Sanibel was 14 years old and in spring of 2015 she complained about her throat feeling itchy. After trying allergy meds and no change we mentioned it to her pediatrician. She could feel the growth on Sanibel’s thyroid and she had surgery July 2017 and ended up in ICU afterwards. Her final diagnosis was 8/1/15 (I was also diagnosed with thyroid cancer 5/1/15 so it was a rough year!).
Treatment for thyroid cancer requires a LID diet (low iodine diet) weeks before treatment. Then taking medication that makes you literally radioactive and you have to be in isolation. Because I had the same treatment I could stay in her room behind a lead shield but her dad and 2 brothers could only visit through a computer. She missed half her freshman year due to treatment.
She started fainting fall of 2017, in October it was 27 times in a month! It is a type of autonomic dysfunction called POTS which could be secondary to the cancer and treatment but no one knows for sure.
Cancer doesn’t just affect the child, it is so hard on our family. Her brother Jack has autism and worried about her dying for almost 2 years and had a lot of worries. His twin brother, Aric, too has struggled with wondering if the cancer will come back.
She had a NED scan spring 2016 and has to continue for 5 years before considered cancer free. Her energy has never come back fully and she has to nap daily; it has been a huge change for her. Sanibel has a great attitude and her faith has helped her so much.
We had so many people step up and help us – some we barely knew and others we thought would be there and weren’t. This was really hard too. You definitely need a village to get through cancer! Sanibel also loves music and has a beautiful voice and used music to help her. She also loves reading and started a book organization called “Sani’s Book Adventures” to give books to teens in the hospital suffering with cancer. She always found there wasn’t a lot of books for teens.
Hope session by Tina Fisher Photography | Facebook | Instagram