Rachel's Medical Fund
Donation protected
Hello! My name is Rachel, and I was born and raised in Georgia. I currently live in Alabama, but have also lived in Virginia, Florida, and Oklahoma.
My story begins when I was just 15 months old. I was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer: rhabdomyosarcoma. This type of cancer is usually found in the neck muscle of adolescent males. And here I was, a fifteen month old female with rhabdomyosarcoma in my lady parts. The doctors were baffled, but pressed on. I underwent chemotherapy and radiation, along with experimental trials. I died three times, but with the help of highly skilled doctors and nurses at Nemours Childrens Hospital in Jacksonville, Florida, I was in remission by age 3 and have lived a cancer free life since then, but not without repercussions of continued radiation.
In 2003, when I was fifteen years old, I began losing continence. I told my mom about this problem and she took me to see the doctor. The doctor told us that my bladder wasn't expanding like it was supposed to, and that my urethra muscle had given out. This was all due to the radiation I recieved as a child. The same year, I had a major surgery to insert an 'Indiana Pouch' into my stomach. The doctors left my natural bladder where it was, and just disconnected it. They told us that one day, cloning would be a thing and I may get to use it again!
Anyways, the Indiana Pouch is a cool little sack, made of my own intestines. To urinate, I insert a catheter into my belly button! How cool is that? Best party trick EVER!
In 2006, I was involved in an ATV accident and burst my Pouch. Luckily, the doctors were able to repair it. So, I have now lived almost half of my life with this amazing feat of science and technology. I am extremely grateful to all of the doctors and nurses involved!
One day in August of 2014, I was unable to empty my pouch. This was extremely uncomfortable for me, and a huge concern. The pouch expands and contracts like a balloon, so if it were to get too full it could begin to affect other organs.
My friend and roommate, Mollie, and I went to the hospital in the hopes that things were okay. The doctors there thought that the channell inside me leading to my belly button had begun to close up a bit. They inserted a tiny little tube to relieve the pouch some, and they did get some urine out. Later that night, they worked a normal sized catheter into the channel, and decided it would be best for the catheter to remain in the channell for a while.
So we went home, thinking that leaving the catheter in would dialate the channell some and make it easier for me to urinate.
Alas, come May of 2015, I experienced the same problem. I could easily insert and remove my catheter, but it wasn't relieving the pouch of any urine. After a lot of fiddling and poking around, the doctors and nurses in the ER that night were able to get almost 2000cc of urine out of my bladder!! This was a concern, as the pouch is only supposed to hold 1200cc. They sent us to UAB to see a doctor more experienced in this field.
This night in particular was a crazy one for Mollie and I. We hadn't slept, Birmingham is roughly a two hour drive, and we really didn't know what they would decide. Our fear was that I would need a whole new pouch, as the doctors continuosly mentioned that medicine and technology had advanced a lot in the past 10 years.
They took scans, X-Rays, several different residents and nurses came into our room to see me and my pouch. They sent us home later that day, saying that they had founds several bladder stones. They referred us to the Kirklin Clinic, which is a part of UAB, to see a doctor there who would schedule surgery.
We returned to see this doctor, thinking best case scenario: they would want to remove the stones. Worst case scenario: they would want to replace the pouch with a new, improved pouch.
When we met the doctor, he walked in and asked, "Have you SEEN your scans?!" Which we had not! When he showed us the scans, we didn't really know what area was which, but we knew where my spine was. As he scrolled thru, one stone popped up... and it got bigger as he scrolled thru. It got to be bigger around than my spine! We were in awe! He continued to scroll, showing us a total of NINE stones, varying in sizes.
And so, we all agreed it was best to get those stones OUT! We set the date for August 10, 2015. I am nervous, but also excited for the surgery. Nervous, for obvious reasons, but excited because I am wondering how much better I will feel after recovery. We are thinking that I have been walking around, working, etc with these stones for almost 7 years!
Here's where YOU come in: apart from general medical expenses, Birmingham is a two hour drive from my home! The doctor says I will have to miss work for 2 to 4 weeks after the surgery. We are very worried about missing this much work, and keeping a roof over our heads.
ANY and ALL donations will help us tremendously and we will appreciate it VERY MUCH!
After my first trip to Birmingham, they gave me a drainage bag. This allows urine to constantly drain from my bladder, giving it a bit of a break from expanding and contracting.
My dog, Willy Wonka, and I. He has grown accustomed to the drainage bag, and will even step over the tube carefully!
