Morgan’s Journey at St. Jude
HI and welcome to our blog! Today we are going to cover a super important topic that happens to have nothing to do with flooring!! We are going to re-visit a past experience that not only shaped one very special girl, but our entire staff, and opened the door to a very special life-long connection with a very special place: St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.
In July of 2020 our showroom manager [Andrea]’s daughter, Morgan, was suddenly (and shockingly) diagnosed with Leukemia. We were able to walk this journey with them and experience first-hand the life-giving care that St Jude provides.
We want to give back to the organization that gave Morgan her life back. During the entire month of August a portion of all Shaw residential flooring sales (including Coretec Floors, Anderson Tuftex, and Philadelphia Commercial) will be donated to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.
We’re having a special kick off event here at our showroom on August 1st with a blood drive hosted by the Community Blood Center of the Ozarks, live presentations, food, giveaways & more.
Below: Andrea has so graciously shared their entire journey with St. Jude. From diagnosis, living at St. Jude (during Covid!!), their treatment, up’s/down’s, their release, & complete healing. We hope by learning a little more about their story you will have a greater appreciation for the miraculous place that we call: St. Jude.
The back story;
July 20th 2020 my middle daughter Morgan; who was 15 at the time, was diagnosed with AML leukemia.
She was a stellar softball player and we were mid summer; playing prospect travel softball. We had been to a couple recruiting camps then a college prospect tournament in Oklahoma.
She started telling us she felt weird; weak, dizzy, and nauseous....
This was strange as she was our kid that NEVER got sick. During the last day of the tournament Morgan had hit a double and as she rounded 2nd base she slowed then passed out on the field.
During this time; COVID was on the loose and still not knowing much about it; we all assumed that COVID was the cause of her symptoms.
My husband was off work that day (US Navy Corpsman) (Medic for Marines). And since he was in the medical field it made sense for him to take her in.
Around 11 am I received a call from Morgan at work. She said the Doctor wanted me on the phone because she needed to speak to all of us. Concerned; but figured that this was COVID protocol.
The next few moments; as the doctor; explained that they found leukemia in Morgan's blood results; I melted into the floor. My physical heart hurt and I cried the hardest I had ever cried in my life. Time stopped.
I saw her as my chubby little baby again; Every smile, laugh, milestone; felt empty.
Cancer; Leukemia: Two of the scariest words a parent could hear... Felt like it was going to rob Morgan from our lives and this world.
Morgan never returned home from that Mercy clinic visit. I met them at the hospital and we were admitted to the Children's PICU. There they took more blood tests. They went over Leukemia and whether Morgan had AML or ALL.
I came home alone that night and packed her bags. I tried grabbing her favorite things, hoping; I would pick the perfect items that would help alter our looming FEARS.
The next 24 hours were rough. At this point we were praying and trying to decide whether or not to go to St. Jude in Memphis or Children's Hospital in St. Louis
One of Morgan's PICU nurses found me in the hall that evening. She told me that if she was in my shoes she would without a doubt send her child to St. Jude Children’s Hospital in Memphis. (She was an Angel)!
That evening St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital in Memphis sent an ambulance to Springfield, MO Mercy Hospital and picked us up. After our 7 hour journey by ambulance; We arrived in Memphis.
This began Morgan's 7 month battle with Acute myeloid leukemia.
From the moment we drove through the gates of St. Jude we felt loved, We knew God had placed us in the most capable hands on the planet to heal Morgan.
We were welcomed in with a care plan and a team of specialists.
We felt confident and known. We felt like the battle ahead had already been won.
Morgan started chemotherapy that first week we arrived in Memphis.
11 days straight of aggressive intense chemo. (we would have 6 rounds of this)
She fought through her first round then ended up having a rare reaction (Methotrexate toxicity) From the chemo that was given intravenously into her spinal fluid.
This reaction was more than scary; it left her in a vegetative state.
She would bite her tongue until it bled, her eyes stuck open with tears pouring out the corners. It was the hardest site I had ever had to see in my entire life up until that point.
I felt completely helpless and couldn't end or ease Morgan's suffering.
Those days felt like an eternity.
We finally were able to move out of ICU and back to the “regular” leukemia floor. It had felt like Morgan flipped a switch from the vegetative state she was in only days earlier.
She was back to being silly: joking with nurses/doctors, talking playing her video games (she is quite a "gamer") BTW.
We were finally cleared to go "HOME" to Target House.
St. Jude operated housing that was funded and built by Target Stores and Pharmacies.
Target house was a breath of fresh air after being in hospital rooms for over 20 days. We had some "normalcy". And a tiny slice of “privacy”
We began our daily hospital visits (daily blood transfusions) and a large regime of meds to help Morgan build back up her blood counts and ANC (Immune System) to gear her up for round 2 of Chemo.
NO TRACE OF LEUKEMIA in blood or spinal fluid.
This day was such a great day. knowing that the cells that were killing Morgan from inside out were gone. Undetectable.
