The journey begins...

What a wild ride these past few days have been! It all started in February when Erin felt some pain in her knee.  She thought it was caused by getting down at Zumba.  She saw a doctor twice in Ithaca who recommended physical therapy, but when it progressively got worse, she knew something was wrong.  Last Tuesday, the dog escaped and Erin tried to go after him so that he wouldn't get hit by a car. When she reached outside, her leg gave out and she fell.  Thankfully Dennis was on his way home and found her on the ground outside.  He took her to the ER, where they x-rayed her knee, gave her a couple shots of morphine and sent her home.  She got an appointment with an orthopedic surgeon on Thursday where she was prepared to hear that she tore her ACL.  Instead, the surgeon said she had a large tumor on her tibia, scheduled an MRI that night, and said it was beyond what any doctor in Ithaca, NY could manage.

So many thoughts ran through our heads.  Is it malignant? Is it benign? Has it spread? What kind of bone damage has it caused? Will Erin dance with her girls again?

We packed up the house that Dennis and Erin had just moved into two weeks prior and headed to Cleveland to be treated at the Cleveland Clinic.  Thankfully, she got an appointment with an outstanding doctor this afternoon.  The doctor read her x-ray, MRI, and scheduled an CT scan and x-ray of her chest.  The x-ray of her chest looks clean (HUGE! WIN!) and the tumor appears to be localized to the leg.  Surgery is scheduled for Wednesday morning.  The surgeon will start with a biopsy and make decisions from there depending on the results.  Reconstruction of her tibia will occur as the tumor has replaced bone mass and has left very little bone behind. 

The journey is just beginning and recovery will be tough.  Erin is fighter and I have no doubt will overcome this challenge.

Many of you have asked how you can help.  Any of the following three would be HUGE!

  1. PRAY! Pray hard.  Pray for Erin to have strength and the courage to conquer anything that may come her way.  
  2. FOOD! Anyone that knows Erin knows she loves a tasty meal. Michael Simon is her second love next to Dennis. I always look forward to her coming to Cleveland because, next to her company, I know I'm going to be well fed. She's always cooking some fancy shmancy gourmet meal that she just "threw" together.  (side note: the meal doesn't have to be fancy. I brought her Donato's tonight and she said "OMG I love hawaiian pizza!!)
  3. DONATE! Any amount would help out the Socha Family.  I know this makes Erin incredibly uncomfortable, but we want her to focus on getting better and not how she is going to afford the medical treatment.  Dennis is taking some unpaid leave to be by Erin, Lily and Autumns side.  On top of lost salary, they are facing enormous out of pocket medical expenses. So if you can give up your second Starbucks coffee today, that $5 could make a huge difference. No amount is too small. There is a paypal link above for secure donations. If you are viewing on a mobile device, scroll to the bottom of the page and click 'view web version' and the paypal button will appear to the right of the page. 
God is powerful, science is awesome, and Erin is strong. Put them together and miracles will happen.

Do not be afraid or discouraged, for the Lord will personally go ahead of you. He will be with you. He will neither fail nor abandon you. Deutoronomy 31:8


God Bless,
Aileen

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