Update #11

March 22, 2025, 3:18 pm

Hello All:

It's been a while since we've updated. It's hard to believe that it's already getting towards the end of March, and hope everyone had a wonderful St. Patrick's Day.

As Ann says, there is a little blip in progress. She recently had a concerning scan so they scheduled another MRI, and it shows that the glio has grown back. It is small, the size of a blueberry, so the next step will be a scheduled gamma ray knife (outpatient) to isolate the tumor followed by more chemo. We are praying that this halts the glio again. Unfortunately, because it grew back, Ann is no longer allowed to continue with the Cleveland Clinic vaccine trial, and due to changes in clinical trial funding, there aren't any current available new studies for her to try. Ann said that she knew the glio was coming back because she pays attention and felt her bilateral motor control changing; she wasn't automatically using her left side, which is what had happened when she was first diagnosed.

Ann's dream has always been to visit Ireland where her grandmother grew up (County Galway) before emigrating to the US through Ellis Island, and meet cousins who still live there, so we are currently planning a family trip to give Ann something exciting to look forward to as well as see her/our family's Irish roots. She is very excited to go have fun in Ireland.

Ann still believes in miracles. She is tiny but mighty! We truly appreciate all of your continued prayers.

"May the road rise up to meet you, may the wind be always at your back, may the sun shine warm upon your face, and the rains fall soft upon your fields. And until we meet again, may God hold you in the palm of His hand."

*Ann getting ice cream at everyone's favorite Mr. Freeze with her granddaughter, Kaelynn, and grandson-in-law, Stephen.

Hello All:

It's been a while since we've updated. It's hard to believe that it's already getting towards the end of March, and hope everyone had a wonderful St. Patrick's Day. 

As Ann says, there is a little blip in progress. She recently had a concerning scan so they scheduled another MRI, and it shows that the glio has grown back. It is small, the size of a blueberry, so the next step will be a scheduled gamma ray knife (outpatient) to isolate the tumor followed by more chemo. We are praying that this halts the glio again. Unfortunately, because it grew back, Ann is no longer allowed to continue with the Cleveland Clinic vaccine trial, and due to changes in clinical trial funding, there aren't any current available new studies for her to try. Ann said that she knew the glio was coming back because she pays attention and felt her bilateral motor control changing; she wasn't automatically using her left side, which is what had happened when she was first diagnosed. 

Ann's dream has always been to visit Ireland where her grandmother grew up (County Galway) before emigrating to the US through Ellis Island, and meet cousins who still live there, so we are currently planning a family trip to give Ann something exciting to look forward to as well as see her/our family's Irish roots. She is very excited to go have fun in Ireland.

Ann still believes in miracles. She is tiny but mighty! We truly appreciate all of your continued prayers. 

"May the road rise up to meet you, may the wind be always at your back, may the sun shine warm upon your face, and the rains fall soft upon your fields. And until we meet again, may God hold you in the palm of His hand." 

*Ann getting ice cream at everyone's favorite Mr. Freeze with her granddaughter, Kaelynn, and grandson-in-law, Stephen. 

We hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving with their families and friends. Ann wanted to spend Thanksgiving in Sylvania (Ohio) to see her children and grandchildren. She has missed them all a great deal as she has been staying in Hudson (just a two hour drive away) most of this year since it's closer to Cleveland Clinic. Her young grandchildren's hugs lift Ann's spirits more than anything. But germs from little and big people recovering from anything/everything around since it's that time of year with colds and everything else, with Ann's zero immune system from the triple chemo dose she was on, quickly caused her to contract a form of pneumonia, and she was admitted into the Toledo Hospital a couple days ago. Breathing treatments given around the clock are helping, and she says she is feeling better. A huge shout out to dear family friend, Christy, who was able to go to the hospital to spend time with Ann so she was not alone. (It is very hard for those of us who are not nearby or in Ohio.)

Ann is a true warrior and trooper. Right now, she wants a doctor to put in orders so she can take a shower, and the hospital's turkey dinner doesn't compare to a homecooked meal. Thank you all for continued prayers and good thoughts, and for the kindness in asking after Ann. We are praying that she recovers quickly, and the doctors release her when she is ready. A previous hospitalization had her released too soon by the doctors, and Ann relapsed worse than before which caused an even longer stay when she was readmitted. 

In regards to the chemo, good news, this was Ann's last week on it, triple strength, heavy duty which frustratingly for Ann causes temporary brain fog and memory issues. She has kept her amazing sense of humor and continues to smile through it all, even during the hardest and lowest times. Now that she is done with chemo (YAY!), she hopes to celebrate with her favorite Susie Cake marble chocolate cake ordered specially from Los Angeles! The injections in the glioblastoma vaccine trial at Cleveland Clinic will continue though and they will monitor her brain scans. Integrative Wellness will be key to helping Ann rebuild her immune system.

