Help Sassy Lassie stay afloat!
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Can you imagine at 54 years old deciding to set out to achieve your Masters degree? My sister did just that! Depsite battling chronic, daily, migraine she managed to pull it off! Well, almost. This past May she walked across the stage, at Springfield College, to receive her Masters degree as an Occupational Therpist. http://www.aota.org/about-occupational-therapy.aspx
There was just one hitch. In April she was given the news that she had third stage cervical cancer. It seemed as if life just shut down. None of us knew what to say or do. None of us knew how to help her in the midst of such pain and shock. Just four days after graduation she was admitted to Bay State Hospital in Springfield, Mass. for a radical hysterectomy done by the DaVinci Robot.
Lisa and her, darling, daughter Miss Molly Elizabeth
Molly never left her mother's side throughout her time in the hospital and her recovery from her surgery. She was the BESTEST pal throughout all of the ups and downs!
Her PET scan had assured the doctors that her cancer was located in the cervix. On the day that news came we all jumped for joy! On the day of her surgery we waited, not so, patiently to hear how she had made out. We waited and waited for the call from my brother in law to let us know that she was out of surgery and all was well. As each half hour passed we grew more and more anxious. When the call, finally, came he shared with us that the pathology report, taken during the procedure, proved that the cancer had, micorscopically, spread to some of her lymph nodes. This was not the news that we were hoping for. My sister and my husbands brother have been life companions for 28 years.
(Lisa and Scott Sinclair)
We all knew how difficult it was for him to share with us that the cancer had spread, even if microscopically. As my sister began to heal from her surgery the road was not free of rough patches. Her recovery took a bit longer than her team of doctors had hoped and her treatment schedule was detained. Just ten days before the end of her treatments she landed in the hospital with complications from concurrent chemotherapy and radiation.
(Here we are out for a stroll in the D'Amour Healing Garden at Bay State Hospital in Springfield, Mass.)
Her student loans, as many of you can appreciate, are in excess of $150,000 and she is being charged $25 each day in interest, 365 days a year. If she were able to pay down the loans each week the interest would not accrue, but of course she is unable to do that right now. Technically, you don't have to pay your student loan back until you have found employment. However, it can keep a person up at night thinking about all of the interest on the loans that will be added to your debt and how you will pay it off. Lisa still has three more months of, unpaid, field work (up to 8 hours of work, five days each week) to accomplish. If you read up on what it means to be an Occupational Therpist you can appreciate that it is, very often, a labor intensive line of therapy. She will have to get the "all clear" from her Doc's, to move forward. After that she will require studying time before taking her boards. Chemotherpay can be rough on ones memory and she wants to wait to be sure she is ready to achieve the best grade that she can.
After that her job search can, finally, be underway! In the meantime, she and my brother in law will be living off one income. These past few months have created a huge gap in their budget as the student loan money has run out and there are many "things" that come into play that are not covered by insurance (ie. gas to and from treatment, OTC meds, functional medicine support, supplements, special foods etc.) Although friends and family have helped in every way they can the harsh reality is that it could be months, even a year, before she can be, gainfully, employed in her work as an OT.
We are keenly aware of how many people suffer, unimagineable, misfortune in this life and we feel, eternally, grateful for the support we have received thus far. If you feel moved to donate to my sister I can promise you that a blessing will come back to you one hundred fold. We believe in the healing power of the body, mind and spirit. We believe in the help of God and the angels. We believe in eachother, our families and our friends to lift us up and bring healing.
(An inspiring medallion given to my sister by her son Quinn Sullivan)
A happy day for mother and son some years back! Quinn had overcome many of his own adversities to achieve the honor of becoming a police officer.
For Lisa, having to put sweet Angel girl to rest today (9/6) has been a real challenge. May she run toward the Rainbow Bridge and directly into our Dad's lap! We know he will be thrilled to see her! :-)
YOU ARE ALMOST THERE LASSIE GIRL!!! oxoxoxox
At Bay State Hospital on Saturday (9/10) before my brother in law could bring her clothes from home. Here she is in her T-I-G-G-ER pediatric johnny, because she's SO tiny! (that rhymes!) We LOVE Winnie and his friends so this suited her just fine! Let's get a SMILE back on that, beautiful, face!
