a message from Leanne

A message from Leanne:
8/22/07

Hi Everyone,
The battle has begun.
On Sunday 8/19, Leanne’s husband decided she could literally survive no more pain, no more waiting for the next doctor’s appointment. Dayton took her to the emergency room of the UW-Madison hospital and told them they would take care of Leanne or take him away in handcuffs. No more waiting, no more being told this was all ‘normal’ and that they should be patient.

Leanne was admitted to the hospital with double pneumonia, a fever, high calcium levels, low oxygen levels, and suddenly everyone was in high gear.
The good news: Leanne and Dayton feel that they are receiving the very best care. Leanne’s primary doctor is the assistant director of the oncology dept.
The worrisome news: The cancer appears not to be confined to the uterus.
So now more tests, more waiting for results, more worry. The battle has begun.
They’ll treat the lungs first – this is very serious. They’d like to do one more test to confirm lung cancer, but for now they are 95% certain that it is in the lungs. They’ll worry about the hysterectomy later. A bone scan late in the afternoon makes the doctors think the cancer has not spread to the bone. They’ll worry about why her calcium levels are so high later.

Yesterday, Leanne’s ‘sistahs’ took a road trip to Madison. We brought Ann, Leanne’s mom, along. Our ‘brother’ Don showed up at the hospital too.
Mother and daughter were able to hug and hold one another. Dayton was able to share this heavy load, even if for only a few hours. In the midst of so much worry and pain we still had some fun. We got to see Leanne smile and joke a bit and talk just a little – which brought new tears, of joy this time, to Dayton.

Leanne is pretty weak, is on an oxygen mask to help keep her levels high. When her levels drop, a machine next to her bed starts beeping, reminding her to breathe.She can talk thru the mask, which makes her happy.
She is on a pain medication that keeps the debilitating bouts of pain from the uterine polyp at bay.
Her spirits are good. She’s thinking of all of you and wanted me to keep you up to date. I’ll post to the blog from time to time to keep you informed.
No one has said how long she’ll be in the hospital.

There’s a lot of love and hope in her room. The doctors have stressed the seriousness, but have rolled up their sleeves to fight this. Dayton is her constant guardian; he has made his presence known in the hospital and will hold folks accountable from now on. Ann joins him, bringing a mother’s love and care to her bedside.

What can you do?
If you pray, continue to do that – you can even step it up a notch.
If you send healing wishes Leanne’s way, continue to do that – you can even step it up a notch.
Continue to send emails, cards, letters – Leanne won’t answer right away, but Dayton will make sure she is getting your messages. Hearing from all of you is so good for her spirits.
When she gets home, we’ll worry about making sure she and Dayton are well fed.
Leanne does not want any plants sent to her – she says she doesn’t want a single reminder of this when she is well.
If you’re inclined, fresh flowers make her happy although right now there is a large bouquet of red roses from Dayton on the bedside table and that is all there is room for.

News this morning: Leanne is being moved to ICU. Her oxygen levels keep dropping. If they can’t get them up soon, they’ll have to tube her and she’ll be unable to talk for a bit of time.

Pray faster, everyone

Sue