Montgomery College, Fall 2011, 1st semester students

Published

Here is our new thread ladies (Nikki, Andrea, Kristian, Marissa...and whoever else will be starting at MC this fall).

Dropped it off!

To share some info w/ others: there is someone at the front desk of the Health Science Center. Not sure how many entrances there are to the building- I entered on the Jesup Blair side. The Nursing program office is on the 3rd floor-go left after exiting elevator. There is a metal box on the wall next to the office door.

Took a short tour around one side of the 3rd floor. Saw a couple of rooms/labs with hospital beds and a simulation mannequin.

Nikki, not sure if you got my text. Thanks for leaving me a message!

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Hi girls,

Are we supposed to start readine one of our books now? I remember one of the professors mentioning a reading assignment, but I think she said they were going to give it out at registration. Anyone else remember anything about that? I haven't purchased my books yet. I'm still very conflicted about starting in the fall or taking a leave of absence to help my sister. Sucks. We now have confirmation that the 2-3 spots in her liver are malignant (cancer) and have spread there from her colon. Kaiser wants to do surgery first, then chemo for 6 months. She has an appt. with a surgical oncologist at Hopkins on Tuesday, July 19 and a surgical oncologist at Kaiser DC on Thursday, July 21. We're also working on getting her in to see Dr. John Marshall, a medical oncologist, at G'town's Lombardi Center and Dr. Jackson, a surgical oncologist, who's also at G'town. We may seek a final opinion from Dr. Nancy Kemeny or Dr. Leonard Saltz, both medical oncologists at Sloan-Kettering.

As you can see, I've been spending much of my time on this and go back and forth between feeling hopeful and scared out of my mind. It's quite a roller coaster ride.

What would you guys do if you were in my shoes?

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Marissa, I'm so sorry you have to go through the emotional roller coaster. How is your sister doing? Are they saying the tumors can be removed successfully and chemo will be done as a secondary measure? And does the surgery involve removal from both colon and liver?

The worst things about decisions are regrets. I'm sure she doesn't want to feel like a burden and you don't want to feel as if you're not doing enough.

If I was in your shoes, I'd ask myself if I'd honestly be at peace w/ postponing school and not become resentful of her b/c of it. It's clear how important she is to you and how much you love her. I would do just about anything for my brother but I would also need to know that's what he would want too. How does your sister feel about you taking a leave of absence?

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Yes, the reading assignment will be given @ registration.

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How is your sister doing?

She's doing amazingly well. She's still not experiencing any symptoms (besides some blood in her stool) and she is handling the diagnosis remarkably well. She's a naturally optimistic, upbeat, and positive person, so I think that helps.

Are they saying the tumors can be removed successfully and chemo will be done as a secondary measure? And does the surgery involve removal from both colon and liver?

Yes, they will remove the entire colon/large intestine and resect the liver. Then, after approximately 6 weeks of recovery, she will begin 12 cycles (6 months) of chemo.

The worst things about decisions are regrets. I'm sure she doesn't want to feel like a burden and you don't want to feel as if you're not doing enough.

If I was in your shoes, I'd ask myself if I'd honestly be at peace w/ postponing school and not become resentful of her b/c of it. It's clear how important she is to you and how much you love her. I would do just about anything for my brother but I would also need to know that's what he would want too. How does your sister feel about you taking a leave of absence?

When I first told her a few weeks ago that I could take a leave of absence in order to help take care of her, she said, "no, you can't do that, Ris...the family needs you to become a nurse". But, then she said, "well, I guess you could use the experience of helping me when you do start nursing school". She's the type of person that doesn't like to ask for help. It's very hard to get her to accept the assistance that people want to offer her, although I think she's becoming more relaxed about that as the seriousness of her diagnosis continues to sink in.