YOU CAN DO THIS SASSY LASSIE! You are almost there!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
When we arrived at the hospital this morning Lassie had just gotten there in her "chariot" as she calls it. She was tired, weepy and scared. We had, always, hoped that today (the last day of her treatment) would be a day to rejoice. We DID rejoice but not with Lassie...She has been beaten down by these last, few, treatments. She is so nauseated it is hard to take sips of fluid. Ugh. We take so much for granted in this life. The whole time she just kept saying things like.."I'm being such a wimp. I know people go through SO much worse than this. I wish I was stronger etc." Scott and I encouraged her to be proud of herself and accept things as they are! We know that her healing will come. I will bring her home from the hospital tomorrow and she will be on IV fluids and (TPN) nutrition via a PICC line. The Dr. said that she shouldn't be alone for at least five to seven days so we are working on care givers. Thank you, again, for your continued support, donations, prayers and love! They have changed everything for us! Blessings upon blessings to you and yours! OXOX
Lassie came home from the hospital last Thursday (9/15) with her PICC line in to deliver TPN fluids (nutrition made just for her). It is a bit daunting to care for the line and administer the fluids but Scott is doing an incredible job! I was supposed to train as one of the caregivers for this part of the journey but, quickly, realized while the nurse was showing us what to do that this type of thing is not in my skill set. My hubby trained a bit and will pinch hit if he needs to. He loves this stuff. The past couple of days Lisa has been dealing with something called radiation cystitis. Yuck! They also had a difficult time with her blood draw at home and so she will go into Bay State today to get that taken care of..We were hoping she wouldn't have to make the trek to Springfield until her two wk, post treatment, visit on 9/29. So it goes... Her mood is up and down but the downs are very difficult for her. She is a person who rarely gets depressed so feeling blue does not suit her spirit. Thank you for your love and prayers. I will NEVER stop thanking you for them!
Here is a great picture of our Sassy Lassie on the ocean in Portland, Maine where her daughter, Molly, lives with her partner Bobbi. This picture was taken last summer. Lassie and I are really hoping to make a trip to Maine before the snow flys to walk along the water front and breathe in that fresh coastal air! It's so important to look forward to fun times when you've been dealing with so many not so fun times!
The large field of radiation therapy that Lassie had to endure (especially in the region of her tumor ie. pelvic and bowel) has left her dealing with radiation enteritis https://medlineplus.gov/ency/article/000300.htm As you know she has her TPN nutrition delivering everything her body needs to heal but she still HAS to begin eating again to get off of it and move forward. She has been trying to just give her digestive system the chance to heal. The other day she came across the Specific Carbohydrate Diet and it gave her a lot of HOPE of how she can heal her gut and live a "normal" life again enjoying the foods she loves to eat and cook! She's an amazing cook and baker! http://www.breakingtheviciouscycle.info/ I know a lot of people who have adapted this diet and have healed Crone's Disease, IBS, ulcerative colitis and many other gut issues. It may be worth checking out if you fall into any of these categories. I have also dealt with a VERY irritable gut since I was young. Between removing most grains and using my Isagenix products I am MUCH improved from the life I used to lead. So this little bit of omelette and some pureed carrot (pumpkin?) is the first thing she's had in weeks. She tried a baked potato last week and that was NOT a success. Sending up a prayer that this meal hits the spot!
I recently posted an update about Lassie's progress. She is back to eating small amounts of "real" food thanks to the advice of a wonderful GI Doc from Springfield, Mass. named Dr. David Desilets. He will be doing a colonoscopy and endoscopy in a couple of wks to determine exactly what is going on with her tummy. He told her that she does NOT have radiation enteritis (in his educated opinion) which was fantastic news to hear!!!The BIG red flag that he got during her appointment was when she shared with him that since being on the TPN PICC line nutrition protocol, she has NOT suffered a migraine! Hmmmmm...No food. No migraine. That means her migraines are related to food (obviously) and that it is likely that her belly issues are also related to either wheat, (all gluten), grains, dairy or all of the above. Our intuition tells us probably the gluten. A lot of us, in our family, have belly issues, depression, anxiety, allergies and skin conditions. All of these line up with gluten intolerance. We also have a fair amount of Irish blood which puts us at greater risk for gluten intolerance. She is a sleuth at heart so she will be anxious to see what the tests reveal so that she can address this problem head on....Each day has been devoted to just returning to some sense of normalcy in her daily life. Walking short distances to rebuild her muscle and strength, knitting (her passion), cooking meals and treats for her hubby, driving again and maintaining a positive attitude. Your donations are keeping her spirits up and giving her hope for what the next part of the journey will bring! We remain in your debt and are offering you our love and blessings!
Some of Sassy's knitting projects! I have a feeling something warm and cuddly will be handed out to a few folks over the holidays!
Simple foods like a nice, organic, acorn squash seem to be going down ok! :-) Roasted potato also has become a, Team Lassie, favorite!
