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GiGi’s Journey

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GiGi’s Journey

On Sunday, August 1st, after a complete body scan and no other masses were found we were told it was a Primary Brain Tumor. She's a fighter! She will beat this!

On Saturday, July 31st, 2021 we took my mom to the emergency room due to some complications she was having and that is where they located the brain mass, (the term they were using at the time). After some scheduling issues, a broken microscope, and the realization that if she doesn't have it removed she will succumb to the tumor in 3-6 months. she had her surgery to have it removed on August 6th, 2021. After 9 hours of waiting in a hospital waiting room I got the final phone call telling me that my mom had made it out of surgery and was in recovery. At 11:47pm I was snuck down to the recovery room to see mom since they did not have any ICU beds available that night. "Glioblastoma" is a word that will forever give me nightmares. Listening to Neurosurgeons give such precise and delicate information was surreal. Not sure that I was retaining much of the information, I decided to do some of my own research and come to terms with what type of journey my mom was about to partake in. The average life expectancy for this type of tumor is two years. However, 10% have lived 5 years and some patients have lived as far as 10 years. Of course this family is shooting for the 10 year mark and more. No matter the time she has left with us, God has his arms wrapped around us all and we will make it the best time we can. We have created this page so we are able to keep the family and friends updated as she begins this Cancer Journey. Thank you all for continued prayers! So do not fear, for I am with you;
do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you;
I will uphold you with my righteous hand.
~Isaiah 41:10~

11/16/2022

❤️

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11/13/2022

After a courageous battle with Glioblastoma my mom’s journey has unfortunately came to an end. She fought so hard! ❤️

Please continue to keep our family in your prayers during this difficult time. All the cards, texts and flowers during her journey were all appreciated. She loved her family and friends so much!

Love you all, from the Reynolds family.

10/21/2022

Update......

My mom is being released from the hospital today! Yay! She will be coming home on hospice. She is tired and ready to live out her days without being sick. As always please continue to pray for our family. 😘🙏❤️

10/19/2022

The family is asking for some prayers for my sweet momma. Unfortunately, she has some swelling on the brain. She will be air-lifted to Springfield for treatment. 🙏☹️

10/07/2022

On September 27th, 2022 mom underwent a small procedure to place a port for Chemo. After this we go and see her oncologist on the 13th to see when she will start her treatments.

Prayers are appreciated at this time to ensure we make all the right decisions. And there will be peace on those decisions. ❤️🙏

09/22/2022

Long Day for mom today!

Mom was able to get her staples removed and she of course was a rock star through the whole process! Not one flinch. 😱

Then lunch with the littlest grand babe!! Who of course had to help GiGi through the cafe. 🥰❤️

Then off to see the Oncologist. We have decided not to travel to St Louis for any treatments and continue this journey with Dr. Azhar. He really is a wonderful doctor. She will be taking a Chemo drug called (Bevacizumab or Avastin). This will be done through an IV and she will have the port inserted next week. Dr. Azhar has contacted the Radiology department and we are currently waiting on wether they believe Radiation will be an option this time around. If they decide Radiation, that will be done first and then Chemo will start.

And now we are patiently waiting at her primary care doctor. Why? We still aren’t sure. LoL. He just wanted to see her I suppose. 😂

14 months! 14 months since the first time we heard the word “Cancer” that rocked our world. It’s weird when you know you will be losing someone that you care so much about. The one that holds the family together and takes care of all of us. But everyday I have with her and get time with her is bonus time. My daughter, my mom and I have always spent time together but would we had made the intentional time that we do now? Who knows! Sometimes life is busy but make the time. 😘 Tomorrow is not promised......That statement is so true in my world right now. ❤️

As always thanks so much for the prayers, thoughts and positive vibes!! And the wonderful cards mom receives!

Lots of love always, the Reynolds Family! 😘

09/12/2022

What can I say!!

They have already released her! Three days...just three days after surgery! That’s all it took for her to break out of Memorial. 😂😂

She kept telling me she was going home today and I thought she was not understanding the doctors. Nope! The Neurologist called and said she was going to be released. She could do outpatient therapy. After a couple of days she will be able to live independently again. 🥰🥰

Now the not so good part. After a new MRI yesterday it has been indicated that some of the tumor remained and it wasn’t totally removed. But she’s here and we will continue to make the most memories as we can. As far as our next steps. We don’t know. There has to be some sort of Chemo or the tumor will grow back very rapidly. It’s so aggressive and fast growing. We have options and I am researching all of them. 😁

For those of you praying for my mom and our family I want you to know that it is appreciated so very much!

Much Love From the Reynolds Family!! 🥰❤️🥰

09/09/2022

09/08/2022

Photo is her on the way to Surgery!

Praise God!

Mom is out of Surgery and on the way to Recovery. Tara and I can see her in a couple of hours. Even though her journey is not over we continue receiving blessings daily. 🥰❤️

Thank you all for the prayers, positive thoughts and good wishes. Love to all!

09/07/2022

Lots of prayers for this amazing human!!

Tomorrow morning at 7:15am she will undergo another brain surgery.

09/03/2022

Yesterday we found out that the tumor has now grown to 6cm, that is a 4cm growth in just two months. ☹️. Of course this is not the news we wanted to hear. As a family, we have decided that the best option for mom would be to have the surgery in Springfield so she doesn’t have to wait any longer and take the chance of it growing more and causing more damage. We are not sure if she will remain in the hospital or they will release her to come home until her surgery date; which is unknown right now.

Please know that I am reading all the prayers and texts. I don’t always respond because honestly it’s a little overwhelming. And I am not always good with words. LoL. Imagine that, me not knowing what to say. Because God knows I am a talker. 😂

Continue keeping my mom in your prayers. All she is asking for at this time is more time with her family. She just keeps telling me she wants to see all her babies. We stay with her all day and come home at night because she doesn’t sleep when anyone is there, she doesn’t want to miss out on time with us. ❤️

Lots of love to everyone! Hug your family tight and always tell them you love them, it does matter.
❤️😘

Isaiah 41:10 fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.

09/01/2022

Update:

Mom has had a little set back this week.
We noticed that she started having more confusion and not as strong. We called her oncologist and they advised that we take her to Memorial Medical ER. The CT scan showed swelling on the brain, so they are giving her Steriods to try and bring the swelling down. She had a MRI this morning to see how much the tumor has grown. Once we see the Neurosurgeon we will know if she is still a candidate for surgery. Prayers as always!!

07/15/2022

We did not get the news we were hoping for today.

Unfortunately, the tumor has started to grow back but it is not growing as fast as previously, so that is good news. After speaking to Dr. Azhar about our options it has been decided that he will refer us to Barnes. Him and the senior oncologist are positive that she will be a great candidate for a clinical trial.

We have an appointment Monday to see the Neurosurgeon, Dr. Cuzzins. He was the doctor who was able to perform the removal the first time. However, the tumor is located in the Occipital Lobe and mom is afraid of further losing her eyesight. So there will be lots of questions about this of course.

As always, please continue to pray for my mom and our family. We don’t know what road we will journey down but we will do it as a family and our faith in God. 🥰🙏✝️

07/15/2022

Waiting on results! 🙏🙌

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