News from Erica: 12/21/08

December 23, 2008

12/21/08

I have a little sad news to share the other night we had to put my childhood pony Classy down. she was having seizers which we and Dr. Gelvin attributed to either a blood clot that went to the brain or a brain tumor or something along those lines....it was very tramatic for me to wittness, she was my best friend from the time i was 7 till i was about 15. it happened all of a sudden. one minuite she was fine and eating and drinking, the next she was on the ground seizing....she was only 24....im still crying everyday....on a different note, im doing ok...i have gained about 15 pounds since thanksgiving everyone says that i look healthy....i say, im a cancer patient, im supposed to be skinny! anyways...have a great christmas!

1 comment:

Anonymous said...: Well, Christmas is over, its a mixed blessing i guess...the stress is over but i really enjoy the attitude of the hollidays. i have a little news. last Monday i had my first physical therapy apointment. after that i had severe pain reacure which i have been having in my right side. i have even been to a pain specalist, who thinks its nerve damage affilliated with my mastecomy which is causing deabillitating pain. which has been annoying me for about a month, maybe longer...(another side effect of the chemo is my memory is shot to hell, my time line is no more...i cant tell, whether something happened two days ago of 5 days ago...its fun when your trying to tell a story or explain symptons to your docter....) anyways, everyday is different, some days i am a 5 on the pain scale other days im an 8, and good days im a 3!...anyways back to my story....so after my physical therapy i was about an 8, which lasted untill the next day whch was chemo day...(i should also mention that i had been having other symptoms as well, such as severe shortness of breath and coughing, i was walking up the stairs a few days pryer and almost passed out because of the horrible shortness of breath...)i went in and had a fever of a 101.4. plus the forementioned pain and shortness of breath and so on...well, in lue of making this story realy long, i will cut to the chase...they think my disease is getting worse...bummer, huh? anyways, happy new year! PS, my second PT appointment is tomorrow…; 12/28/2008 10:57 PM

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A little history

23 year old Erica Tomsha was born and raised in Fairbanks. Parents Mark and Anita are also long time Alaskans. Anita’s grandparents (Carlson) moved to Kodiak in the 40’s to work on WWII construction projects. From there the lure of gold drew them to Fairbanks. Anita’s dad followed and opened up Music Mart in Fairbanks 60 years ago. Mark moved to Fairbanks in the early 70’s.

From an early age Erica shared her mothers passion for horses. Learning to ride when she was 4 she quickly figured out she had to make sure her pony knew she was the boss. In elementary school she joined the Golden Heart 4-H club to continue to learn. As she got older she expanded her perspective to include IHA, ACTA, IHC, Pony Club, 4-H community service and leadership activities. She was an active member of the Tanana Whirlwinds 4-H group in high school and helped to advocate for and pass the limited liability for livestock bill which helps to insure personal responsibility for accidents occurring around livestock animals. That exposure to politics led her to an internship with Senator Stevens.

After attending UAF for a couple of years she decided to move to California where she could pursue her dream of working with horses. She has been actively training horses and riders and enjoying being around magnificent Grand Prix horses.

Although Erica had to move to Seattle for her cancer treatment she has continued to work and learn, giving riding lessons and training horses. She moved into an apartment of her own. Her father has been able to stay with her through most of her chemotherapy. Erica has lost her hair from her treatments but does not try to hide it. She encourages people to ask her about her cancer and is anxious to share her experience in the hope of teaching or providing comfort to others.Erica remains positive and upbeat. She appreciates all the concern and well wishes from her friends.

From Erica on December 6th

I want people to know that I found a lump last December that was about the size of a pencil eraser. I went to the clinic the next day and the nurse told me it was probably nothing, and because of my age it was very unlikely that it was serious. So naturally i believed her, and I continued on with my life as usual. However, 6 months later the pencil eraser grew to be the size of a golf ball in a week! So I went back to that clinic and the same nurse agreed that I probably needed a biopsy! DUH! 2 days later the same nurse told me I had Invasive Ductile Carcinoma, (I found out later that I was a stage 3a, 4 is terminal), and she told me this while crying. 2 days after that I came to Seattle because not having insurance limits my care options in California, and plus Seattle has better cancer hospitals, unless you go to UCLA or SanFran and being 300 miles away is just as hard as being 1500 miles away from home.

Being here has really changed my life; it has forced me to live in a different way (I have learned a lot about myself), it has forced me to DRAMATICALLY change my diet (which is the most important thing a cancer patient can do). I have had to watch my spending, it's hard to work when you're getting chemo once a week. I am working a little, and in return my boss (whose ex husband I live with) pays my rent. But there are so many things that the charity care program at Swedish Hospital does not cover, such as supplements and alternative treatments like acupuncture, vitamin infusions, and the cancer vaccine. It also doesn't pay for things like reconstructive surgery (which unless I want to be the one boobed wonder I will need to get). I don't have the price for this yet but i will get it as soon as I can. I have also definitely learned who my real friends are, the ones who care.

News from Erica

December 23, 2008

12/21/08

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