternoon where my doctor said I had a little wear and tear on my C4 and C5 vertebrae but nothing of concern. He gave me a lidocaine injection into my left trapezius muscle for a pinched nerve (which it could be but some of the symptoms didn't make much sense). He encouraged me to continue the steroids until they were gone and to visit a physical therapist. As I left the office the area of the injection was starting to feel better but within 20 minutes took a turn for the worse. I called my doctor's office asking for a pain prescription which they gave me a limited number of. At home I took the medication and applied cold and heat to the shoulder and ice which helped me get some sleep.
I went to school on Thursday and Friday but it was all a painful blur. Stay hydrated, remember to eat something, physical therapist after school on Thursday (he was completely lost—FYI) and guitar recital at the end of the day on Friday, ibuprofen if something hurts, work on grades, end of the year room clean, etc. The weekend was a blur of the same; feed the kids, pain medication, take a nap, stay hydrated.
On Monday, May 6, I awoke in the early morning with a burning, intense pain in my left leg that started on the outside of my hip and continued down to my feet. I took a pain pill and got a ride to work. The medication helped a little but as I taught, I couldn't stand up, couldn't sit down and here's the worst....I couldn't walk.
Just after 11 am after teaching an adaptive music class, I began to stand up when my left leg gave out and I fell in my classroom as they left. As soon as I gained my composure, I called my doc and got an appointment for the following day (Tuesday) and I put in for a sub as well.
During 7th period I didn't rise from my chair, just rolled from side to side between the piano and the computer. During 8th period I contacted my administrator (who has been unbelievably supportive and I could write a book on what a wonderful person and leader she is but I'll get to that later) and I called my ride to get to the school as soon as possible. During 9th period I put in for a substitute teacher for Tuesday (even though we had a concert!!!) and literally hobbled down to the front of the school where I waited for my ride. I cried all the way home because of the intensity of the pain and took the Last of the prescription medication that I had. Little to no sleep.
On Tuesday I awoke and the pain was still there. I went to the doctor and broke down in front of him. I felt like I must be a wimp or something and why was my pain moving? He wrote me prescription medication for the pain and more steroids. He also requested that my insurance help cover an MRI. After the doctor’s visit, I went home and changed for the concert. Solo concert started at 6 (they were fantastic!) and the choir concert was at 7:30 (and they finally had a good time while singing!).
I went back to school on Wednesday and got a call that my insurance wanted to set up the MRI for the following Wednesday, May 22 in the evening. The next couple of days are a blur of teaching, pain medication, getting rides from my parents, rescheduling solo/ensemble (thank you parents and Joie!) and napping on my couch if I got comfortable. The pain moved to the right side and has been mobile ever since. It's like playing bop-it with the human body and my limbs are being abused by something. My blood pressure is fine one day and high the next. My heart rate has increased. I trip over nothing, and occasionally fall. I have bruises all over my body. It was difficult to go number one and number twos were unpredictable. I was crabby and irritable with everything even though I tried to be patient. I couldn't get dressed by myself. I would shower and cry for an hour if the water felt nice. I needed help getting dressed. My right hand has a tremor so my food shakes off my forks and spoons. Sometimes my voice goes away. It cracks more than it used to. There are days that I can't sing at all. I forget things. I lose my concentration. I have no focus.
Fast forward to Wednesday, I take my MRI. It's uncomfortable and sometimes my limbs get restless but it only takes about an hour and a half. I go home and can't sleep because I don't have any pain medication.
I get a sub and go to a spine doctor who looks at the neck and back portion of my MRI. Nothing really to be concerned about but he decided to runs some blood tests to make sure.
Fast forward to Friday, I call my dad and ask him if it would be better for me to go to Quick Care or the ER. I'm in so much pain I can't take it anymore. My mom picks me up and we head for the ER. The RN helps us. Says she wants to look at what's been going on so I tell her about the spinal doctor the previous day. While mom and I wait, Dr. Hutt (the spine doctor!) calls us on my phone. He didn't want to jump the gun but found abnormalities in my blood. We give the phone to the RN and mom calls dad...it looks like leukemia. They discharge us from the ER to a bone marrow biopsy on my right hip above my tush. Not uncomfortable but not the spa session I was in need of. They discharged me and send me home. My parents are visibly upset but I'm drugged up so I don't know why.
