1 Year

It has been one year….February 13, 2025, since Hutton had hemipelvectomy surgery to remove her cancerous tumor, which also removed approximately 1/3 of her pelvis, as well as her hip socket. 

Looking back, we were SO naive. We thought she would have surgery, and the recovery would be difficult, but the cancer would be gone, she would finish her chemo, be cancer-free, she would be walking again by summer, and back in school in the fall. WOW, just WOW. We were so wrong. 

That first night was horrible…She was in constant pain and could not get comfortable. Nothing we did seemed to help her, and any movement she made would send her into tears. She was in agony. The pain made it hard for her to breathe and was so intense she couldn’t even talk. 

The second night, I can say without a doubt, the worst night of our lives. Her pain continued, and nothing was working, and she was not getting relief from the pain, no matter how much pain medicine she was getting.  And I will just say it, there is a DRASTIC difference between staff at UCLA Santa Monica, where we were, versus UCLA Ronald Regan, and I truly believe what happened next, never would have happened with the staff and nurses at Ronald Regan. 

We witnessed something I pray no parent ever has to witness (though many unfortunately do), and something I wouldn’t wish on my worst enemy. The 2 days of pain in combination with the staff simply throwing more pain medication in her (which was obviously not working), slowly took its toll on her body, and we sat there in her room as a Code Blue was called. Our little miracle baby lost consciousness and stopped breathing. Those moments in that hospital room with what seemed like hundreds of people working on our unconscious child are moments we will never forget. 

UCLA Santa Monica, where we were, does not have a PICU so Steph went with Hutton in the ambulance as they rushed her to the PICU at UCLA Ronald Regan. I frantically packed everything in the room and rushed over to meet them, not knowing what was happening. This was followed by sooooo many days in the hospital by her side while she was in the PICU. She was unconscious and intubated, but we were still speaking to her to calm her, as she would appear to “wake up” in a panic, not knowing what was going on, only to fall back “asleep”.  I held her little hand for hours; she “slept”, feeling it grip my hand tightly when I would try to adjust or move, not wanting us to leave her side, and we didn’t.  

Watching them go through the slow process of weaning her off the medication and slowly allowing her to start trying to breathe on her own, then having to sit there and watch as they removed everything, not really knowing if she would be able breathe on her own…that was agonizing. 

It’s been one year since that night kicked off all the events that followed, and we are grateful and happy every damn day that she is still with us, even if she still cannot walk on her own, and she is still fighting the cancer.  

To say it has been a lot is an understatement…and at this point, there really is no end in sight. A year ago, we did not think this is where we would still be…but here we are. She is still fighting the cancer, still going through chemo, still can’t walk, and spending most her days in bed and still needs a wheelchair to get around….BUT, she is also still here with us and bringing daily smiles to our faces. Through this all, she has had her moments of weakness, of tears, crying that she wishes it was over and she was done, didn’t have to be in the hospital or wheelchair, but overall she has stayed positive, and continues to be a shinning light to everyone who sees and meets her, she stays positive and we have to too…and do everything we can to project that to her…after all she is the one going through all this and she still finds a way to continue to be positive and continue to let her light shine, lighting up any room she enters and pulling people towards her. And we do have reasons to be positive….she is still here, her chemo was switched, and the cancer is shrinking (even though this type of chemo is much harder on her), due to that light in her that shines, she was able to start a new physical therapy (Equine Therapy). She is really excited about it, and seeing her beautiful smile the entire time was a blessing to our hearts. 

On the 23rd, she will have another PET-CT Scan, and we will have a better window into how the radiation and new chemo is working. We are praying that the scan will show that the cancer is dead and gone, and she can finish out the protocol and begin to move forward with her life.

We are forever grateful to everyone who is showing our little girl love and support, and for all the prayers she has received and continues to receive.