Thankfully it’s been awhile since I’ve had to do a go fund me & an update this extreme.

Close family members know what the last 1.5 weeks have looked like, so now it’s time to bring everyone else up to date. After a month of trying to get to the bottom of some health issues Trisha has been having, last Monday around 3 am Grinnell ER was able to pinpoint a major issue & things have not seemed to slow down since.

Heres the breakdown:

Around 1 A.M, I (Madison), received more alarming messages about mom’s oxygen levels going in the 80s while she was sleeping at home. My grandma was keeping an eye on mom because she just felt something was off. Ultimately the hard decision to head to the ER was made. A week prior she had her routine CT done, with minimal change in the final report. Grinnell ordered another CT, 2 days short of a week from her last CT. However, he ordered the scan to be performed focusing in on her pulmonary artery. After finding one of the tumors was significantly pushing against her right artery causing difficulty breathing she was immediately put on 2 liters of oxygen. Iowa City was then paged, in hopes that a stent could be placed and provide relief. Pain medication was continuously being given to help with the pain near her sternum.

Then the waiting game began. We celebrated mom’s birthday sitting in the ER, rotating two people in and out at a time. 3 more days passed and no beds were available at any hospital in Iowa. By the 4th night, and after many phone calls made by Grinnell, Iowa city thought they FINALLY had a bed. Shortly after that call, Iowa city called back and said they were wrong and did not have a bed. Grinnell then decided to move mom into a room on Med-surge floor. This room felt life changing, with more space & windows! After a couple nights and the more times we heard “We just called, they still do not have a bed”, frustration began to set in.

Mom & I had a conversation about if we thought Mayo Clinic in Minnesota would be a possibility. Right away I called Mayo, seeking any light at the end of the tunnel. They told me how to start the process & that’s exactly what I did. We had to account for many things and figure out A) Transportation and B) If I drove her myself how many oxygen tanks the hospital would have to loan to us in order to safely get mom to a hospital 3 hours away. As this process was in the works and very close to happening, Iowa city called saying a bed was available! So now what? Where do we go? All sorts of decisions had to be made in a short amount of time. We decided to not leave and head to Mayo, and take the opportunity to go to Iowa city as Mayo was requesting her to be seen by her cancer dr then transported to Minnesota.

Mom went via ambulance & I followed behind. Unfortunately the floor they had a bed available was the worst possible place she could have been put. After one night on this floor & a long night full of worry her cancer team was able to move her to a different floor in a much better environment.

After many tests & different teams coming on board the pulmonary team gave the news it was not safe to place to stent. Of course initially this was very scary as we’ve hit a point options are becoming more limited. The only other solution they’ve been able to offer is bringing the radiation team on board. Radiation this time cannot be as aggressive due to past radiation already happening near this area. Starting Friday 9/12/2025 a low dose will be given once a day for 5 days. Then she will begin a new treatment (pill) after radiation is completed.

The hospital is working on discharging her on 9/11/25 or 9/12/25 depending on if they can manage her pain, get her off the pain pump, & change to an oral medication. Then complete any other testing they may want to do.

There are so many in between tests and issues that have came up through this time. We are worn out, not sleeping well, and ready to be placed into a hotel in order to be close for radiation. I’ve been able to handle a lot of the things she needs other than the IV pump, which is being taken off at some point today 9/11/25.

With that being said I’ll circle back around to where our needs are at this time.

Being discharged, brings a new set of things to worry about:

Vitals: In order to feel we are safely doing this we need to be able to watch her vitals. To have a pulse ox that alarms is our goal as her oxygen drops the most when she’s walking or sleeping. At night she gets hooked up to one in the hospital and usually her O2 needs placed on 3. The medicine she’s on also lowers her blood pressure so I’ll be watching this as well.

Medication/ oxygen: Discharging she will be having to pick up a lot of medicine and will need to still have oxygen on. As of right now we have no idea how much out of pocket will need paid.

Food: Thankfully we have had many people show up in so many different ways. Ordering food for a meal, bringing snacks, drinks, or sending money for us to get anything needed/wanted. The option to eat hospital food in the in between times will no longer be there after we discharge.

Bills: I have not returned to work since going to the ER last week, with this now working its way into next week I know it’s going to catch up eventually. Although right now this is the least of my worries.

The 4 things listed above is where I plan to put the money. The first three being top priority and anything else that’s needed in order for me to best take care of her without drs 24 hr watch. Anything that’s left will be used to keep me caught up on bills.

I know this one was a long read & not the update I was hoping to give.I left the smaller details out,it’s been an exhausting stay for her. I’m trying my best to keep close family updated and having them update everyone else. If you have questions I’d be happy to personally answer when I’m able.