Hey Ranchers...there is an upcoming event you should know about! Nov 16th from 3-7 at Texas Old Town in Kyle - a carnival, BBQ and silent auction benefiting the Cranes. Read below for their story and open your hearts and wallets! The Cranes Story Once upon a time, on my 1st day of my senior year, I was assigned to sit by this cute guy. He was popular and I was the girl who had never been given a 2nd glance. For some reason he asked me out on a date and soon after we were engaged. A year later, we were married...that was 13 wonderful years ago. A great man said, “Sandwiched between ‘once upon a time’ and ‘happily ever after’ all have to experience great adversity.” Our life has been no different. Five years after marriage we were blessed with Emmalee. She was a sweet baby with a rosebud mouth and hands that flit around in the air like tiny butterflies. On Christmas Eve, 2004, we found blood in her diaper. A mass was found and a biopsy was soon preformed. The results were inconclusive, as the mass was necrotic but they didn’t think it was cancer. We felt relieved and lucky. Dominic blessed our lives a year and a half later and soon I was pregnant with Sebastian. At our 25 week ultrasound with Sebastian we were told that our unborn baby had a rare and deadly congenital heart defect, Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome. Our local Dr advised us to terminate the pregnancy since he would have less than a 40% chance of survival to living past the age of 3. We left down trodden but went home and started doing research. We found the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia; they are the top rated cardiac children’s hospital and have a 90% survival rate. We decided the great expense of going there would be worth our baby’s life. It was there that Sebastian was born and had his 1st open heart surgery just 2 days after his birth. We flew home 3 months later after being told that he could die any minute without warning and to not feel bad if that happened. He had 2 more open heart surgeries at 6 months and 3 years old back in Philadelphia. Sprinkled in between he has had 12 heart caths and 3 other minor surgeries. Two years ago Sebastian’s oxygen levels continued to drop and it became apparent that we needed to move to a lower altitude. I was able to transfer to the great area of Austin, TX. On faith that Stephen would find a job and not knowing a single person we packed up and moved away from all that we had ever known. It was a great move for Sebastian and his health improved. His heart condition can never be cured and he will have lifelong complications. His heart will eventually tire out and when that happens we will see if a transplant will be available for him. Until then we enjoy his happy countenance and let him live life to the best of his physical capabilities. Life was as “normal” as our life is, but in mid July Emmalee started having tummy pain. She was unable to go to the bathroom. Like a woman in labor she would double over in pain and try to push but nothing would come. She couldn’t sleep or eat. Over a 2 week period she went to the ER 2 times, had 3 Dr visits, and was given a diagnosis of constipation. Finally, at the end of the 2nd week, I took her back to the ER. They again said it was constipation, but this time I wouldn’t leave until they did an ultrasound. They found a mass in her bladder over 3 cm in size which was blocking off urine flow and making the bladder so enlarged that it was blocking movement in the intestines. A scope was done but the results came back negative for cancer. We were sent home for 2 weeks with a super pubic catheter and meds hoping to shrink the mass, instead it grew to 5 cm. We sought a 2nd opinion at the Children’s Hospital in Houston. The Dr knew right away that it was Rhabdomyosarcoma, a soft tissue cancer. A scope was done the next day to confirm. The Dr’s believe it is related to the mass that was found at all those years ago, just silently growing until it took over her little body. Chemo was started the next week with 38 weekly sessions in her future. Every 4th time she stays overnight in the hospital. This means no school this year and limited access to friends and other activities. In December we will be going to Houston every week to get daily radiation along with chemo. This will go on for 6 weeks past Christmas and into the New Year. Having one child that is terminal and another who is fighting for her life we try to keep close to each other and remember that with great sorrow comes great joy. One day our “happily ever after” will come but till then we will keep living and fighting through our trials, knowing all the while our life is also full of great joy.
Posted on: Fri, 25 Oct 2013 14:01:57 +0000
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