Natalie's Purple Petals

This past summer our mom had started to experience back pain.  It never fully went away; for those of you that know this woman well, you know that she always finds a way to tough through things and manages to make them seem not quite as bad as they may actually be.  Months went on an she started to really not feel well, acquired a cough, and started to feel pain - specifically in her back - more regularly.  She started making doctor's appointments to figure out the root cause and continued to have the hope that "tomorrow things should get better".  December seems to be the time when it started to become more apparent that things were not getting any better, the pain continued to transpire. 

She got an x-ray on her chest and was diagnosed with viral pneumonia late December.  This still did not give answers to the excruciating back pain.  By this time my mom had been taking time away from work, as she was unable to perform her job duties.  Again, for those that know this woman, you know that it must be bad if she is taking off of work!  She LOVES what she does as an Occupational Therapist.  Being away from work for several weeks and seeing no improvement in her condition she went in for a CT scan of her abdomen January 17.

Results of this scan told us that they found a tumor on the tail of her pancreas and that they suspect it to be cancer.  The next day the radiologist reviewed her CT scan and reported there was possible metastasis to the liver and that they would be taking tissue samples from her liver during her biopsy the next day.  After her biopsy, the radiologist shared that it was in fact cancer and seems to have originated in the pancreas and now is in the liver.  Her pathology report came back confirming all of this.  Our mom is fighting stage four cancer.

We now know the root cause to her pain...

Since finding this out we have been reminded of the incredible support system she has.  So many people have their arms wrapped around her.  Knowing of the infinite thoughts, prayers, love, positivity and support that are going on out there on her behalf continues to give us hope and comfort during these days.

Please continue to lift my mom up in whichever way you do. While we know she is STRONG, she also needs all of us to be strong with her. She will make it through!