Posted May 5, 2016 on www.caringbridge.org/visit/allisonchaput
I never in my wildest dreams thought that I would be making a caring bridge website for myself. Here I sit, with just me and my computer and many thoughts running through my head. The last week has been a whirlwind, and I never thought that my life would be turned upside down in a matter of days.
My story starts with just a plain ole me story. I'm just a normal person, living my life with my fiancé and our dog. We have the life that we love, and no one could love it more than we love it! A week ago, our life was turned upside down, and now we are holding onto the fingers of God for him to give us the grace, courage, hope, love, and faith to make it through our journey.
I was a normal, healthy 32 yr. old who loved to run, eat healthy, socialize, and enjoy life. I was running 4-5 day a week, at least 2-3 miles a day. I was trying to lose weight for my upcoming wedding, all I wanted to lose was 10-20 lbs. and tone up a little to look stunning in my wedding dress. I was enrolled in a graduate program to be a Nurse Practitioner. I was working full time as an assistant nurse manager in the Surgical Intensive Care Unit. My life was busy, but I loved it! I loved all of it!!
On April 24th, Ian picked me up from the airport after being in Kansas City for the weekend, attending one of my good friends bridal shower. We went out for a late lunch and after that we went home to enjoy the afternoon and evening. I just didn't feel right after I ate, but I didn't think much about it. I just thought I was having that full, uncomfortable feeling, especially from not eating healthy like usual all weekend long. On the 25th, I woke up at 4:30 and was going to go run, but I didn't feel right, so I opted to sleep another hour before going to work. I got to work and was having abdominal pain and shortness of breath. Many of the nurses thought I was having heartburn or an ulcer, so I ate Tums all day and took Prilosec. I didn't have much relief, but I have never had heartburn before, so I wasn't sure when the Tums and the Prilosec were supposed to start working. On the 26th, I actually felt better. I was still having some abdominal pain, but I went to work and got through the day. That evening, Ian and I went and ate Pho for dinner, and that aggravated my abdominal pain and I was pretty miserable the rest of the evening. That night, Ian made me promise that I would go to the doctor that next day. On Wednesday, the 27th, I woke up really miserable, but I had things to do at work, so I went to work. I didn't have an appetite, and I was side tracked all day long with my pain and shortness of breath! I made a doctor appointment with my primary care physician at 4pm that afternoon. I finally got the doctor and she started working me up for an acute gall bladder attack, but she did tell me that she was concerned about my high heart rate and shortness of breath. She ordered an ultrasound of the my gallbladder and I headed to Parker Adventist Hospital to get my ultrasound. During my ultrasound I was really short of breath, but I just wanted the ultrasound done to get a diagnosis. Once the ultrasound was done, the radiologist came to my room to do another ultrasound because my gallbladder was fine, but there was a large accumulation of fluid around my heart (pericardial effusion). The radiologist wouldn't let me leave the hospital and walked me to the emergency room. In the emergency room, the doctor ordered a cat scan of my chest, abdominal, and pelvis. Once the results were in, my nightmare began. The cat scan showed the accumulation of fluid around my heart, another accumulation around my right lung, and a mass in the upper lobe of my right lung. The ED doctor wanted me close to a heart surgeon in case I needed to have the fluid around my heart drained emergently, so she transferred me to Porter Adventist Hospital in the middle of the night.
During the middle of the night, my shortness of breath and high heart rate got worse. I was unable to talk in complete sentences without being short of breath. At 8:15 am, the cardiologist came in and assessed me. He rushed me to the heart catheter lab to drain the fluid around my heart. He drained 800 cc off my heart that morning and placed a drain in my heart in order to keep the fluid off. The fluid that was taken off my heart in the cath lab was sent to the lab, and then we waited. Waiting for results is not fun! It's a sit and wait game when it comes to the medical field.
On Friday, April 29th, my critical care doctor came in my room, as I was in the ICU. She asked my parents to step out and I knew. I knew that the news wasn't good, that my world was about to be turned upside down. She looked me in the eyes, with tears in her own eyes, and told me that I had cancer. The fluid around my heart had come back with lung cancer cells in it. So, I was diagnosed with lung cancer at 32 years old. My world came crashing down….I immediately begged God to make this be a joke, I begged him to take it all away, I begged him to wrap his arms around me, I begged him to love me, I begged him to heal me, I begged him to wake me up from this nightmare. But, when I opened my eyes, my reality was sitting right in front of me in that hospital bed, as my parents walked back in from hearing the same words I had just heard. I have cancer. I have lung cancer. I have stage 4 lung cancer. How? How does a 32 year old who has never smoked a day in her life get lung cancer? How does one that was running up until a week before that get lung cancer? How does one that is in the prime of her life planning her wedding get lung cancer? But, here I am, battling the biggest fight of my life. That afternoon, was a blur. My oncologist ordered an MRI of my brain, and a PET scan, so I was taken down to the radiology department and had my scans done. I was in a daze, but I knew I needed to get the scans done in order to move on. The best news of Friday came that evening when my oncologist came to see me. My MRI was negative, and the PET scan showed cancer in the mass in my lung, some lymph nodes in my chest, one lymph node in my neck, and the fluid around the sac of my heart. No cancer in my brain or my liver….and then I could smile.
On Saturday, April 30th, the heart surgeon took me to surgery to place a tube in the sac around my heart to prevent the fluid from coming back and with hopes that the sac around my heart and my heart would adhere. He also placed a chest tube in my lung and drained 800 cc off my right lung in surgery. I had those tubes taken out over the next two days, and none of the fluid has accumulated again.
I was discharged from the hospital on Monday, May 2nd. Ian was so happy to take me home. I was so glad to be home and sleeping in my own bed.