Thank you SO much for your love and friendship,
Patti Sinclair OX
There was just one hitch. In April she was given the news that she had third stage cervical cancer. It seemed as if life just shut down. None of us knew what to say or do. None of us knew how to help her in the midst of such pain and shock. Just four days after graduation she was admitted to Bay State Hospital in Springfield, Mass. for a radical hysterectomy done by the DaVinci Robot. Lisa and her, darling, daughter Miss Molly Elizabeth
Molly never left her mother's side throughout her time in the hospital and her recovery from her surgery. She was the BESTEST pal throughout all of the ups and downs!
Her PET scan had assured the doctors that her cancer was located in the cervix. On the day that news came we all jumped for joy! On the day of her surgery we waited, not so, patiently to hear how she had made out. We waited and waited for the call from my brother in law to let us know that she was out of surgery and all was well. As each half hour passed we grew more and more anxious. When the call, finally, came he shared with us that the pathology report, taken during the procedure, proved that the cancer had, micorscopically, spread to some of her lymph nodes. This was not the news that we were hoping for. My sister and my husbands brother have been life companions for 28 years.(Lisa and Scott Sinclair)We all knew how difficult it was for him to share with us that the cancer had spread, even if microscopically. As my sister began to heal from her surgery the road was not free of rough patches. Her recovery took a bit longer than her team of doctors had hoped and her treatment schedule was detained. Just ten days before the end of her treatments she landed in the hospital with complications from concurrent chemotherapy and radiation.
(Here we are out for a stroll in the D'Amour Healing Garden at Bay State Hospital in Springfield, Mass.)Her student loans, as many of you can appreciate, are in excess of $150,000 and she is being charged $25 each day in interest, 365 days a year. If she were able to pay down the loans each week the interest would not accrue, but of course she is unable to do that right now. Technically, you don't have to pay your student loan back until you have found employment. However, it can keep a person up at night thinking about all of the interest on the loans that will be added to your debt and how you will pay it off. Lisa still has three more months of, unpaid, field work (up to 8 hours of work, five days each week) to accomplish. If you read up on what it means to be an Occupational Therpist you can appreciate that it is, very often, a labor intensive line of therapy. She will have to get the "all clear" from her Doc's, to move forward. After that she will require studying time before taking her boards. Chemotherpay can be rough on ones memory and she wants to wait to be sure she is ready to achieve the best grade that she can.
After that her job search can, finally, be underway! In the meantime, she and my brother in law will be living off one income. These past few months have created a huge gap in their budget as the student loan money has run out and there are many "things" that come into play that are not covered by insurance (ie. gas to and from treatment, OTC meds, functional medicine support, supplements, special foods etc.) Although friends and family have helped in every way they can the harsh reality is that it could be months, even a year, before she can be, gainfully, employed in her work as an OT.
We are keenly aware of how many people suffer, unimagineable, misfortune in this life and we feel, eternally, grateful for the support we have received thus far. If you feel moved to donate to my sister I can promise you that a blessing will come back to you one hundred fold. We believe in the healing power of the body, mind and spirit. We believe in the help of God and the angels. We believe in eachother, our families and our friends to lift us up and bring healing.
(An inspiring medallion given to my sister by her son Quinn Sullivan)A happy day for mother and son some years back! Quinn had overcome many of his own adversities to achieve the honor of becoming a police officer.
