No time to wait, Darla's story

When Darla Grigg was diagnosed with cancer, she had the choice to wait until after the holidays for treatment or start right away. Hear about her journey, it’s ups and downs and rewards.

Transcript

I, as a mother, never thought it's got to be all about me. I didn't really care about, you know, the holidays I just had to get through. I had to wake up the next day and start it all over and just do it. Yeah. I was just a robot, and I found out that that's okay. You know, whatever it takes to get you through.

In the fall of 2023 Darla Grigg never imagined what started as a minor, we’ll say pesky medical condition could turn her life upside down. She learned quickly that illness doesn't take a holiday. This mother and grandmother was able to find strength and the will to get better. We'll hear more of Darla's story. Next on Health Styles.

At Sarah Bush Lincoln Regional Cancer Center. We believe in more than just treatment. We believe and care that goes beyond medicine, care that supports you emotionally and physically, care that uses the latest technology and the best minds in the field, and care that celebrates every victory at Sarah Bush Lincoln. Your fight is our fight. This is our promise. And these are the physicians and health care professionals at Sarah Bush and.

Welcome to Health Styles. I'm your host, Lori Banks. You may or may not know that Health Styles is also a magazine that predates the podcast. It's been published by Sarah Bush Lincoln since 1990, and showcases area residents and their medical stories of hope and inspiration. So when we spoke to Darla Grigg for an article about her experiences with a major medical issue, we wanted to share the audio version for this podcast. For Darla, who resides in Ashmore, Illinois. Thanksgiving and Christmas of 2023 and 2024 could not have been more different. And we're not talking about who attended or what the weather was like. During Thanksgiving of 2023, she wasn't at home getting ready for the big day. Instead, she was undergoing cancer treatment at the Sarah Bush Lincoln Regional Cancer Center. But before we get to that, let's turn the clock back to the summer of 2023.

Well, in July of 23, I started having symptoms that brought me to the doctor because they weren't normal. So I, had established some bleeding. And when I went in July, they were treating me for, hemorrhoids and and I did everything that they had said, and it would go away for the bleeding would go away for a little while, and then it would come back and I'd get on the phone.

I'd call again, and then they'd say, well, you know, just it's going to take a while for the, the creams to work. Just, just stay with it. I said, okay. So, I stayed with it. And then in October, I call because this was, this one was really bad. And the doctor said, okay, if it's that bad, then you have to go, through, another hospital and, you know, go that route.

So I did, and I was in the emergency room for over three hours, and it was very uncomfortable to sit. And by the time I got in, I saw another nurse practitioner and the nurse practitioner there the exam and said, oh, no, it's not external hemorrhoids. It's internal hemorrhoids. So for another two weeks I got, followed up with more creams, but now it's on the inside.

And after, a few weeks, I said this, this is not working. And, so I went to my, primary, and she examined me and she said, yeah, we got to get, colon ostomy because this is not normal. And I had my colon ostomy on the 31st of October, and everything started rolling because that's when I got the word that I had cancer.

Diagnosed with anal cancer. Darla faced a difficult decision wait almost two months to begin treatment where she had been doctoring or find someplace else where she could start treatment right away. And closer to home,

And I'm thinking, I've just heard these horror stories of what chemo and radiation can do to you, that sometimes you're not able to travel that far every single day for six weeks. And I said, how about, coming down to Sarah Bush and having my treatments there? And they said that you guys, who are a wonderful hospital and that they would definitely recommend me to do my treatments there. I hadn't been to Sarah Bush, and, I just fell in love with the staff, my doctors that they assigned me, they are second to none. The staff here is second to none, and I have been totally pleased with how I was treated and the professionalism that Sarah Bush has brought to me. And I just I can't say enough about how thankful I am to have this kind of a quality hospital that's basically in my backyard.