We started chemo on Thursday, May 5th. I will write another journal entry about my day at the cancer center!
My story starts with just a plain ole me story. I'm just a normal person, living my life with my fiancé and our dog. We have the life that we love, and no one could love it more than we love it! A week ago, our life was turned upside down, and now we are holding onto the fingers of God for him to give us the grace, courage, hope, love, and faith to make it through our journey.
I was a normal, healthy 32 yr. old who loved to run, eat healthy, socialize, and enjoy life. I was running 4-5 day a week, at least 2-3 miles a day. I was trying to lose weight for my upcoming wedding, all I wanted to lose was 10-20 lbs. and tone up a little to look stunning in my wedding dress. I was enrolled in a graduate program to be a Nurse Practitioner. I was working full time as an assistant nurse manager in the Surgical Intensive Care Unit. My life was busy, but I loved it! I loved all of it!!
On April 24th, Ian picked me up from the airport after being in Kansas City for the weekend, attending one of my good friends bridal shower. We went out for a late lunch and after that we went home to enjoy the afternoon and evening. I just didn't feel right after I ate, but I didn't think much about it. I just thought I was having that full, uncomfortable feeling, especially from not eating healthy like usual all weekend long. On the 25th, I woke up at 4:30 and was going to go run, but I didn't feel right, so I opted to sleep another hour before going to work. I got to work and was having abdominal pain and shortness of breath. Many of the nurses thought I was having heartburn or an ulcer, so I ate Tums all day and took Prilosec. I didn't have much relief, but I have never had heartburn before, so I wasn't sure when the Tums and the Prilosec were supposed to start working. On the 26th, I actually felt better. I was still having some abdominal pain, but I went to work and got through the day. That evening, Ian and I went and ate Pho for dinner, and that aggravated my abdominal pain and I was pretty miserable the rest of the evening. That night, Ian made me promise that I would go to the doctor that next day. On Wednesday, the 27th, I woke up really miserable, but I had things to do at work, so I went to work. I didn't have an appetite, and I was side tracked all day long with my pain and shortness of breath! I made a doctor appointment with my primary care physician at 4pm that afternoon. I finally got the doctor and she started working me up for an acute gall bladder attack, but she did tell me that she was concerned about my high heart rate and shortness of breath. She ordered an ultrasound of the my gallbladder and I headed to Parker Adventist Hospital to get my ultrasound. During my ultrasound I was really short of breath, but I just wanted the ultrasound done to get a diagnosis. Once the ultrasound was done, the radiologist came to my room to do another ultrasound because my gallbladder was fine, but there was a large accumulation of fluid around my heart (pericardial effusion). The radiologist wouldn't let me leave the hospital and walked me to the emergency room. In the emergency room, the doctor ordered a cat scan of my chest, abdominal, and pelvis. Once the results were in, my nightmare began. The cat scan showed the accumulation of fluid around my heart, another accumulation around my right lung, and a mass in the upper lobe of my right lung. The ED doctor wanted me close to a heart surgeon in case I needed to have the fluid around my heart drained emergently, so she transferred me to Porter Adventist Hospital in the middle of the night.
During the middle of the night, my shortness of breath and high heart rate got worse. I was unable to talk in complete sentences without being short of breath. At 8:15 am, the cardiologist came in and assessed me. He rushed me to the heart catheter lab to drain the fluid around my heart. He drained 800 cc off my heart that morning and placed a drain in my heart in order to keep the fluid off. The fluid that was taken off my heart in the cath lab was sent to the lab, and then we waited. Waiting for results is not fun! It's a sit and wait game when it comes to the medical field.
On Friday, April 29th, my critical care doctor came in my room, as I was in the ICU. She asked my parents to step out and I knew. I knew that the news wasn't good, that my world was about to be turned upside down. She looked me in the eyes, with tears in her own eyes, and told me that I had cancer. The fluid around my heart had come back with lung cancer cells in it. So, I was diagnosed with lung cancer at 32 years old. My world came crashing down….I immediately begged God to make this be a joke, I begged him to take it all away, I begged him to wrap his arms around me, I begged him to love me, I begged him to heal me, I begged him to wake me up from this nightmare. But, when I opened my eyes, my reality was sitting right in front of me in that hospital bed, as my parents walked back in from hearing the same words I had just heard. I have cancer. I have lung cancer. I have stage 4 lung cancer. How? How does a 32 year old who has never smoked a day in her life get lung cancer? How does one that was running up until a week before that get lung cancer? How does one that is in the prime of her life planning her wedding get lung cancer? But, here I am, battling the biggest fight of my life. That afternoon, was a blur. My oncologist ordered an MRI of my brain, and a PET scan, so I was taken down to the radiology department and had my scans done. I was in a daze, but I knew I needed to get the scans done in order to move on. The best news of Friday came that evening when my oncologist came to see me. My MRI was negative, and the PET scan showed cancer in the mass in my lung, some lymph nodes in my chest, one lymph node in my neck, and the fluid around the sac of my heart. No cancer in my brain or my liver….and then I could smile.
On Saturday, April 30th, the heart surgeon took me to surgery to place a tube in the sac around my heart to prevent the fluid from coming back and with hopes that the sac around my heart and my heart would adhere. He also placed a chest tube in my lung and drained 800 cc off my right lung in surgery. I had those tubes taken out over the next two days, and none of the fluid has accumulated again.
I was discharged from the hospital on Monday, May 2nd. Ian was so happy to take me home. I was so glad to be home and sleeping in my own bed.
We started chemo on Thursday, May 5th. I will write another journal entry about my day at the cancer center!
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