At home we make some phone calls and just as I settle in for “The Office" my phone rings. It was a Dr. Williams (I was told to expect his call) and he was wondering where I was. I told him I was home and he asked if I could make it to the downtown St. Luke's. So we loaded up and went to St. Lukes where they admitted me to the oncology ward. Everyone and everything is very nice and they are doing their best to help me get the best care possible.
However, the cost after insurance is giving me nightmares because there's no way I can afford this. I'm a single mom of three girls who works as a teacher. The odds are definitely not in my favor. Anything to help would be so greatly appreciated by my girls and I.
She's a loving mother, gifted musician, passionate teacher, and soon-to-be cancer survivor! Let's show her how much her community cares by helping with her cancer expenses.
*****************************************************************************
Read the full story in Liz's words:
On April 26, I took my choir to Salt Lake City for a choir tour. Up to this point in time I had been experiencing some numbness in my left hand which was making it difficult to play the piano well. Later that night I awoke with extreme pain in the tricep of the left arm. I gently massaged the area but that only increased the pain. Thinking I must have slept on it in a weird way, I tried to go back to sleep. I ended up watching the clock until 5am when I got up and began to get the choir ready for another day. The pain had increased again so I took 4 ibuprofen and hydrated.
We proceeded with our day; my piano playing getting worse, the pain moving up into my neck, and a pounding headache. All of our performances were wonderful, my students sang well and were well behaved, and our chaperones took care of my students very well.
Part of the trip was a day at Lagoon but because of the pain and numbness, I didn't participate in any rides except one early in the day where I could tell that my body wouldn't handle a whole day of that kind of excitement.
We returned to Boise on the bus that evening, stopping to eat pizza at Costco and a bathroom break between Twin Falls and Mountain Home. Each bump on the road sent a sharp jolt of pain from my shoulder going up to my neck and down to my hand. By the time we got to Boise, I lost all muscle strength and fine motor skills in the left hand.
As soon as I returned home, I planned on going into the QuickCare facility near my house. I didn't sleep that night either.
The next day was disappointing. I shared my story with the doctor but he seemed to think it was an injury I had incurred at work and I KNEW it wasn't. For safety measures he had several x-rays taken of my spine for my GM to assess at a later time. He sent me home with 3 pain pills to get me through the night and a prescription for a steroid. I slept a little that evening but the pain medication only took the edge off.
I went to school with the pain (I'd say a 6 out of 10 on their pain scale) and continued to prepare my choirs for festival Tuesday, a guitar recital on Friday, a piano recital recital for next Friday and substitute teacher for all the days I would be gone. That evening I applied heat to the shoulder and arm and there was a brief reprieve but by average pain that evening was an 8 which means, no sleep again.
The following day was our festival which was an all day, stressful experience. My students sang very well and I was so proud of their progress. By the end of the day I was hurting again so I put in for a sub so I could go see my GM.
Wednesday I had an appointment in the afternoon where my doctor said I had a little wear and tear on my C4 and C5 vertebrae but nothing of concern. He gave me a lidocaine injection into my left trapezius muscle for a pinched nerve (which it could be but some of the symptoms didn't make much sense). He encouraged me to continue the steroids until they were gone and to visit a physical therapist. As I left the office the area of the injection was starting to feel better but within 20 minutes took a turn for the worse. I called my doctor's office asking for a pain prescription which they gave me a limited number of. At home I took the medication and applied cold and heat to the shoulder and ice which helped me get some sleep.
I went to school on Thursday and Friday but it was all a painful blur. Stay hydrated, remember to eat something, physical therapist after school on Thursday (he was completely lost—FYI) and guitar recital at the end of the day on Friday, ibuprofen if something hurts, work on grades, end of the year room clean, etc. The weekend was a blur of the same; feed the kids, pain medication, take a nap, stay hydrated.
