Dear readers, survivors, caretakers, support staff, family…
Through this blog, I would love to reach out to others who can relate and offer each other love and support even if it’s abstract or black and white. I may be tiny…I may look healthier than a horse, but we all know by now to never judge others because we have no clue as to what horror and what daemons others have to battle every day just by the naked eye. I am a bulldog when it comes to seeking appropriate care. Other than that, I’m sweet as pie y’all! When I was a 20 year old student at Ohio university in 2003, I had lost an alarming amount of weight, had high fevers and everything hurt. I was admitted right away and was diagnosed with FHR which is a very rare form of sarcoma. It stands for Malignant Fibrous Histiocytoma. This tumor grew to be 8 pounds in my abdomen with not many symptoms. After getting opinion after opinion, we settled in at University Hospitals of Cleveland and my treatments and surgeries have mostly occurred at the downtown branch. It was touch and go for months and I even prepared myself for death and was ok with it. I didn’t want to see one more tear or hear one more scream on my behalf. 12 years later, here I am. A 32 year old ball of fire . I was born and raised in the Cleveland area but now reside in Findlay, with my amazing husband Aaron, my six year old daughter Lola, and my 3 year old son named Clark. Cancer has taken so much away from me and my family and friends, but it has given me SOOOOO much more that I didn’t plan at all. I was meant to be a cancer and post cancer patient and it was supposed to be a part of my journey and I wouldn’t wish it away at all. My margins have been in the clear since 2003, which I’m sooooo thrilled about. Unfortunately given all of the crazy amounts of radiation and scar tissue, we are starting to see and experience some major roadblocks and many many surgeries to build all of my organs an appropriate abdominal wall so they are safe and secure. I have had to hire head hunters, research constantly about post cancer care and prevention….and there’s not much out there for us youngsters. I’m so lucky that Amelia Baffa at the AYA institute found me and she has set things up for me that I have been looking high and low for for years!!! My goal is to create a safe place to support each other, reach out to others and, most importantly, to learn from one another. I want to laugh with you, cry with you, celebrate with you…as much as possible. Cannot wait to see where any of this goes!
“The most important thing to hold on to in life is each other!” –Audrey Hepburn.
Fondly,
Courtney Erin Roush
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