Mollie, her daughter Lillee, and me!
My story begins when I was just 15 months old. I was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer: rhabdomyosarcoma. This type of cancer is usually found in the neck muscle of adolescent males. And here I was, a fifteen month old female with rhabdomyosarcoma in my lady parts. The doctors were baffled, but pressed on. I underwent chemotherapy and radiation, along with experimental trials. I died three times, but with the help of highly skilled doctors and nurses at Nemours Childrens Hospital in Jacksonville, Florida, I was in remission by age 3 and have lived a cancer free life since then, but not without repercussions of continued radiation.
In 2003, when I was fifteen years old, I began losing continence. I told my mom about this problem and she took me to see the doctor. The doctor told us that my bladder wasn't expanding like it was supposed to, and that my urethra muscle had given out. This was all due to the radiation I recieved as a child. The same year, I had a major surgery to insert an 'Indiana Pouch' into my stomach. The doctors left my natural bladder where it was, and just disconnected it. They told us that one day, cloning would be a thing and I may get to use it again!
Anyways, the Indiana Pouch is a cool little sack, made of my own intestines. To urinate, I insert a catheter into my belly button! How cool is that? Best party trick EVER!
In 2006, I was involved in an ATV accident and burst my Pouch. Luckily, the doctors were able to repair it. So, I have now lived almost half of my life with this amazing feat of science and technology. I am extremely grateful to all of the doctors and nurses involved!
One day in August of 2014, I was unable to empty my pouch. This was extremely uncomfortable for me, and a huge concern. The pouch expands and contracts like a balloon, so if it were to get too full it could begin to affect other organs.
My friend and roommate, Mollie, and I went to the hospital in the hopes that things were okay. The doctors there thought that the channell inside me leading to my belly button had begun to close up a bit. They inserted a tiny little tube to relieve the pouch some, and they did get some urine out. Later that night, they worked a normal sized catheter into the channel, and decided it would be best for the catheter to remain in the channell for a while.
So we went home, thinking that leaving the catheter in would dialate the channell some and make it easier for me to urinate.
Alas, come May of 2015, I experienced the same problem. I could easily insert and remove my catheter, but it wasn't relieving the pouch of any urine. After a lot of fiddling and poking around, the doctors and nurses in the ER that night were able to get almost 2000cc of urine out of my bladder!! This was a concern, as the pouch is only supposed to hold 1200cc. They sent us to UAB to see a doctor more experienced in this field.
This night in particular was a crazy one for Mollie and I. We hadn't slept, Birmingham is roughly a two hour drive, and we really didn't know what they would decide. Our fear was that I would need a whole new pouch, as the doctors continuosly mentioned that medicine and technology had advanced a lot in the past 10 years.
They took scans, X-Rays, several different residents and nurses came into our room to see me and my pouch. They sent us home later that day, saying that they had founds several bladder stones. They referred us to the Kirklin Clinic, which is a part of UAB, to see a doctor there who would schedule surgery.
We returned to see this doctor, thinking best case scenario: they would want to remove the stones. Worst case scenario: they would want to replace the pouch with a new, improved pouch.
When we met the doctor, he walked in and asked, "Have you SEEN your scans?!" Which we had not! When he showed us the scans, we didn't really know what area was which, but we knew where my spine was. As he scrolled thru, one stone popped up... and it got bigger as he scrolled thru. It got to be bigger around than my spine! We were in awe! He continued to scroll, showing us a total of NINE stones, varying in sizes.
And so, we all agreed it was best to get those stones OUT! We set the date for August 10, 2015. I am nervous, but also excited for the surgery. Nervous, for obvious reasons, but excited because I am wondering how much better I will feel after recovery. We are thinking that I have been walking around, working, etc with these stones for almost 7 years!
Here's where YOU come in: apart from general medical expenses, Birmingham is a two hour drive from my home! The doctor says I will have to miss work for 2 to 4 weeks after the surgery. We are very worried about missing this much work, and keeping a roof over our heads.
ANY and ALL donations will help us tremendously and we will appreciate it VERY MUCH!
After my first trip to Birmingham, they gave me a drainage bag. This allows urine to constantly drain from my bladder, giving it a bit of a break from expanding and contracting.
My dog, Willy Wonka, and I. He has grown accustomed to the drainage bag, and will even step over the tube carefully!
Mollie, her daughter Lillee, and me!
Organizer
Rachel Cloud
Organizer
Sheffield, AL