Support Laura Waltrip's Battle Against Cancer

As many of you know, my mom, Laura (Garrison) Waltrip of Williamsburg, VA, was recently diagnosed with Stage 4 Breast Cancer (HER2 triple positive) with metastasis to her spine. This means a very aggressive breast cancer formed and spread to an incurable point between two annual mammograms, despite having zero family history. She began palliative chemotherapy this week, and while she's handling it like a champ, it amazes me how little the healthcare industry cares for its own.

This woman was a dedicated COVID hospice nurse in the DC area at the height of the pandemic, stepping in when no other nurses at her company wanted to see patients. She has worked inhumane hours to help families because she cares about them. I've seen her attend little league baseball games for her patient's big brother, bring food to patients who did not have family nearby or a way to get around, and much more. None of which is in the job description of a nurse. She stays in touch with her patients long after cases are closed. She has dedicated her life to this profession because she chooses to see the good still left in it. While I can't say enough about Massey Cancer Center and their amazing staff, I have choice words for the health insurance industry.

Our family is a village unlike any I've ever seen. We are all jumping in to help with bills, meals, transportation, whatever is needed. However, we are now opening our village doors to anyone who knows and loves her or has a soft spot for healthcare workers to offer financial help if you can. The medicine cabinet turned into more of a coat closet overnight, and health insurance companies apparently get to pick and choose what they want to cover. A decent human-hair wig nowadays is over $2,000, and health insurance decided not to cover that for us either. Mom had to stop working the same day she went into the hospital the first time, so all of her income has been cut. She still maintains her farmhouse out in Powhatan, VA, where she is roommates with 2 goats, 4 dogs, 22 chickens, and a rogue groundhog who was evicted last year but still lingers. We do not come to this place easily, it is very unnatural in our family to ask for help.. and if you know my mom, she really doesn't like her business being out there so Im going to pay for it for starting this page LOL.

I hope, if anything else, this reminds you to check in with your body regularly and to be active in your village. Don't let something like this be what brings you closer to someone. I hope and pray that we can defeat not only cancer but also the "it won't happen to me" mindset in people. Because it could be you.

How we got here...

We got biopsy results back on a lump in mid-May. They told us it was likely Stage 2 but could be Stage 3. They needed to look at her lymph nodes, which would be a telltale sign of spreading to other areas. They weren't confident it had spread, but chemotherapy was a must, so she was scheduled and had a port surgically placed. The more testing they did, the more they seemed to find. Her PET scan lit up like a Christmas tree. A few more lumps had formed around the original, which I'm now calling "headquarters,” due to the introduction of oxygen during the biopsy. Cancer can spread like wildfire once exposed to oxygen – which is why they didn’t want to just open her up and remove the lump without doing more tests. The PET scan told us that her lymph nodes were fine. However, she had a few tumors in her spine and one in her brain. (But I thought her lymph nodes were fine??) One of the spinal tumors was wrapped around the spine, and they were worried it would get into the spinal cord itself. So, they admitted her to VCU's Massey Cancer Center, Critical Care Unit, for more testing and to get her off her feet STAT. If the tumor got to her spinal cord or she twisted her back wrong in any way, it could cause immediate and irreversible paralysis or even paraplegia. Imagine being on your riding mower and working on your farm for hours one day, and then being told the very next that your spine is so unstable you must be bedridden for the foreseeable future... NOW imagine that you are as stubborn as Laura, being told this news.

While in the hospital, they found more tumors in her back, which was defeating. However, we were told that the brain tumor is most likely an unrelated, benign meningioma. We considered this good news (because we were desperate for some) and decided to put that one on the back-burner. Our focus needs to be on attacking "headquarters" to stop the spreading in its tracks. If the breast cancer truly spread to the spine, it means the cells in the spine are technically breast cancer cells, so chemo should work on shrinking both as long as they can. To conclude this visit, we finally have a plan: radiation for 10 days, palliative chemotherapy and targeted hormone therapy for 4 months, with new scans at 3 months to determine if any changes occur. If it is working, we stay the course as long as we can until cancer ultimately overpowers the drug, and then we switch to another chemotherapy treatment and see how long that drug will work.

She was finally able to be discharged after a few days but returned shortly after via the VCU Emergency Department due to numbness starting in her arm and spreading by the hour down her leg and into her face. For spinal cancer patients, this is the number one symptom to watch for because it might mean the tumor has finally tapped into the spinal cord. They sent out a stroke alert and admitted her immediately. That evening, I learned that cancer can also cause coagulation of the blood, which can lead to a stroke. Luckily, it was a false alarm; it was just the spinal cancer trying on new symptoms. They kept her for a few more days. At that point, mom had what they described as 3rd degree burns on her esophagus, thanks to radiation. So, we are probably having 2-3 milkshakes a day, and my wedding dress is definitely going to be snug LOL.

Radiation ended after those ten days, and slowly but surely, mom was able to start eating again. We steadily worked through the house to declutter it and ensure she is comfortable, even though she remains in pain. People have come by to visit; some have come by to help work, for which we are eternally grateful. She is happy to be back home; it is the very life she’s fighting to keep. I know this farmhouse is what gives her the motivation to keep going. She finds comfort when she’s with her dogs, Tucker, Bexley, Tank, and Zoey. She finds purpose in caring for all of her animals. She finds God out here, and we need her to remain close to Him. We all need to remain close to Him right now, even though we may have no words to say to Him at this moment.

We trust. We believe. Although, we do not understand.