Windy’s road to healing

This is Amber and I am putting together Go-Fund-Me for our dear friend Windy. I’m really hoping we can all pull together and give her a little extra support through this rough time in her life. She will get healthier and she will get stronger but right now it’s really tough on her and her family. Any little bit helps. And even if you can’t help financially, if you can send her kind messages of support. Both forms of support will help exponentially. (I added an update at the end of this post as well)

Words from Windy that I pulled from her recent post to help explain what is going on in her world right now…..

Hello friends and family! I guess it's time for me to let you all know a bit more about what has been going on with my health.

As many of you know, the Dr's found a small tumor on my adrenal gland almost exactly 7 years ago when I had my son LJ. Since then, that darn thing has been groooooowing faster than my kids, and the tumor has taken over my entire left adrenal gland.

Very soon, I will be having surgery to have the entire left adrenal gland removed. It's pretty intense, and there will be 4 surgeons involved (one manning each incision and endoscopic tool). They are going in through my abdomen, and will have to make it past my intestines, stomach, spleen, and maybe a few other things. I kinda tuned out once I heard that to be honest. If that doesn't work, they will have to cut me open from above my belly button alllllll the way around to my spine. We are not even going to entertain that, so I believe the surgery is going to be completed without any complications.

I'm scared. I've had 2 emergency c- sections, so I already know that when cutting stomach muscles is involved, the recovery process is not fun. I will be in the hospital for at least a couple days, on strict bed rest a couple weeks, and will not be able to lift anything or take the stairs for at least 6 weeks.

I've been seeing exceptionally wonderful Dr's at the UC Davis Cancer Center, Endocrinology, and Interventional Radiology, and I trust them with my Life at this point.

My Surgical Oncologist did a fantastic job explaining everything about Primary Aldosteronism to me, and he also scared the crap out of me lol! He made a diagram showing how PA normally looks, which is a cute little upside down "V" with a tiny "grape" (the tumor) hanging off... then he said "this is what yours looks like" and proceeded to make a massive scribble! Wow! He said he has NEVER seen a tumor like mine in his decades of practice, and he brought in Surgeons from the Mayo Clinic to help with my case.

They all decided the best course of action is to get it out immediately, and of course I agreed. They are going to biopsy it once removed, and keep it on ice forever apparently to see what the heck is going on. I hope to be able to help someone else in the future, and I hope they learn a lot from me.

I want to make it clear, even though I'm receiving care at the UCD Cancer Center, I do NOT have cancer. They must biopsy it first, and only about 30% of adrenal tumors turn out to be malignant. It's not a good sign it has taken over my entire adrenal gland, and after my surgery I do have to start seeing a Nephrologist to check out the 2 inch mass I have on my right kidney, and a couple other Specialists to check out some other areas of concern... but I'm going to make it through all of that and I'm going to be ok. ❤️

The goal is that I will have this surgery and be able to roll out of the hospital on NO heart meds at all!! Truly a miracle!!! I believe in my heart the other areas of concern will turn out to be incidentalomas because I'm just a lumpy, bumpy weirdo lol! I will heal, I WILL get better, and I'll be out paddleboarding Tahoe again by next summer!!

Here's where you guys come in- I need help! Any happy thoughts, prayers, mediation, good energy, whatever you've got and no matter what your belief system, please keep me and my kiddos in your thoughts.

I'm not ready to go anywhere, and my kids have really been going through it. I have to pull Cash from kindergarten for now because I can not risk getting sick before my surgery. I'm so incredibly thankful for the people who are dropping everything and coming from across the USA to come help with the boys while I'm down.

That was my biggest fear, because I literally had no idea where they would go while I can not care for them.

My angel of a son Josh made a huge sacrifice, and unfortunately he did have to step away from the job he just worked so incredibly hard to obtain. As Josh said though, God has bigger plans for him, and he is currently being mentored by the gracious owner of the company and will hopefully be able to jump right back into his job once he returns to Texas. My dear friend from allllll the way back in 2nd grade is taking the 2nd shift when Josh has to leave. She has 3 boys of her own, a job and bills to pay in Ohio, but she let me know my Life is important and she will be there for me in my time of need. Thank you Niki, I can't wait to dip our toes in Tahoe, even if you have to drag me out there in a wagon lol!! My sister Jonni is coming from Arizona, of course my daughter Kaleigh is going to take a turn (and hopefully bring my grandbaby Noelle with the smile full of sunshine to brighten my day), my right-hand woman Amber is always just a call away, and my dear mom Glenda and dad Paul will be thinking of me from afar. My sweet niece Lyndsey has already been helping me soooo much, and I can't wait to see adorable drawings by my nieces from my awesome brother Paul and sister- in- law Sarah.

I never realized how much people care about me until now, and I will be forever grateful to you all.

Like I said, I'm not going anywhere, so I will make it up to you some way, somehow.

I love you all, and I will update you as much as I can.

And an update:

Windy underwent her surgery and she has had some scary complications but she is a warrior. She is still in the hospital and is having to gain strength and heal enough to walk again and her blood pressure and pain have been through the roof. I just know that the financial strain is a heavy burden along with all of the medical stuff and the healing process. We just want her to heal and get better.

Windy needs our love and support right now. It is hard enough getting through the next minute, hour, and day. It is time we all pull together. Going through surgery like this requires not only a physical procedure but also she needs to stay in a positive and hopeful mental space. She needs all the love showering her through this time.

It is time for her to heal. Family and friendship is about togetherness, love and support for one another.

It takes a village. Life isn't easy. Windy has undergone a major surgery and she really has to focus on making it through that and to heal. It is vital....beyond vital. Staying healthy and strong is the goal.

Windy has a lot on her plate taking care of everything on her own and I’m hoping we can all help her now.

Let’s all stick together. Family and friends are everything.

Thank you to everyone for reading this and for helping in whatever capacity that you are able to. Love y’all to the moon and back.

Get well soon Windy. We luff you.