Thank you all again for your prayers. Our prayers are with everyone who may be struggling through their own illnesses or that of family members. We are grateful for every moment we have with our loved ones. Time is not something anyone can get back. Everyone is busy, dealing with their own issues, life, health, illness, work, school, families, relationships, kids, etc. etc., but one of the greatest gifts of love anyone (especially family members) can give is showing up and being there for a loved one when it matters. 

xoxo 

A heartfelt thank you to the Dream Foundation https://www.dreamfoundation.org/  a fantastic organization that serves terminally-ill adults and their families by providing end-of-life Dreams that offer inspiration, comfort and closure.

Ann and her beautiful daughter, Erin, traveled to Sedona, Arizona for Ann's dream trip. Sedona is renowned for its captivating red rock formations and its mystical energy vorticies. Ann loved walking up the trail to the Chapel of the Cross. There were many people and cars so it was very slow going, but fortunately they found a parking spot, and were driven by an employee with a golf cart to the very top. Ann's balance is still off, or odd as she says, when she is tired and/or walking straight down a sidewalk or road. They enjoyed walking around downtown Sedona as well and window shopping the many boutiques. 

They also went to Flagstaff to drive around a Bearizona Safari park. Erin drove, and they saw junior and senior black bears, jaguars, reindeer, dall longhorn sheep, elf, wolves, and bison. Half of these animals are rescues! 

Ann also enjoyed going to a hands-on energy healing session with renowned healer Ron D'Amico and his beautiful wife, Angela in Sedona. She felt much better afterwards than she had been feeling. It felt very sacred and peaceful. A huge thank you to Ron and Angela for everything! We love you both! 

Ann had a wonderful time and can never thank the generous and kind-hearted members of the Dream Foundation enough for sponsoring this dream of a lifetime for her! Thank you!!

Medically, Ann thought she was done with chemo, but she still has one more round to go. Her latest brain scan was very promising as the glioblastoma, which 99.9% of the time always grows back, has not grown back yet. We are praying and remaining optimistic that the trial vaccine is working. Her next scan, after the chemo and vaccine (which is for two years) will tell the doctors what the next steps will be in her treatment. We continue to pray that a cure will be found to help everyone who suffers with this awful disease. 

Thank you Dream Foundation, and thank you all for continuing to ask about Ann and sending your prayers. They are appreciated more than you know!!

God bless, and Happy Thanksgiving to all! 

Happy All Saints' Day!

It's hard to believe that it's already November. Ann started her last round of chemo yesterday on Halloween. She is feeling tired and spacey. Her hair is growing back and her new pixie haircut is super cute a la Dame Judy Dench or Jamie Lee Curtis. "Fair is fair!" (iykyk - 80s kids will get this!) Next week Ann has an important MRI which will tell her if there is a return of the glio brain cancer cells. All prayers truly appreciated. She also leaves next weekend for her Dream Foundation trip with her daughter, and is looking forward to soaking up some sunshine and healing energy. Thank you to everyone who continues to reach out asking about Ann and praying for her. She truly appreciates it and loves you all. Thank you! xoxo

Ann was diagnosed in late February, had surgery March first, and now we're into October which means football season. O-H! Ann graduated from OSU in 1970, and loves cheering on her team. This year she'll wearing a new, homemade buckeye necklace (see pic). It's the little things that bring joy!

Ann is completing the current round of chemo. She says that it makes her feel loopy, and she does not like the awful nausea. She has one more round of chemo to go after this in the Cleveland Clinic vaccine trial because she missed one when she was recovering from corona virus (different from Covid). Then the doctors will do another MRI and scans to assess and figure out next steps. We are praying that this trial vaccine does its job and prevents the glio cells from growing back.

Next month, Ann will be enjoying her wish trip to Sedona (healing vortices, yes, please!) through the Dream Foundation  - dreamfoundation.org - which is an incredible organization, please check them out. We will post those pictures after her trip. She is very excited about it and remaining hopeful that she will feel well enough to travel. 

Ann sends you all her love and remains incredibly grateful for all the love, calls, messages, and generous support that she has received. Her message is: "Miracles are within us, as is God. Make a choice to be happy, and have joy, no matter what happens around you. Wake up each day and thank God you get to have another day." 

Thank you all, and sending prayers for everyone affected by the hurricanes.

It's been a very rough week. An ambulance took Ann back to the ER today for the third time in a week. She was hospitalized last weekend then sent home with more antibiotics to help fight a bronchial infection and another infection, but they weren't strong enough. She is currently waiting for a bed to open up at Cleveland Clinic's Main Campus and they will admit her again. They are doing tests and giving Ann breathing treatments to help the worsening pneumonia. Her immune system is wiped out from the heavy dose of chemo from the glioblastoma brain cancer trial that she is in which makes fighting these infections much harder on her body. It is also putting increased pressure on her heart. Ann's twin sister and brother-in-law have been with her every day and every step of the way. (To add chaos to the crisis, they are all also dealing with the aftermath of last week's tornado that passed through Hudson [where Ann has been living with them since her diagnosis as it's much closer to Cleveland Clinic than Toledo] that flooded the entire basement of their house.) We are getting updates as the come in and are praying for the right combination of antibiotics and breathing treatments to work. We thank you for all the love, support, and prayers. We know that prayers work!  God bless. 