On Monday, May 6, I awoke in the early morning with a burning, intense pain in my left leg that started on the outside of my hip and continued down to my feet. I took a pain pill and got a ride to work. The medication helped a little but as I taught, I couldn't stand up, couldn't sit down and here's the worst....I couldn't walk.
Just after 11 am after teaching an adaptive music class, I began to stand up when my left leg gave out and I fell in my classroom as they left. As soon as I gained my composure, I called my doc and got an appointment for the following day (Tuesday) and I put in for a sub as well.
During 7th period I didn't rise from my chair, just rolled from side to side between the piano and the computer. During 8th period I contacted my administrator (who has been unbelievably supportive and I could write a book on what a wonderful person and leader she is but I'll get to that later) and I called my ride to get to the school as soon as possible. During 9th period I put in for a substitute teacher for Tuesday (even though we had a concert!!!) and literally hobbled down to the front of the school where I waited for my ride. I cried all the way home because of the intensity of the pain and took the Last of the prescription medication that I had. Little to no sleep.
On Tuesday I awoke and the pain was still there. I went to the doctor and broke down in front of him. I felt like I must be a wimp or something and why was my pain moving? He wrote me prescription medication for the pain and more steroids. He also requested that my insurance help cover an MRI. After the doctor’s visit, I went home and changed for the concert. Solo concert started at 6 (they were fantastic!) and the choir concert was at 7:30 (and they finally had a good time while singing!).
I went back to school on Wednesday and got a call that my insurance wanted to set up the MRI for the following Wednesday, May 22 in the evening. The next couple of days are a blur of teaching, pain medication, getting rides from my parents, rescheduling solo/ensemble (thank you parents and Joie!) and napping on my couch if I got comfortable. The pain moved to the right side and has been mobile ever since. It's like playing bop-it with the human body and my limbs are being abused by something. My blood pressure is fine one day and high the next. My heart rate has increased. I trip over nothing, and occasionally fall. I have bruises all over my body. It was difficult to go number one and number twos were unpredictable. I was crabby and irritable with everything even though I tried to be patient. I couldn't get dressed by myself. I would shower and cry for an hour if the water felt nice. I needed help getting dressed. My right hand has a tremor so my food shakes off my forks and spoons. Sometimes my voice goes away. It cracks more than it used to. There are days that I can't sing at all. I forget things. I lose my concentration. I have no focus.
Fast forward to Wednesday, I take my MRI. It's uncomfortable and sometimes my limbs get restless but it only takes about an hour and a half. I go home and can't sleep because I don't have any pain medication.
I get a sub and go to a spine doctor who looks at the neck and back portion of my MRI. Nothing really to be concerned about but he decided to runs some blood tests to make sure.
Fast forward to Friday, I call my dad and ask him if it would be better for me to go to Quick Care or the ER. I'm in so much pain I can't take it anymore. My mom picks me up and we head for the ER. The RN helps us. Says she wants to look at what's been going on so I tell her about the spinal doctor the previous day. While mom and I wait, Dr. Hutt (the spine doctor!) calls us on my phone. He didn't want to jump the gun but found abnormalities in my blood. We give the phone to the RN and mom calls dad...it looks like leukemia. They discharge us from the ER to a bone marrow biopsy on my right hip above my tush. Not uncomfortable but not the spa session I was in need of. They discharged me and send me home. My parents are visibly upset but I'm drugged up so I don't know why.
At home we make some phone calls and just as I settle in for “The Office" my phone rings. It was a Dr. Williams (I was told to expect his call) and he was wondering where I was. I told him I was home and he asked if I could make it to the downtown St. Luke's. So we loaded up and went to St. Lukes where they admitted me to the oncology ward. Everyone and everything is very nice and they are doing their best to help me get the best care possible.
However, the cost after insurance is giving me nightmares because there's no way I can afford this. I'm a single mom of three girls who works as a teacher. The odds are definitely not in my favor. Anything to help would be so greatly appreciated by my girls and I.
Organiser
Erika McCauley
Organiser
Eagle, ID