Heather's Medical Fund
Donation protected
Heather went to the ENT doctor in February, 2015, for a persistent sore throat. The doctor treated it conservatively because Heather had also just found out that she was pregnant with her first child. Despite treatment, the sore throat persisted throughout the pregnancy. The ENT said there was nothing more that could be done until after delivery. Then they could surgically remove the sore spot in Heather's throat and have it analyzed.
At 36 weeks, Heather and Giuseppe's beautiful baby girl, Clara Giselle, was stillborn. This was devastating for them.
During the following hard months, she underwent various medical testing. It was determined that she has an auto-immune disease which could have affected the pregnancy. Heather's sore throat persisted despite more aggressive treatment. Surgery was scheduled in March 2016. The lab work came back positive for stage 1 throat cancer. Heather was referred to an oncologist for immediate cancer treatment. She started receiving radiation in April which continued for six weeks. She had to leave her job as a teacher in order to receive these daily treatments. She also decided to take the next school year off to continue healing without short-changing her students.
Healing was expected to begin and proceed uneventfully. This healing, however, is elusive. Pain remains intense. Sores in her mouth, on her tongue, and in her throat just are not healing. Furthermore, pyrogenic granulomas were rapidly growing on her tongue. The recent pregnancy could be the cause of the granulomas, causing her body to go haywire trying to heal and send extra cells to her tongue. The ENT did a biopsy which was negative for cancer. The oncologist had never seen this happen before and referred her to an infection specialist at University Medical Center. He had never seen anything like this before either and had nothing to offer to help.
As these continued to get huge, the ENT referred her to MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston. There she had surgery to remove the growths and a bit from her tongue. They expected her to be eating soft foods after 24 hours. She was released the same day of surgery. The intense pain persists, and eating soft foods is difficult. She has been dealing with vomiting and diarrhea for months. Heather lives on smoothies, Enlive, and pain medications, with a few bites of soft food each day. The oncologist and ENT do not know why Heather is not healing like a normal person, nor do they know what to do for her. The auto-immune disease could have something to do with the lack of healing.
Heather has had two surgeries, sees an oncologist, ENT, speech therapist, and dentist for her radiation-weakened jaw bone. She also needs to go back to the rheumatologist to start treatment of the auto-immune disease. For now she has been referred to a physical therapist to treat the lymph edema, swelling in her face and neck. She is currently having the granulomas that are growing back on her tongue cauterized weekly by the ENT. This is a very painful procedure. Cauterization is done with silver nitrate liquid to burn the granuloma down little by little in an attempt to avoid another surgery taking a larger portion of her tongue. Healing remains elusive, and pain and illness are constant. She has just been referred to a pain management specialist. Heather's goal is to heal, get pregnant again, and deliver a healthy baby.
The medical bills continue to mount and have become overwhelming. With only one income now, it has become difficult to pay them.
At 36 weeks, Heather and Giuseppe's beautiful baby girl, Clara Giselle, was stillborn. This was devastating for them.
During the following hard months, she underwent various medical testing. It was determined that she has an auto-immune disease which could have affected the pregnancy. Heather's sore throat persisted despite more aggressive treatment. Surgery was scheduled in March 2016. The lab work came back positive for stage 1 throat cancer. Heather was referred to an oncologist for immediate cancer treatment. She started receiving radiation in April which continued for six weeks. She had to leave her job as a teacher in order to receive these daily treatments. She also decided to take the next school year off to continue healing without short-changing her students.
Healing was expected to begin and proceed uneventfully. This healing, however, is elusive. Pain remains intense. Sores in her mouth, on her tongue, and in her throat just are not healing. Furthermore, pyrogenic granulomas were rapidly growing on her tongue. The recent pregnancy could be the cause of the granulomas, causing her body to go haywire trying to heal and send extra cells to her tongue. The ENT did a biopsy which was negative for cancer. The oncologist had never seen this happen before and referred her to an infection specialist at University Medical Center. He had never seen anything like this before either and had nothing to offer to help.
As these continued to get huge, the ENT referred her to MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston. There she had surgery to remove the growths and a bit from her tongue. They expected her to be eating soft foods after 24 hours. She was released the same day of surgery. The intense pain persists, and eating soft foods is difficult. She has been dealing with vomiting and diarrhea for months. Heather lives on smoothies, Enlive, and pain medications, with a few bites of soft food each day. The oncologist and ENT do not know why Heather is not healing like a normal person, nor do they know what to do for her. The auto-immune disease could have something to do with the lack of healing.
Heather has had two surgeries, sees an oncologist, ENT, speech therapist, and dentist for her radiation-weakened jaw bone. She also needs to go back to the rheumatologist to start treatment of the auto-immune disease. For now she has been referred to a physical therapist to treat the lymph edema, swelling in her face and neck. She is currently having the granulomas that are growing back on her tongue cauterized weekly by the ENT. This is a very painful procedure. Cauterization is done with silver nitrate liquid to burn the granuloma down little by little in an attempt to avoid another surgery taking a larger portion of her tongue. Healing remains elusive, and pain and illness are constant. She has just been referred to a pain management specialist. Heather's goal is to heal, get pregnant again, and deliver a healthy baby.
The medical bills continue to mount and have become overwhelming. With only one income now, it has become difficult to pay them.
Organizer and beneficiary
Diane Parrish Bartlett
Organizer
Rayne, LA
Heather Bartlett Clemente
Beneficiary