This cut our original 6 rounds of chemotherapy down to 5.
The remaining Chemo would be just as planned but would almost reset these mutated genes in hopes they would stay "normal"
We started Round 2 chemo therapy on September 2nd. This round; difficult but we felt seasoned; already feeling like we had faced the worse.
Morgan's body began feeling the affects of chemo. She was more tired, constantly nauseous and loosing weight rapidly....we ended up spending another 11 Days inpatient then back to "Home" (aka Target House)
September 29th 2020 Morgan celebrated her 16th Birthday!
Not what we had envisioned for a sweet 16 but thanks to Amazon Prime and a night full of blowing up balloons we kicked off the day with an apartment full of balloons!
She had clinic that day: and her oncology team surprised her with lots of confetti, balloons and some angelic singing!
We started round 3 Chemo therapy at the end of October.
At this point Morgan had lost 20 lbs and they were consistently on us about a feeding tube.
Time in between Chemo is always a battle. Lots of meds, blood transfusions, battling side effects (rashes, fevers, nausea)
These kids live with no immune system. So outside contact with anyone or thing holds such a huge risk to their well being.
A common cold can end badly for a "cancer kid" with no immune system.
Round 4 was supposed to start at the end of October.
November 13th 2020:
We checked back into St.Jude inpatient hospital rooms.
Morgan had been sick several days, and despite all the anti nausea meds she stopped eating and spiked a fever.
This date was the beginning of the hardest battle we would face.
It took what felt like an eternity to find the bacteria/infection that was making Morgan so sick. Between scans, meeting with infectious disease teams they finally determined that it was a rare bacteria.
Rothia: this is a bacteria that most healthy children and adults could fight off easily but with no immune system this sticky bug founds its way into Morgan's major organs including her brain.
This was not a quick decline like her earlier battle with Methotrexate Toxicity.
This decline was slow and intensely painful.
It was full of nights on my knees praying.
Morgan was out of her mind most of these days.
The bacteria had spread to her brain and led to meningitis.
We lived in the ICU fish bowl at St. Jude this month.
As hard as it was, I couldn't imagine fighting this anywhere else.
Morgan's doctors and nurses became family.
I looked forward to hearing their stories, hearing about their families and children.
I asked every nurse and doctor the same question; why St. Jude?
It blew my mind how much these men and women loved their job and how much they loved US.
They BELIEVED Morgan would be healed and fought along with us.
They felt: they embodied compassion and were all so sincere...
Every doctor, nurse, staff, pcn, housekeeper:
They wanted to be here, they fought to be a St.Jude employee.
And they all served the same great purpose in their own way; To find a cure for childhood cancer.
December 9, 2020:
We were back on the 4th Floor (the Leukemia floor - “regular” Leukemia hospital room) and after having a decent day...
2:30 pm Morgan had a massive stroke.
We were rushed to a neighboring neuro children's hospital (LeBonheaur) for emergency brain surgery.
Leaving St. Jude (the men and women I had grown to trust) was one of the hardest things ever.
Morgan's prognosis was not good.
For the first time I was looked at differently; I felt like everyone felt sorry for me...
Their fear and hopelessness soon became mine.....
The next few days were nothing short of a roller-coaster.
Morgan could barely communicate, she had no feeling in her entire left side.
The metal rod that gave us an inside look to her brain activity/swelling and pressure was gone.
What felt like months was only weeks, but as Morgan's vitals stabilized we were transported back to St. Jude ICU.
Morgan's paralysis was an effect from the residual affects of the stroke. The tennis ball size hematoma along with the excessive brain blead had damaged so much of Morgan's brain.
The next month and 1/2 were so hard.
We were back with our St. Jude family and Morgan was determined.
They determined that Morgan would most likely not be able to walk any time soon.
She had little to no feeling touch/pressure or sensitivity on her left side.
They began the process of fitting her for a wheel chair.
She fought back hard. She told everyone she was gong to walk out of the hospital,
And she was going to get her driver's license as soon as she got home.
February 6th 2021.
We returned home to Marshfield Missouri.
It was a prayed for day!!
It was a hope/wish a-dream.
To sum it up....
We have been blessed with some of the most loving, caring, giving and persistent prayer warriors on the face of the Earth!
So many people joining in and fighting along side us.
So many people impacted by Morgan's "Roller-coaster" and the Incredible care she received at St. Jude.
It's wild to THINK:
We are one in a million.
We are only one of the many families that St. Jude has forever imprinted on.
They loved our child; they fought along side us and spear headed a hopeless battle.
There is no short way to describe the care a child receives at St. Jude.
We are forever grateful and will consistently find ways to give back, and to help other hopeless families find life-giving cures.
Morgan’s journey with cancer and her experience at St. Jude is nothing short of a miracle! We hope you’ll partner along side us in the month of August to support St. Jude’s Children Research Hospital and their lifesaving mission: Finding Cures. Saving Children.
Learn more about our St. Jude fundraising month and special kick off event here.