peggysue2
peggysue2's JournalSome good news for the Liver Are Us family
I was just informed the Pittsburgh Hospital has found a donor for my three-year old granddaughter Cassandra. Her liver transplant surgery is scheduled for 2 am and will take 12-18 hours. Her mom and dad are on their way racing from Philly to Pittsburgh to see, hug and love on this tiny warrior before she's wheeled into the OR. Double the good news in that the transplant team and surgeons said this is a perfect match.
Any blessings, prayers you can spare please send them in the direction of Pittsburgh.
For the Warrior Princess. 
A Win for Cassandra!
I was just informed that Pittsburgh Hospital has found a liver for my grand daughter Cassandra. The transplant will begin at 2 am, a surgery that will last 12-18 hours. According to the surgeons, the donor is a perfect match. My son and daughter-in-law are racing to Pittsburgh as I write this.
Thanks in advance for the prayers, good wishes and those of you who donated to Cassandra's GoFundMe appeal. The DU family is part of this. 
Liver Cancer is Us
Earlier in the year, I wrote about my grand-daughter Cassandra, who at the age of three had developed liver cancer, a very aggressive cancer that immediately threatened her life. Chemo has pushed the cancer back but her liver has been trashed. She is now on a liver donor list awaiting a transplant.
Friday afternoon, my husband received news that he, too, has liver cancer. The cancer was found early, two relatively small tumors. His case is complicated by diabetes and pre-existing liver disease (fatty liver/ non-alcoholic cirrhosis).
Anyone here have experience with liver cancer--what to expect, questions to ask? We have an appointment with the surgeon on Tuesday morning and another appointment Wednesday with an oncologist.
Any words of advice would be appreciated.
An update on my granddaughter, The Warrior Princess
First the good news: Cassandra and my daughter-in-law are at the Pittsburgh Children's Hospital. The surgical team has given the okay for a liver transplant (there was even discussion of a possible liver resection, but after a final MRI it was determined a resection wouldn't fly).
We're now waiting for insurance approval.
Bad news: the insurance delay is making the entire family, extended family and close friends Nervous Nellies. And then additional information: the aggressive chemo therapy (which has pushed the cancer into remission) has damaged the baby girl's kidneys.
Which means? She is likely looking at renal failure in the future.
I have this sinking feeling we're playing whack-a-mole. Correct one thing and then something equally awful raises its ugly head.
I want to be as courageous as my three-year old grand daughter. I want to be Miss Smiley Face pushing through every dire prognosis, dancing down hospital corridors to Beyonce and/or Taylor Swift, embracing every moment like it's the best thing ever.
But I'm not.
Instead, I'm composing last words for my grand-daughter's funeral, searching the words of others for answers I know I'll never really find. Yes, I'm a bookworm. Whenever I've been faced with the inexplicable, the sort of things you can't get heart or mind around, I run to books. It's just what I do; it's what I've always done, even as a child.
I'm beginning to think I stink at this role as Nan because I never allowed negative thinking when my son suffered a brain injury, was told several times by the medical team that his future--at best--was long-term nursing care.
They were wrong. But this?
My reading list has concentrated on hope, faith, grief and joy, universals that seem to sum up the present moment.
As for Cassandra? She's still dancing. I need to learn those steps.
My Family Needs Your Help
Never did this before but the life of my granddaughter hangs in the balance. Certain events humble you. This is one of them.
Cassandra, my three-year old grand baby was diagnosed with liver cancer four months ago. She has received 5 rounds of chemotherapy and withstood every medical intervention and insult with an elvish smile and silent giggle. The ‘silent’ part is due to the ventilator and trach she has endured most of her short life. As a preemie, she was handed a rough hand—defective heart (corrected), damaged lungs (healing) and now this: cancer.
But as Dickinson wrote: Hope is the Thing with Feathers.
Though initially turned down for a liver transplant at Philadelphia’s Children’s Hospital (CHOP), Cassandra is scheduled to be evaluated by Pittsburgh’s pediatric team of surgeons and oncologists. They believe they can get this done.
We’ve gone from grim days to hopium days.
The problem is financing the outside medical costs. Insurance covers a goodly portion but most people know, what’s not covered can break a family’s back—medical transport, food, lodging, etc.
So, I’m asking for any assistance the DU community might be able to offer. A friend of my son and daughter-in-law has started a GOFUNDME page. You’ll see a pic of Cassandra there. We’ve nicknamed her the Warrior Princess. It’s a name the child has earned a hundred times over.
Anything donated will be deeply appreciated.
Thank you in advance,
Peggysue, aka Nan to this sweet but remarkably fierce baby
https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-cassandra-get-her-liver-transplant
A Turn on Alternative Facts
This time from the infamous Jenna Ellis, former legal aide to Trump's Death star.
Though censured in Colorado for her part in Trump's Passion Play and admitting to 10 false statements during the disciplinary hearing, Ms. Ellis is shocked that the media has said she admitted to lying about the 2020 election (read this in another WAPO column, Aaron Blake, The Fix). According to Blake, she 'merely admitted her public claims were unintentionally false.'
Even though . . .
Ellis signed a legal acknowledgment that “she made a number of public statements about the November 2020 presidential election that were false” and did so with a “reckless state of mind” and with selfish motives, according to documents released by Colorado’s Office of Attorney Regulation Counsel.
She maintains . . .