August 4, 2024

Ann says that the past month feels like it did not fly by. She has had three rounds of shots (two shots per round) which might contain a vaccine (rather than the placebo) which has been found to be effective with halting the regrowth of the glioblastoma cancer cells in her brain. In addition to the shots, she is receiving continued heavy doses of oral chemotherapy that increase in dosage over a six month period for this clinical trial through Cleveland Clinic. Ann has been feeling more fatigue and increased hair loss which has been extremely challenging. She must eat even when she doesn't have an appetite to keep her weight above the minimum allowed to keep her in the trial. Her taste buds have been affected because things taste differently. Vanilla ice cream, milkshakes, and cakes still taste good, but protein is her goal. She walks daily and has been enjoying watching the Olympics. She desperately misses seeing her grandchildren though as they are two hours away and she cannot drive, plus all of the numerous daily medical appointments that she has at the Cleveland Clinic.

She remains hopeful, and appreciates all of the prayers, phone calls, and text messages. Having family and friends checking in on her keeps her spirits up. We appreciate you all! All donations have been extremely appreciated and are being used exclusively for her mounting medical bills.  Ann truly thanks you all from the bottom of her heart. God bless. 

It's hard to believe that it's already been 4 months since Ann had surgery for the brain cancer tumor removal. After going through daily chemo and 5 days a week of radiation, Ann remains hopeful and hasn't lost her sense of humor nor her concern and caring for everyone else. One of the hardest side effects for her, besides fatigue, nausea, mental cloudiness, and hair loss is dealing with short term memory issues. However, Ann was able to attend her granddaughter Kaelynn's wedding on May 4th which was a huge goal for everyone! Ann looked beautiful in her wig and was able to take family photos that will be treasured forever. While eating is difficult without an appetite, she thoroughly enjoyed the dessert table.

After being very disappointed when she was not being eligible for an immunotherapy trial, we were thrilled when Ann was accepted into a new vaccine trial at Cleveland Clinic. 60% percent of the people in the study receive a vaccine that has shown progress towards slowing the reoccurrence of the glioblastoma brain cancer cells. The other 40% receive a placebo. We are praying that she is receiving the vaccine if it's going to help her long term prognosis and enhance her quality of life. So far, she has received two vaccine shots. (They are thick and painful like the old-fashioned penicillin in the buttock shots.) Ann has also begun a second round of chemo therapy that will last six months. She has one week of strong chemo oral dosage followed by three weeks of healing. Every two months the dose doubles. Ann has a fabulous Cleveland Clinic team of specialists including speech and language therapists, occupational therapists, physical therapists, nutritionist, plus her oncologists and neurologists. (During one of her oncologist visits, Ann lost her treasured, gold angel pendent from her necklace; she hopes that whomever picked it up needed her angel as a sign that there is hope for everyone.)

Ann is profoundly grateful to every single person who has contributed support to ever increasing medical bills and for all of the prayers, cards, and visits. She is aware of everyone who has donated and prayed for her, and it brings tears to her eyes that so many people care. She feels all of the love, and loves and prays for everyone right back. With love and gratitude, we thank and bless you all, too. 

Ann is currently working towards her rehabilitation with physical therapy. In between going back and forth to Cleveland Clinic for radiation and chemo, she also has many other appointments that she must attend in order to be a full strength. Ann has had some recent struggles with blood clots in her legs, caused by the cancer. In order for her to keep those from forming and getting worse, she will need to constantly keep up with all of her appointments, medications, and physical therapy. Since there are so many facets of having this extremely nightmarish cancer, Ann is constantly having to come up with all of the funds to continue on her journey with Glioblastoma. Just to list a few, but it goes on and on, and while everyone's donations have helped so tremendously, she still could use our help. So please consider donating to this selfless, priceless, incredible women. We thank you.

• Medications
• Physical therapy
• all medical bills
• travel expenses
• wigs
• vitamins

Just a few things, in the immense list of things she is constantly trying to afford to keep up with. Any little bit helps. 

As we come up on the fourth week of Ann's chemo and radiation treatments, I would like to offer an update on how Ann has been doing. We are so grateful for all of the prayers, calls, texts, and donations. Ann continues to have a long road ahead of her so, donations would still be extremely helpful, as all of her medical bills are piling up faster and faster, each day. Ann has been a force through these last three weeks of her treatments, plus prep for any on all clinical trials, that she is able to receive.

She has had a hospital stay, for dehydration and possible infections, most recently. She continues to fight hard, and tries to keep her immune system and spirits up. Again, thank you so much for every thing you've all done to help this terrible situation a little easier for Ann and family.