I have thought to myself, "why did this have to happen now?". I had everything planned out so perfectly---go to school for two years, graduate, work as an RN, go back to school, get my BSN/MSN and become a nurse practitioner. I've thought about how long it will take Beth and I to pay off our debts and save up a down payment for a condo/house. All of that is dependent upon my starting the nursing program as soon as possible. On the other hand, could I live with myself if I didn't do everything in my power to help my sister. I want to be there for all of her appointments, keep track of her schedule, take care of her when she's sick, make sure she's getting the best care from her doctors and nurses, etc, etc. Whatever is necessary to make her life easier. That's what I want to do.

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Here's a link to her CaringBridge website: www.caringbridge.org/visit/lisajoson. Feel free to leave her a note in her guestbook. I told her about you guys, so she knows who you are.

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I think it's great that you're her advocate. I visited her webpage last week, wanted to write a message but felt I was infringing on her privacy cuz she doesn't know me... she's a beautiful women w/ an awesome smile!

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Thanks, Kristian. I understand why you didn't write her a note. I'm sure I would have felt the same way. She is a very private person, but she knows that I've shared her diagnosis with my friends, so don't hesitate to write something if you're inclined to. Either way, I appreciate having you guys to talk to about this.

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Good to hear from you Marissa. I wish your sister all the best and hope that she maintains that positive attitude.

As for what I would do if I were in your shoes...I guess it would really depend on how dire the situation is and what you have been told to expect the next few months. Would it be possible for you to start the program and if it becomes too much to handle, take your leave of absence and then get back to it a semester later? You've got 4 years to complete the program but you only have one Lisa.

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Thanks for the insight, Nikki. You're right, I only have one Lisa. I know that she has a 20% chance or less of making it to the 5 year mark, based on the information we have so far, but that could change once they do surgery (i.e. if they find that it's more widespread then the scans are showing). I'm extremely optimistic that she'll beat this. There's no reason why she can't. It helps to read inspiring stories, such as Lance Armstrong's. He went from being at death's door in 1996, to being alive and well more than 10 years later. Amazing.

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Specializes in Future CRNA or Nurse Practitioner.

Marissa, I'm so sorry to hear this news. It's wonderful that your sister is staying upbeat about the whole situation though; I don't think I would be strong enough to be that brave. Unfortunately, I am not as close with my sister as you are with yours. My sister and I are 9 years apart and we have the same dad but different moms, so we grew up really only seeing each other every other weekend. However, if she was suddenly diagnosed with a life-threatening condition and there wasn't really anyone else around to help her through it, I think I would definitely take a leave of absence. I would feel so guilty if I didn't. As much as I would like to believe that I could go to nursing school AND take care of her the way I would want to, I know that would be virtually impossible with the demanding schedule I would have. As Nikki said, you have 4 years to complete the program, so if you wanted to take a year off to do everything you can to support your sister through this difficult time, you could do so without losing your chance at a near future in nursing. The fact that your sister made that second comment sounds to me like she really hopes you'll be there for her but without her having to actually come out and ask you not to go to school this fall. That 20% chance is a scary statistic. Once she begins chemo, she is most likely going to feel worse than she's ever felt before in her life and to have you around would be such a blessing for her, I'm sure. No matter what you decide, you have my support. I can't imagine the stress you must be going through right now...but you really have to follow your heart on this one. I'll definitely be keeping you and your sis in my thoughts :)

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Specializes in Future CRNA or Nurse Practitioner.

I didn't make it to MC yesterday. I completely forgot about a birthday/pool party we had at 1:00 and I hadn't even gotten a gift yet! So I had to run to Target, get a gift, come home and pack us up for the party and we didn't even leave the party until after 6:00. I live less than 10 minutes away from campus so I will definitely make it there on Monday.

Kristian, what did your write-up plan for the series look like? Handwritten? Typed? On a separate piece of paper? Or somewhere on the actual medical form itself?

How big is the metal box? I have everything in one of those yellow envelopes with the clasp/tab on the back. Will that fit? Or should I put it all into a regular business-sized envelope?

I believe the reading assignment will be assigned at registration. I cannot believe how big and heavy these books are! They're already cluttering up my desk! I think I'm gonna have to go buy a shelf from Ikea JUST for my nursing books lol.

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