Darla's treatment that included radiation and chemotherapy got underway quickly. Starting the Monday of Thanksgiving week,

I just I couldn't believe how quickly, you know, once you have been diagnosed, that you guys got me where I needed to go and the proper procedure, and I, also want to say that Doctor Cho was doing my, radiation, and he was reluctant to start me on my radiation the week of Thanksgiving because you guys don't work on Thanksgiving. But he decided that since everything that I have been through up to that point, he would he he told me that we were going to start it. And he says, I will come in and give you a treatment on Thanksgiving. And he said, you know that this is just what they do. And I thought, oh my gosh. So that's what I did.

And I do want to tell you that when I first started my treatments on that Monday, I thought, okay, this isn't all that bad. And I had my, radiation started to I was doing both, at the same time. I thought, well, this isn't too bad, but I spoke too soon because on Thanksgiving, after I had my Thanksgiving treatment, everything changed. And then I got the effects of what both of them are doing. And my life was never the same from that point until I was done. But what I really loved about what what was going on is that both Doctor Cho and Doctor Shakir are always letting me know what I what to expect, and they were pretty much spot on. I did not know. All right. I had it in the back of my mind that I. It's not going to make my hair. It's not going to fall out. It happens to everybody else. But it's not going to be to me. Well it did, and I just was devastated. You know, it just seemed like everything that I, that they had told me happened.

And when they said, okay, you're going to be sick, here's all this medication that you can take to make you feel better. Do not feel bad if you have to take this, because that's what it's for. And yeah, I did, I did I just thought that I could be bigger out. My goodness I've had three babies. I can do this. This is nothing like having children. It is something that I still remember to this day. As we were driving in today, my husband said, well, guess what you were doing a year ago? And I said, oh my gosh, Lynn, even this time, this is the time that I had my treatments. And it was just like a flashback and I didn't feel the pain or anything, but I remember what what it was like, and I just had no hair. I had no makeup on. I had just whatever it took to get me out of bed, you know, to get me to a treatment. And then I'd go back home and I'd go back into bed and it was like, it's a blur, but yet it's not. I still. It it's just an awful, awful thing that people have to go to.

However, there is a light at the end of the tunnel. I'm living proof. And Doctor Shakir and Doctor Cho said, as soon as that chemo and the radiation gets out of your body, you will start feeling better. And I'm thinking, okay, well, January 9th was my last treatment and I still was feeling like crap. And what am I supposed to say that, I still was not feeling well. But at the end of February, I still wasn't feeling well, you know, at the end of March. But then all of a sudden, right before our anniversary in April, it was like a light went off. All of a sudden, I started feeling 100% better. And then every day after that, I felt even better and even better. And now I've got hair coming back and I went from being totally ball to now I've got the baby fuzz and and it was just like, you know, I'm back.

Darla's treatment was wrapped up in January, but it took her until September until her numbers were good and she felt well enough to go back to working as a substitute teacher.

And I love every single day.It gives me a purpose to get up and go to work. And the kids, you know, they just think that, you know, grandma's coming to school. So I'm just really blessed to have been able to, to recoup and get my life back to normal. If my, you know, blood work isn't perfect and I call perfect, it's within the margin or in that range. Then your first thought is, oh my gosh, you know, cancer is rearing its head again. But you just know whenever you get sick, or at least that's with me, I always go back. I wonder if it's back. I wonder if it's back. And I don't know if I'll ever get over that part, but as long as I feel as good as I do now, I just can't believe that I could have cancer right now or in the future, because I am just.

I just feel too good and I'm really, really blessed. When I was going through that, the chemotherapy and everything, I had to have not only my meds, but I also had to have my family and I also had my faith. And those three things is what gets you by

We recorded this interview on December 23rd, which brought back memories for Darla from the previous year being sick during both Thanksgiving and Christmas.