For Lisa, having to put sweet Angel girl to rest today (9/6) has been a real challenge. May she run toward the Rainbow Bridge and directly into our Dad's lap! We know he will be thrilled to see her! :-)
YOU ARE ALMOST THERE LASSIE GIRL!!! oxoxoxox
At Bay State Hospital on Saturday (9/10) before my brother in law could bring her clothes from home. Here she is in her T-I-G-G-ER pediatric johnny, because she's SO tiny! (that rhymes!) We LOVE Winnie and his friends so this suited her just fine! Let's get a SMILE back on that, beautiful, face! YOU CAN DO THIS SASSY LASSIE! You are almost there!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
When we arrived at the hospital this morning Lassie had just gotten there in her "chariot" as she calls it. She was tired, weepy and scared. We had, always, hoped that today (the last day of her treatment) would be a day to rejoice. We DID rejoice but not with Lassie...She has been beaten down by these last, few, treatments. She is so nauseated it is hard to take sips of fluid. Ugh. We take so much for granted in this life. The whole time she just kept saying things like.."I'm being such a wimp. I know people go through SO much worse than this. I wish I was stronger etc." Scott and I encouraged her to be proud of herself and accept things as they are! We know that her healing will come. I will bring her home from the hospital tomorrow and she will be on IV fluids and (TPN) nutrition via a PICC line. The Dr. said that she shouldn't be alone for at least five to seven days so we are working on care givers. Thank you, again, for your continued support, donations, prayers and love! They have changed everything for us! Blessings upon blessings to you and yours! OXOX
Lassie came home from the hospital last Thursday (9/15) with her PICC line in to deliver TPN fluids (nutrition made just for her). It is a bit daunting to care for the line and administer the fluids but Scott is doing an incredible job! I was supposed to train as one of the caregivers for this part of the journey but, quickly, realized while the nurse was showing us what to do that this type of thing is not in my skill set. My hubby trained a bit and will pinch hit if he needs to. He loves this stuff. The past couple of days Lisa has been dealing with something called radiation cystitis. Yuck! They also had a difficult time with her blood draw at home and so she will go into Bay State today to get that taken care of..We were hoping she wouldn't have to make the trek to Springfield until her two wk, post treatment, visit on 9/29. So it goes... Her mood is up and down but the downs are very difficult for her. She is a person who rarely gets depressed so feeling blue does not suit her spirit. Thank you for your love and prayers. I will NEVER stop thanking you for them!Here is a great picture of our Sassy Lassie on the ocean in Portland, Maine where her daughter, Molly, lives with her partner Bobbi. This picture was taken last summer. Lassie and I are really hoping to make a trip to Maine before the snow flys to walk along the water front and breathe in that fresh coastal air! It's so important to look forward to fun times when you've been dealing with so many not so fun times!
The large field of radiation therapy that Lassie had to endure (especially in the region of her tumor ie. pelvic and bowel) has left her dealing with radiation enteritis https://medlineplus.gov/ency/article/000300.htm As you know she has her TPN nutrition delivering everything her body needs to heal but she still HAS to begin eating again to get off of it and move forward. She has been trying to just give her digestive system the chance to heal. The other day she came across the Specific Carbohydrate Diet and it gave her a lot of HOPE of how she can heal her gut and live a "normal" life again enjoying the foods she loves to eat and cook! She's an amazing cook and baker! http://www.breakingtheviciouscycle.info/ I know a lot of people who have adapted this diet and have healed Crone's Disease, IBS, ulcerative colitis and many other gut issues. It may be worth checking out if you fall into any of these categories. I have also dealt with a VERY irritable gut since I was young. Between removing most grains and using my Isagenix products I am MUCH improved from the life I used to lead. So this little bit of omelette and some pureed carrot (pumpkin?) is the first thing she's had in weeks. She tried a baked potato last week and that was NOT a success. Sending up a prayer that this meal hits the spot!
I recently posted an update about Lassie's progress. She is back to eating small amounts of "real" food thanks to the advice of a wonderful GI Doc from Springfield, Mass. named Dr. David Desilets. He will be doing a colonoscopy and endoscopy in a couple of wks to determine exactly what is going on with her tummy. He told her that she does NOT have radiation enteritis (in his educated opinion) which was fantastic news to hear!!!The BIG red flag that he got during her appointment was when she shared with him that since being on the TPN PICC line nutrition protocol, she has NOT suffered a migraine! Hmmmmm...No food. No migraine. That means her migraines are related to food (obviously) and that it is likely that her belly issues are also related to either wheat, (all gluten), grains, dairy or all of the above. Our intuition tells us probably the gluten. A lot of us, in our family, have belly issues, depression, anxiety, allergies and skin conditions. All of these line up with gluten intolerance. We also have a fair amount of Irish blood which puts us at greater risk for gluten intolerance. She is a sleuth at heart so she will be anxious to see what the tests reveal so that she can address this problem head on....Each day has been devoted to just returning to some sense of normalcy in her daily life. Walking short distances to rebuild her muscle and strength, knitting (her passion), cooking meals and treats for her hubby, driving again and maintaining a positive attitude. Your donations are keeping her spirits up and giving her hope for what the next part of the journey will bring! We remain in your debt and are offering you our love and blessings!Some of Sassy's knitting projects! I have a feeling something warm and cuddly will be handed out to a few folks over the holidays!
Simple foods like a nice, organic, acorn squash seem to be going down ok! :-) Roasted potato also has become a, Team Lassie, favorite!
Thank you SO much for your love and friendship,
Patti Sinclair OX
Organizer and beneficiary
Patti Phelan Sinclair
Organizer
Norfolk, CT
Lisa Sullivan
Beneficiary
