Glass City Volleyball Athlete's
Go Beyond!

Glass City Volleyball Company is very proud to highlight one of the many Glass City Volleyball athletes that Go Beyond ....

December 2008 Athlete -

This is Jeni's Story

GC_Jeni

Mid April Jeni came home from school and stated that she had felt a lump in her throat. Most things I try to let go but lumps make me nervous. We took her to our family doctor and he was concerned with the location of the lump. He was thinking thyroid problem so the testing began for that. Jeni went through several series of blood test and a thyroid uptake but all were negative. The second week of testing Jeni came home from school and said that she was having a great deal of pain where the lump was and that she could not catch her breath, could not bend over and could not find any relief or comfort in any position that she sat or laid in. I called the family doctor (Dr. Domini) and he wanted her to go to the ER right away and have an ultrasound done.

Thankfully at the ER the ultrasound tech had already left for the day. The ER doctor ordered a CT scan from Jeni’s chest to her hips. The scan showed that all of her lymph nodes were enlarged. The ER doc then ordered a CT from her hips down. That scan as well showed all of her lymph nodes were enlarged. They had also done a complete blood work up on her and that came back with some funky numbers. The ER contacted the family doctor with all of the results and he said it was ok for us to go home but contact him first thing in the morning.

The hospital of course had given us the results of the scans and blood work but no diagnosis. I know just enough about medicine to make me dangerous, so with what we had in our hands I knew things were not good, but I was holding out hope for an infection of some sort that could be fixed with some good antibiotics. It was a long night.

Next morning I went to work and called the docs office right when it opened. I was informed that today was his day off and I would have to wait until Monday to get a hold of him. My heart sunk to my knees. I was worried sick already and then to think of waiting until Monday OMG. So I politely said ok and made my appointment. That day just drug on until about 3:00 and my phone rang. Believe it or not it was the good doc. Come to find out he had came in on his day off and working on Jeni’s case all day. He told me what he was suspecting and that he had contacted Dr. Crawford Strunk at Toledo Children’s Hospital and had set up an appointment for us on Monday. I was relieved to know that Dr. Domini did not desert us and that he had set a plan into motion. It was a long weekend.

Monday came and what a whirlwind did we find ourselves in. From the moment we walked in the doors of Toledo Children’s we felt like we were the most important people in the world. The first person we met of course was the receptionist Tina. We were greeted with her great smile and a feeling that everything was ok. Next we met Beth what a wonderful and pleasant person to be with. Beth took all of Jeni’s vitals and put us in a room to wait to see the doctor. I say wait but it was no time at all and in walks Dr. Strunk. I think that he and Jeni hit it off immediately. He gave us a quick rundown of what he and Dr. Domini had spoke about and what the day would hold for Jeni. We took a deep breath and said ok. Beth …again thank God for Beth, came in and showed us the plan for all of the tests that Jeni would need to go through that day. Beth was there every step of the way to make sure we knew where we were going and that we got there. After a very long day of testing we went home to rest up for surgery on Tuesday. We knew at this point that Jeni was leaning towards some form of lymphoma but no complete diagnosis yet. We would know more after the biopsy on Tuesday.

Tuesday. We meet Dr. Cullen the surgeon who will do the biopsy on Jeni. Dr. Cullen was a great guy and Jeni clicked with him quickly. So with the eternal great smile that Jeni ALWAYS has on her face they took our baby to surgery. The wait was unbearable….. Finally Dr. Cullen came out and explained that they did a freeze biopsy on Jeni and found for fact that she had a lymphoma and that we would find out in the next couple of days if it was Hodgkin’s or not. He also let us know that he placed her port at this time as well and that Dr. Strunk had taken some bone marrow as well. Breathe, OK. We had a little bit of a wait and Finally we were back with Jeni, a little sleepy but still smiling. We go home for more waiting, and a day of rest.

Wednesday was a quiet day. Jeni slept quite a bit.

Thursday back to the hospital more tests and sent for a PET scan. The PET scan would show if the cancer was migrating and to where. At central imaging where the PET was done we met Luke another angel sent to make things easier. Home again for more waiting.

FRIDAY ….. Day of Diagnosis. Dr. Cullen had told us that if we were praying people to pray for Hodgkins Lymphoma because it has the best cure rate. OK.

We get to the hospital we go into a room where more of our angels are introduced to us. There was Sue the social working, Liz the nurse practitioner and Dr. Strunk.

Good News! It is Hodgkin's Lymphoma. Bad News! It has migrated to her spleen and there is a mass over her heart. Good News! Jeni has not exhibited any B symptoms, night sweats, etc… Bad News! Chemo and radiation. OK. What is the plan asks the 16 year old with no fear or hesitation in her voice. The adults all seem to be a bit stunned by this matter of fact reaction to this news. We all seem to be waiting for a small breakdown? Nothing, a tear? Nope, a willingness to fight this? YOU BET. As a mother I could not have been more proud at this young women’s attitude. WOW!!! But then another question was raised. They asked if she would be interested in being part of a study group if she qualified. Again not an ounce of hesitation … If it can help someone else then of course. Again, WOW!

So moving forward the plan is laid out, what to expect during treatment etc …. Small breakdown comes when the words No Cedar Point, No Swimming are spoken. Jeni’s favorite summer activities. Breathe OK. There is always next summer. Let’s get started.

Fast forward to Monday ….. First day of treatment. We were told to plan for 8 hours of treatment it turned out to be 12. We meet yet another angel by the name of Ruth turns out we will be spending a lot of time with her for the next 4 months.

Tuesday …. Shorter day about 6 hours Ruth is there taking care of Jeni.

Wednesday …. Even shorter day about 2 hours there is Ruth.

Thursday – Sunday …. Off

Back to Monday. For the next 4 months that was the routine. Mixed in that Schedule was the agony of a 16 year old girl losing her beautiful blonde hair, but managing to be even more beautiful with a bald head and ever present smile. Also, sometimes being so tired but pushing herself to make every summer basketball camp and practice, every volleyball camp and practice. Gritting through an unexplained bout of exhaustion to be able to go to volleyball camp and when she got back found out that her hemoglobin was extremely low. Looking back now she made it look so easy. She never asked why me, never complained about having to go to the hospital all the time. Just took everything and everyday for what it was.

4 months later … By the grace of God and Jeni’s great attitude, she has been a complete responder to her chemo therapy. She was able to go for radiation due to the fact she responded so well to the chemo and was part of the study group. She has had her port removed and all test have come back negative for cancer. Jeni’s hair has started to grow back. She played varsity volleyball and made all league and all district honors. Best of all she was able to make a trip to Cedar Point and even swam a little. Jeni’s beautiful smile is still ever present, and every day finds her growing stronger and ready for anything.