And the week the Sunday before I started my treatments on Monday, we put up our Christmas tree. So I thought, okay, if nothing else, we're going to have, you know, at least a Christmas tree. And so when I would have my treatments and I'd come back home, before I'd go to bed, I always sit in my chair. My husband bought me an electric blanket and it plugged in, and, you know, I'd. I'd just get in my chair and, my lazy boy and just sit there, and I really, unfortunately, I did not care. You know, I it the whole thing was I got to get through this. And I hated the fact that in my mind, I had to think it's it's all about me right now, all about me and  in that was a different experience because, you know, I, as a mother, never thought it's got to be all about me. I didn't really care about, you know, the holidays I just had to get through. I had to wake up the next day and start it all over and just do it. Yeah. I was just a robot, and I found out that that's okay.

You know, whatever it takes to get you through. I did not feel like I wanted to. When it came Christmas time. I feel like I did not want to have anybody around because I, I had my immune system was not even on the charts. I had none, and I didn't even want my kids, especially my grandkids, you know, coming around because Lord knows what they might have brought me by accident that they could have thought. But, you know, I couldn't even, I couldn't even, fight a UTI infection. You know, I had to go to the hospital two weeks after I started my treatment because I couldn't even fight that. I had a picture of, this, that while they were six beds and four of them were antibiotics. And the other one was like the potassium, and the other one was like blood that I needed to have.

And this was the week of December 1st, and it was like this all the time. I never really knew, that Christmas was coming. While I was going through this, I knew that I was going to be going through this for Thanksgiving and Christmas and New Year's. But once you start that, it's just like, okay, I've got to get through the next day.

I got to do today, and then I got to do tomorrow. I got to do today and then tomorrow. And and that's really all that I can say that got me through this. I didn't worry about nobody getting presents underneath the tree I wasn't worried about. I couldn't go celebrate. You know, the new year, it was all about me getting better. So. But it's okay. You you can focus like that, any kind of emotion. And then I had there at the last two weeks was the worst part. That was the worst part of all of it. Because you're so burnt, you are just. And then you're coming out of chemo again. Because I had two doses. I had I wore the, pack, and so I would wear it for five days and it was nonstop and it was just horrific. I and I know that sounds bad, but it is. It really is. So I just kind of talking about it makes me feel like I am I don't want to say Superwoman by any means, but I must be awfully strong and never gave myself credit to go through something like that. And ringing the bell for cancer patients happens when they complete their final treatment. And at the regional cancer center. It's a big deal for everyone. When Doctor Cho said, okay, we're going to go in there and we're going to ring the bell, they made this announcement that we're going, we got a patient that's going to get to ring the bell. And people stopped what they were doing to come watch me ring the bell. Oh my gosh, you talk about being special. I mean, I was able to walk, I felt good. And then to have all the and I bet you there was maybe 2025 people. They stopped at and came running and were there when I rang that bell, everybody clapped. Oh, it was just marvelous. Oh, such an awesome time for me that I knew that I was done. I was done, and I felt good to that time.

Having cancer does not mean that you have to have a death sentence. Now, I do know that some people you know do not have a happy ending. However, with the technology that Sarah Bush has to offer, their patients and the doctors and the staff, there is a happy ending in most cases. And I'm here to tell you I'm one.

We want to thank Darla for sharing her story with us and giving inspiration to others who may be going through cancer treatment. Darla plans to give back to the cancer center as a volunteer. In this role, she'll be able to provide support and encouragement for patients and their families. If you want to learn more about the Sarah Bush Lincoln Regional Cancer Center, visit our website at Sarahbush.org or call (217) 258-2250. That's (217) 258-2250.

Oh, my gosh, I've had it cut once. Did yours grow back a different color? No, this is it. My sister, it came back curly. Curly. It does, it does, it does. And actually, it comes back stronger I think, because. And I think I'm even a little bit more thicker when I went to Florida. When did I go? In June. So I'm just getting my hair back, and I it's only about this long. My sister says, oh my God, you look so much like mom. I mean, I would walk around and I did have a wig, and I found out that that as it got hotter, oh, it had to go. It had to go in. You didn't really want to put on a hat because that was nasty too. And, so I just thought, I don't care, I really don't care. I'm a survivor.