Choose Happy During A Trial

Lisa Hintzman is my stepdaughter. This past summer (June 2019) Lisa went to the emergency room with complaints of back labor like pain. Earlier in the week she gone to the urgent care and they believed that she had a kidney stone. The ER doctor ordered a CT scan to confirm where the kidney stone was positioned. He returned with a concern stating that it was not a kidney stone but rather a large mass on her liver. They were escorting her via ambulance immediately to Iowa City as currently there is not a liver doctor in town. Lisa spent the next six days In Iowa City taking various tests. On the seventh day they sent her home as they had to dissect what they had before them to determine what the Prognosis would be. Lisa left confused, Scared, and unsure of her future. One week later we headed back to Iowa City to meet with oncologist Pashtoon Kasi MD. He explained why it took so long to diagnose what was happening. He states that Lisa does have  cancer and it is a rare kind, CHOLANGIOCAICINOMA ( also known as bile duct cancer). He is placing it at a stage 2/3.  He takes time to explain this type of cancer and the plan of attack that the team has decided to pursue. For the next month Lisa would be in and out of hospital stays 3-5 days at a time.  On July 26th Lisa has her first chemo treatment. The treatment went fine overall and she did not have much for side effects besides being tired. She continued 5 more rounds of that treatment and when they did an MRI it showed the tumor had shrunk 1 cm. At that time the team decided to take a more aggressive approach and added a third medication. This has proven to be more effective but also has more side effects. Lisa is finding herself nauseous and weak often and struggling at work to keep up. As a teacher we know the demands of the job especially in the special education department. She takes pride in her job and working with her kids.  The new medication they added Lisa was tired often, weak, nauseated, short breath, and not able to focus at times. Lisa and the medical team made the difficult decision for her to take a medical leave effective October 9, 2019. Lisa did have some sick time that she was able to use. However, on November 12, 2019 those opportunities were no longer available and Lisa has to go without a paycheck until at least February or  March due to the long-term disability regulations that they have.  If you experience an illness with a family member or yourself you understand the strain of finances that occur from this kind of disease. It is more of a cost being that she has to travel to Iowa city 3 to 4 times a month. Her savings account has been pretty much depleted which leaves her with very little funding to pay for her rent bill, her car payment, groceries, utilities, Health insurance, life insurance, car insurance, renters insurance, medical bills, medication, co-payments, gas, and things such as soap, toothpaste, toothbrush, etc  
We are asking for help till LTD accepts her (hopefully by March).  This is difficult to watch your child go thru, yet she smiles and believes and trusts God will take care of everything. We all believe our God will provide abundantly and take care of Lisa’s every need.  We are laying this out to you, our family and friends.  Lisa needs your help.  If you can help financially, please help.  If you want to pay a bill directly yourself, we can get you the information.  Most importantly prayer for continued healing , we want this girl around for a long time. She’s become a big impact on people and lives are changing ( she’s gotten a few letters and messages in reference  to her impact through this trial).  

Thank you for taking time to read this and the impact you have made on her. She’s often saying, “This is so humbling. God is good and if He uses me to bring others to Him, this  trial has been worth it.”
We will end this with what Lisa says on Hump Days, ”Choose Happy.  Smile... it’ll make somebody’s day. Go make a memory!! “