Support Susannah in Her Fight with Cancer

I am part of the team that has stepped up to support Susannah during her fight with cancer. This fight will go through the new year and into the summer season. The details are in the story below. We are trying to raise funds to support Susannah in as many ways as possible because she had just started a new job teaching second graders and had not developed a savings account yet. We are currently covering costs as they occur, but could desperately use some help.

August 2023

September 2023

Susannah’s Story

OMG! I never expected this!

After 30 years behind a desk, supporting the corporate world, I found a job teaching 7 year olds in 2nd grade and discovered I loved it!

4 days before school begins, I am cleaning, and setting up the classroom, moving furniture around and I think that I have thrown my back out, which I have done before and I didn’t think anything about it.

Three weeks later, my back still hurts, my ribs hurt, my neck hurts and my left arm hurts. I am taking ibuprofen like water through a sieve, icing my back, trying to get through the day in excruciating pain and not letting the kiddos know that I am hurting.

A puffy spot develops above my sternum and I think “This is weird” and I am encouraged to go to the doctors. The local clinic does 3 chest x-rays and they are all clear, but it is obvious something is wrong, so I am encouraged to go to a larger clinic where they have a cat scan. By now, I think I have a muscle infection and just need antibiotics.

The next night I go to the bigger clinic and get the cat scan. Within the hour, not only have I been admitted to the hospital, I am being told that I have cancer. I could not believe I was going to the freaking hospital! WHAT THE HEY!

After the first clinic visit, overnight I grew lumps on my head.

The first week in the hospital was frantic for the oncology team because they could not diagnose me as they had never seen this cancer before. It did not fit any of their templates and there is no case history on it.

They are also trying to manage my pain by assuming my 6ft 3in frame and the weight I am at, means full narcotics. Heads up people, ½ would have been more than adequate…no wonder I don’t make any sense during that time as I was so drugged out.

The high doses of steroids during that first week lowered the bumps on my head. In the meantime they said that my cancer was growing very fast. The lump on my chest grew 3 centimeters within 24 hours, which was starting to affect my swallowing and they were afraid it would push against my carotid artery. I'm still in excruciating pain and going through tests which culminated in 4 CT scans, 3 MRI’s and 3 spinal taps while they determined what kind of cancer this is.

By the second week, there is a plan which is 24/7, 5 days straight of chemo therapy. They found that the chemo therapy did not help the lump in my chest so now I am up for radiation. The third and last week of the first hospital stay I did 5 rounds of radiation to lower the mass in my chest.

The current side effects are that I can now join the boys club of bald men of which I was told No by a bald man. So more power to the women. Ha!

September 2023: I am cross eyed resulting in that I can’t read which I love to do.

The central tremor that I have had since 3rd grade is now so bad that I can’t hold a glass of water without spilling it.

My short term memory is shot but now I have plausible deniability. Ha!

It was determined that the cancer was high grade B-cell lymphoma with plasmacytic differentiation, stage 4 cancer.

The Oncologist's plan is to do 6 rounds of chemo therapy with 3 weeks in between at home which in reality is at a friends house. This will put us in February/March to complete the chemo treatment. Then I get to go to Colorado for the stem cell transplant, another 90 days.

If there is an upside to any of this I have discovered a deeper relationship with the friends I have here. As of this writing I have lost almost 30 pounds in my goal to lose 60 pounds. Yay!

As you can see, my sense of humor still works in a crisis and the nurses say that I am a hero.

My team of friends say that I am a miracle…

They are taking a rotation at the hospital and at home so that I am never alone. One friend is working on SSI disability. Another is working on the visiting friends list so that I am not overwhelmed with company. Another is working on this Go Fund Me plan so that I can hopefully have some money with your help. Currently I have no money, and I really do need some help. One more friend created a big folder with subjects in it so I can keep everything organized and she decorated my hospital room and put up the cards from the kids to keep my spirits up. A few other friends make sure I get funnies through text, messaging or FaceBook. As you can see we are all pulling together.

The principal from the school I was working at said that she was so impressed with my work that she wants me back no matter how long it takes.

So, I have gone from a backache to CANCER, to a very rare form of cancer to oncology’s guinea pig. Ha! Not only did I survive the first month, I am up and walking, eating 3 small meals a day and enjoying the company of my friends.

Last week was the 2nd round of chemo and it was rough, not gonna lie, but I am still on my feet. I am back home at a friends house during my 3 weeks off from chemo recuperating and trying to get my tastebuds back. After receiving chemo at the hospital everything tastes like chemo, and I am not hungry at all. It takes like a week to finally get my tastebuds back and to feel hungry.

At home sleeping at the foot of my friends bed.

Dad calls every day along with my sister. My kids are in constant contact with either me or my team of peeps. My Aunt calls once a week as she is dealing with her own health issues. My daughter just spent a weekend here and hopefully my son can come next. None of my family has the financial security to help.

As the saying goes, "Every penny counts". I know that this is not a great time to get cancer or to contribute to a fund like this.

Quote: "To strengthen the body’s muscles, exercise; the mind’s muscles, read; the heart’s muscle’s, laugh; and the soul’s muscles, love", and that is exactly how I win this fight with your help.

Thank you from the bottom of my heart for your support.

Susannah Price