Journal entry by Debbie Heiman — 19 hours ago
There are dates that will forever be drilled into my memory, along with every detail of those days. I wish it didn't have to be this way, but it is.
April 9th was the day that I took Scott to the ER at West Allis Memorial. After an ultrasound of his abdominal area, we were told that things didn't look good. I asked if it was cancer and the ER doctor said yes, he thought it was. After the CT scan, he told us how bad it really looked. He saw 2 tumors in his peritoneum that were bigger than softballs. There were also more tumors than he could count throughout his entire abdominal area. They admitted us immediately so that he could have a liver biopsy the next day.
After I had called family and close friends, I went home to quickly pack up the kids to spend the night with their Aunt, Uncle and cousins. I told them we were going to go see Dad. I could tell they were scared.
When we got to the room, Scott told them that the Doctors thought that he had cancer. We didn't know for sure though, and we didn't know any details. I was able to remind them that Grandma (my Mom) has lived with cancer and fought hard for 15 years (now almost 17). They have seen my Mom lose her hair and remain positive through it all. They didn't seem as scared because of having her in their lives.
On April 10th, they performed the liver biopsy. They sent us home after the biopsy. It wasn't until early evening. I didn't realize how horrible the next day would be.
The next morning was my 37th birthday. I woke up to find Scott in the living room. He was in the recliner in extreme pain. I called the hospital to ask what I could do for him. They had to write me a script for strong pain medicine. The medicine knocked him out and he slept practically the whole day.
I was blessed to have a few special people in my life (you know who you are!) who knew that my life was turning upside down. They either stopped by with a birthday gift or had things delivered to make my day a little brighter. Thank you for loving me when I felt so empty inside. My birthday was the last thing on my mind! All I wanted was to take Scott's pain away! It killed me to see him hurting, and I wanted to stay positive for the kids. It was a beautiful day, so we walked our dog Sophie and spent a lot of time outside that day.
The next 4 days, we waited to hear what was really going on with Scott. I took that week off from daycare and Scott and I did a lot of sitting around and thinking. We finally got an appointment on April 15, 2015.
April 15th is another day that I will never forget. I remember sitting there with Scott waiting for the oncologist to come and talk to us. She first said, "I'm so sorry! He has a form of Sarcoma cancer called Desmoplastic Small Round Cell Tumor and there is no cure."
I completely lost my mind at that very moment. In my mind, that was it. I thought we were being sent home, and that was it. I jumped out of my seat and was saying things about the kids and us needing him and on and on. The doctor calmed me down and then started explaining that we will be sent to Froedtert, because West Allis couldn't handle this extremely rare cancer.
This began our 18 month journey at Froedtert. We have met so many wonderful nurses and Doctors! They have been so wonderful and always encouraging us every step of the way.
When I think back to our life in the beginning of this journey, I would have never believed that Scott would be doing as well as he is today!
I didn't get sleep back then, because we were dealing with pick lines and medication in the middle of the night. It is only by the Grace of God that we made it through those hard times. He was also with us while we were away from our kids for surgery in New York for 6 weeks. He continues to be faithful as Scott keeps fighting with everything he's got!
Please keep us in your prayers as Scott begins chemo again on November 7th. I hope he can continue to work through treatment and feel decent. I know that's what he wants. If he can handle it, I know it's good for him.
It's a hard transition for our family, going from having Daddy around 24/7 to having him work long hours again. The older 3 understand, but Myles really struggles with it. He sure does love his Daddy!!! ❤️️
I am proud of Scott for continuing to be such a great example to our kids of what a Christian man looks like. He is a hard worker and the spiritual leader in our home.
I pray that God gives us all the strength to keep fighting and staying positive for years to come. God knows what is best, and I am confident of that.
April 9th was the day that I took Scott to the ER at West Allis Memorial. After an ultrasound of his abdominal area, we were told that things didn't look good. I asked if it was cancer and the ER doctor said yes, he thought it was. After the CT scan, he told us how bad it really looked. He saw 2 tumors in his peritoneum that were bigger than softballs. There were also more tumors than he could count throughout his entire abdominal area. They admitted us immediately so that he could have a liver biopsy the next day.
After I had called family and close friends, I went home to quickly pack up the kids to spend the night with their Aunt, Uncle and cousins. I told them we were going to go see Dad. I could tell they were scared.
When we got to the room, Scott told them that the Doctors thought that he had cancer. We didn't know for sure though, and we didn't know any details. I was able to remind them that Grandma (my Mom) has lived with cancer and fought hard for 15 years (now almost 17). They have seen my Mom lose her hair and remain positive through it all. They didn't seem as scared because of having her in their lives.
On April 10th, they performed the liver biopsy. They sent us home after the biopsy. It wasn't until early evening. I didn't realize how horrible the next day would be.
The next morning was my 37th birthday. I woke up to find Scott in the living room. He was in the recliner in extreme pain. I called the hospital to ask what I could do for him. They had to write me a script for strong pain medicine. The medicine knocked him out and he slept practically the whole day.
I was blessed to have a few special people in my life (you know who you are!) who knew that my life was turning upside down. They either stopped by with a birthday gift or had things delivered to make my day a little brighter. Thank you for loving me when I felt so empty inside. My birthday was the last thing on my mind! All I wanted was to take Scott's pain away! It killed me to see him hurting, and I wanted to stay positive for the kids. It was a beautiful day, so we walked our dog Sophie and spent a lot of time outside that day.
The next 4 days, we waited to hear what was really going on with Scott. I took that week off from daycare and Scott and I did a lot of sitting around and thinking. We finally got an appointment on April 15, 2015.
April 15th is another day that I will never forget. I remember sitting there with Scott waiting for the oncologist to come and talk to us. She first said, "I'm so sorry! He has a form of Sarcoma cancer called Desmoplastic Small Round Cell Tumor and there is no cure."
I completely lost my mind at that very moment. In my mind, that was it. I thought we were being sent home, and that was it. I jumped out of my seat and was saying things about the kids and us needing him and on and on. The doctor calmed me down and then started explaining that we will be sent to Froedtert, because West Allis couldn't handle this extremely rare cancer.
This began our 18 month journey at Froedtert. We have met so many wonderful nurses and Doctors! They have been so wonderful and always encouraging us every step of the way.
When I think back to our life in the beginning of this journey, I would have never believed that Scott would be doing as well as he is today!
I didn't get sleep back then, because we were dealing with pick lines and medication in the middle of the night. It is only by the Grace of God that we made it through those hard times. He was also with us while we were away from our kids for surgery in New York for 6 weeks. He continues to be faithful as Scott keeps fighting with everything he's got!
Please keep us in your prayers as Scott begins chemo again on November 7th. I hope he can continue to work through treatment and feel decent. I know that's what he wants. If he can handle it, I know it's good for him.
It's a hard transition for our family, going from having Daddy around 24/7 to having him work long hours again. The older 3 understand, but Myles really struggles with it. He sure does love his Daddy!!! ❤️️
I am proud of Scott for continuing to be such a great example to our kids of what a Christian man looks like. He is a hard worker and the spiritual leader in our home.
I pray that God gives us all the strength to keep fighting and staying positive for years to come. God knows what is best, and I am confident of that.
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