A Sister Left Behind

This post is #48 in a year-long series ... Through this series of posts I plan to share our family's experiences during our 17-year-old daughter's year-long battle with brain cancer, which began in February of 2008. My desire is to process through the events of that year from the perspective that a decade of time has brought ... for myself, really. But if you'd like to follow along, you're welcome to join me.

April 2, 2008

When a child is diagnosed with cancer, it has a profound impact on everyone in the family.  Our younger daughter Bethany actually got sick before Hannah did.  She had been diagnosed with mononucleosis just a week or so before Hannah's first symptoms began to appear.  In fact, until the moment that an MRI revealed a tumor in Hannah's brain, I was more concerned about Bethany's health than hers.  She actually seemed far sicker than Hannah at the time.

But of course, when we found out about the brain tumor and were launched into the roller-coaster world of cancer, 12-year-old Bethany was left behind.  Life as she knew it changed dramatically overnight.  Her Mom, Dad, and big sister who had always been there for her were suddenly gone, and she often found herself in the care of her grandparents, friends' parents, and neighbors.  And if we weren't physically absent, we were distracted with Hannah's medications, radiation appointments, and blood counts.  Hannah's health became our primary concern, even as Bethany continued to deal with medical issues of her own.

We are so grateful for all those who reached out to Bethany during this time in our lives.  Lots of folks stepped up to get her where she needed to go, make sure she was fed, and give her some much-needed companionship.  I don't even know who many of those people are ... but their kindness will never be forgotten.

Here's the text of an email I sent ten years ago today ...

This actually will be more of a Bethany Sullivan update than a Hannah Sullivan update. She had her appointment this morning at the Infectious Diseases clinic at Children’s Hospital. It was a bit frustrating at first, because they had lost her file, and had no record of her having an appointment today. By the time they got all of that straightened out, it was nearly two hours before we finally saw the doctor. The doctor did a thorough exam, and took copious notes about all of the symptoms she has had over the last two months. She told us that the blood tests which had been done previously had been negative for the two main causes of mono symptoms, Epstein-Barr virus and Cytomegalovirus. She told us that there are two other viral infections which can cause mono symptoms, but they are not very common and difficult to test for. She discussed with us a variety of other illnesses which can cause fatigue, fever, abdominal pain, etc. (there are LOTS of them!) and drew quite a bit of blood to be sent off for testing. She said the results will come in over the next week to two weeks, and she will keep us posted on the results as she receives them. She was pleased to hear that Bethany’s energy level has definitely improved over the last week or two, and that she is in school and keeping up with her schoolwork.

Hannah has had a good day today, with very little nausea or dizziness. Tomorrow will mark the halfway point of her radiation therapy! She continues to have a wonderful attitude about everything, for which we are very thankful.

Thanks again for all your prayers! God is good, all the time!

Jill and Brad