A Whirlwind

Dear Friends and Family,

This blog will follow Amy's progress since her recent diagnosis of stage 3 ovarian cancer. We appreciate your continued prayers of healing on her behalf and we believe that Heavenly Father is holding our family in the hollow of His hand. Miracles are already becoming manifest.

In August, Amy's grown daughter Laurel and husband Adam moved to Idaho Falls to have their baby, Claire. Now Laurel is able to care for Amy's young children and to run daily household matters.

Fritz is an extremely talented physician and is making sure that Amy receives absolutely top of the line care. His priesthood blessings of healing make all the difference in our positive outlook.

All of Amy's children are stepping up to help with the family and we've experienced a deluge of love and support from our extended community.

Here's the story so far:

Beginning in January 2009, Amy felt more discomfort than usual with her cycles. In mid-March, she visited her OB/GYN to address the matter. The doctor found a fibroid and ordered an ultrasound to see if there were any more. The ultrasound showed a concerning mass above the uterus and Fritz performed a CT scan that same night to get the dimensions of the mass. What they found was a mass that had consumed the right ovary and was taking up much of the pelvic cavity. It needed to come out immediately, so Fritz contacted a gynecological oncologist in Salt Lake City to perform the surgery. Within a week, Amy had the tumor removed. It was malignant but had not metastasized (a tremendous miracle brought about by a community-wide fast). She must now undergo 18 weeks of chemotherapy through both a chest port and a pelvic cavity line. The prognosis is unusual for stage 3 ovarian cancer--she is expected to achieve remission after undergoing the chemo to clear up any microscopic remnants of the cancer. Later today, Amy will have her chemo consult and the schedule will be set for the doses throughout the summer.