“This was politically motivated from the start from Democrats and Never Trumpers,” Ellis said in a statement to The Washington Post on Thursday. “They ultimately failed to destroy me and failed in their attempt to deprive me of my bar license. I’m glad to have this behind me and remain in good standing in the State of Colorado.”
The grievance whine is loud and strong--all politically motivated, Ellis claims, even though she signed off on making false statements, did so in a reckless manner and with selfish motives.
She may remain in good standing in Colorado, was able to retain her license but her reputation is pretty well shot.
Good Lord I'm tired of these people!
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2023/03/09/jenna-ellis-colorado/
Oh, get this!
Doug Mastriano is seriously considering a run for the US Senate, a run against Bob Casey from the great state of Pennsylvania.
Not sure what is more infuriating--the gall or the continuing delusion. Mastriano was clobbered in his run for PA Governor. Now he thinks he can compete for a senate seat.
Bring it on! I'd love to see all these MAGAts clobbered a thousand times.
Astounding!
https://www.wkbn.com/news/pennsylvania/doug-mastriano-considering-u-s-senate-run-report/
Children and Cancer
Our family received devastating news this week. My grand-daughter Cassandra, not quite 3 years old, has been diagnosed with liver cancer. She's had a very bumpy road since her 26-week preemie birth, has defied all manner of grim prognoses, and developed into a happy, giggly, dancing (loves all things musical) little girl.
Now this.
We've been notified she'll start chemo next week to shrink the liver tumor and, since the entire organ appears compromised, she could very well require a transplant. We're all holding our breath that the spot on her lung is scarring due to all the early lung interventions and 18-month ventilator usage.
Anyone here have experience with these childhood cancers or words of wisdom for fretting relatives? Prayers and good vibes would help, too.
My son and daughter-in-law are, of course, in total shock. It's a stunning reversal. Words fail moments like these, other than: it's so unfair. But even that sounds lame.
Would welcome any advice. Thanks in advance!
On that Kos OP (recently cited here) from the ER nurse
As I said at the Daily Kos, if I could recommend the OP x 1000 I would.
When my youngest son was nineteen, he suffered a traumatic brain injury followed by a stroke from a nicked carotid artery. It was not pretty to watch, not in the early intensive care days nor the months of subsequent therapies and rehab. As a mother, I was anguished by the struggle, the frustration, the months of pain--physical and emotional--my son endured. It was an event that affected our entire family.
John Fetterman's performance last night was ragged, even painful to watch. However, the fact that he was on that stage, pushed himself to do the debate is nothing short of remarkable. My son was also a fighter, bull-headed if you will. He, too, pushed himself and returned to University in 8 months after his accident. I held my breath the entire time but he was determined to get back up. Like John Fetterman, he got back up, chugged along despite mockery from some, doubt from a number of administrators and ended up on the Dean's List at the end of the semester.
Though John Fetterman's words were halting and uneven, they were true to the man, a man who has pushed against adversity, stood on his own two feet and vowed to work for those less fortunate than himself be it in healthcare access, minimum wage, a woman's right to choose, criminal justice, compassion in immigration matters, etc. His personal medical battle will only increase his ability to fight the good fight with the empathy he had and the insight people acquire after a life-and-death struggle.
John Fetterman has entered warrior territory now.
In contrast, Dr. Oz with his slick, arrogant performance came across with the biggest gaffe of the evening: a woman's healthcare and abortion should be between a woman, her doctor and LOCAL POLITICAL LEADER. All within the context that government should NEVER be involved in these matters. Just leave it to the States and those political leaders.
I listened to a disgusting CNN segment this morning, a panel of 'very serious people'. One of the panelists suggested there should have been a "Mercy Rule," that John Fetterman should have been put down after four minutes.
Can't tell you how that comment enraged me, set my hair on fire.
And then? My husband and I voted a straight Democratic ticket in Pennsylvania. After that, we got a Pfizer booster and flu shot.
I want to be perfectly healthy when John Fetterman raises his hand and is sworn in as our next Senator from Pennsylvania.
As for my son? He graduated, is happily married and gifted us with a beautiful granddaughter.
I predict last night will backfire on the Oz campaign. Couldn't happen to a more deserving bunch.
The State of the Race in Pennsylvania is Sinking In, Fast
To quote the Rolling Stone piece:
Even Trump Thinks Dr. Oz Will ‘F–king Lose,’ Sources Say.
And we all know how that Former Guy hates LOSERS. So, it should come as no surprise that in addition to DeSantis working a rally for the odious Republican candidate for Governor, Doug Mastriano, we will also have Trump in PA working the crowd and beating the weeds for the flailing Dr. Oz.
According to the article, Trump just cannot get his brain around his celebrity-pick doing so badly. Some allies are suggesting Oz wants to lose. LOL! If I were a better person, I might feel sympathy for Oz, the continuous humiliation he's been facing.
But I'm not and I don't.
Guaranteed if after this September 3rd rally with Herr Drumpt, Oz numbers don't go up? He'll be a Trumper pariah, forever.
But then, there's always New Jersey, Doc! 
https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/trump-thinks-dr-oz-lose-pennsylvania-senate-race-1234577978/
Profile Information
Name: PegGender: Female
Hometown: New Jersey
Home country: USA
Current location: Wilmington, DE
Member since: Sat Feb 6, 2016, 08:31 PM
Number of posts: 11,354