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| PHOTO COURTESY OF BECKY MARTINSON
Abbey Almelien poses with family members during her hospital stay this past summer. Her family and friends say they continue to be amazed by her can-do spirit despite her health issues. |
Amputation can't dampen can-do attitude
Grandmother: Abbey Almelien remains grateful even after illness leads to loss of right leg
By Lois Reinsmoen
For The Summit
It is hard to understand the purpose and design of why so many young people are sidelined at the height of their abilities and vigor.
Why they should be impeded in their pursuits by a bolt from the blue, by an accident for instance, or disease, sometimes temporarily, sometimes permanently. News reports about these anguished families are common; their long-lived distress happens too often to too many.
Yesterday, flags were unfurled and flying for them, potentiality was in force; “God's in His Heaven and all's right with the world.”
Suddenly life jolts them cruelly and they are sent behind the starting line to begin again.
This account is specifically about my granddaughter, Abbey Jean Almelien,who graduated from Forest City High School in 1997.
Her struggle began abruptly, many local people will recall, at 3 1/2 years of age.
She was diagnosed with a neuroblasto tumor (always malignant) attached to her internal organs.
After all the radiation she was allowed and nine months of chemo therapy at Mayo Clinic which failed to shrink what was considered to be an inoperable mass at its site, doctors were compelled to operate; as it turned out, successfully.
Although left with some residuals, Abbey flourished, accomplished her education to that point, and currently at age 29 was enjoying her career as a Pediatric Cardiac Nurse at University of Iowa hospital and Clinics.
Becoming a pediatric nurse was a precocious goal she set for herself as a result of her early hospital experiences.
This spring Abbey began having pain in her right leg and sometimes trouble walking sprightly. It got worse and worse, making mobility increasingly difficult; finally it was ascertained that a malignant, peripheral tumor on a sciatic nerve sheath was doing the damage.
Twenty-five years after maximum radiation is received, it is not unusual that another similar cancer occurs. None of us understood this previously, of course; perhaps the A.M.A. did. It is 25 years to date.
Abbey had one chemo treatment during this siege, only half as strong as they would like to have given her (still sufficient to deprive her of her thick, dark brown hair again, which didn't seem to faze her; (she gave it to “Locks of Love.”)
The chemo made Abbey extremely sick; they could not give her anymore for fear she would die. Which meant the remaining option was surgery because the tennis-ball-size tumor was aggressively growing.
Now Abbey had to make undoubtedly the hardest decision of her young life. It was quite sure, the doctors informed her, that amputation very high up would be indicated and would she agree it should be done if circumstances demanded?
It had to be her own decision and it was a miserable one. After much study in a lose-lose debate, Abbey straight forwardly agreed to sacrifice her leg. She never looked back.
The tumor was high on the nerve. They took the limb with the hip and half of the pelvic bone. It was the only way. It took four hours.
Her physical recovery is proceeding very well with a few reverses. Her spirit is beyond all expectations. But it has to be awful for her. Even with the unbelievable support she has received she has to face much of it alone, within herself.
Her attitude is apparent in her resolution, “There are few things I will be unable to do.”
One thing that has helped her, I believe, is that she confronts it head on. She does not deny any part of it and is completely candid in talking about the grim details.
A prosthesis is the next project down the line. But meanwhile she is not just sitting there. While her wound is healing so she can have radiation she is as mobile as possible. On nice days she is out walking, on foot with crutches or a walker, occasionally in her wheelchair.
Recently her mother, her Aunt Jane and I visited her where she lives with her sister, Anna in Coralville. We participated in what to Jane and I was an encouraging revelation.
It happened to be a cold, rainy day; Abbey dressed up, folded and pinned up her empty pant leg, put on her long black wig and her walker and we all went to the Olive Garden for lunch. It was like it always was.
Although people look at her and look again, it is in an understanding, compassionate way.
Abbey says children stare and ask questions and she explains; they make remarks, some of which make her laugh. She laughs easily, like she used to.
Abbey is grateful. She knows that the countless prayers on her behalf are filled with love and hope. “The effective fervent prayers of a righteous ‘man' availeth much.”
The imposition she faces is less than what many others face, she says and wants her gratitude to pay off in helping others in the nursing field and in attaining excellence in future strivings. Keep up with her progress on Carepages.com.
This verse from a Lutheran devotional has helped me personally in a lot of trials. I quote it in hopes it will do the same for someone else:
When you come to the edge of all light you have known;
And are about to step off into darkness;
Faith is knowing that you will have something to stand on;
Or you will be taught how to fly.
Almelien benefit set for Saturday
JOICE - A benefit will be held for Abbey Almelien Saturday at Bethany Lutheran Church in Joice that will include a soup and chili supper, a quilt raffle and a silent auction.
The event will run from 5 to 7:30 p.m.
Fertile Lutheran and Bethany Lutheran churches are sponsoring the benefit, and Thrivent is supplementing.
Almelien's father, Ron Almelien, graduated from Fertile High School in 1968 and farmed his entire life near Fertile. He died in 2000, and her mother Molly (Reinsmoen), grew up at Joice and graduated from Lake Mills.
After Ron's death, Molly married Dave Iverson, also a graduate of Lake Mills and now a CPA in Lake Mills and Greene.
Story created Nov 25, 2008 - 14:48:44 CST.
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