Background

My mother has been having back pain for a few months now. She had thought it was the result of falling at work and was going to physical therapy to reduce the pain. About a month ago the pain became so bad she took some time off work to rest. In that time she had a CT scan (without contrast) done which revealed there was a break in a part of her spine and was told she needed to rest so that it could heal properly. The CT scan also revealed what the doctors thought was a cyst on her kidney. She was given painkillers and sent home to rest.

Fast forward to May 20th. The pain had become so severe that my mother went to the emergency room so she could hopefully get some relief. At this time another CT scan was performed, this time with contrast. This is when it was revealed that the "cyst" was actually a tumor on her kidney and there was another tumor on her spine. She was given more pain killers and sent home again but this time with a plan to follow up with specialists.

During this time, mom starts to lose feeling in her legs and needs assistance to walk. Simple tasks that many of us take for granted are a chore for her. Thankfully family and friends were there to sit with her and keep her company and encouraged her to go back to the hospital on May 25th. At this point she could not even walk and needed an ambulance to take her to Wheeling Medical Park where she was until she was transferred to WVU's Ruby Memorial Hospital in Morgantown.

Margie has been diagnosed with Stage 4 Kidney Cancer, this means that the cancer has spread, in mom's case, her spine and 2 other locations in her bones (which are of minor importance compared to the kidney and spine). Thursday she had the first of at least 2 surgeries. This surgery removed the tumor on her spine along with 2 pieces of spine. The surgeons placed artificial supports where the pieces of spine used to be. Mom is recovering from loss of blood and the surgery will continue on Monday. Her breathing tube has been removed but she remains in ICU for the time being. My sisters Jane and Katie are with her now and I will be joining them tomorrow. My aunts and uncle and cousins and dad and her friends all continue to be a wonderful support and it makes me so happy to know there are so many people that love and support my mother! Thank you all for that!

Mom's spirits are high. I feel like we should be encouraging her, but she is the one helping us, her children, through this. My mom is my hero!