Discovery Health...

The director from St. Joseph's Barrow neurological center contacted Mom yesterday to ask her if she would be willing to have her surgery and medical experience documented by the Discovery channel! Dr. Spetzler specifically chose Mom's story to be a part of this project. This means they would come to her house and have a pre-interview with her, tape the surgery and document her progress post-surgery. The story may or may not make it on TV, but it would for sure be in the magazine and she will receive a copy of all of the footage. Mom agreed and we are all really excited about it. She is waiting to hear from the executive producer of Powderhouse Productions on details and is sending in her consent forms. I'll keep everyone posted!

Oncologist...

Yesterday Mom met with Dr. Kumar, her oncologist, to discuss her AVM. He told her that her blood work looks good and that as far as he is concerned, she is ready to take care of her brain condition. He advised that she goes through with the surgery and he will move her PET scan to August to ensure she is completely cancer-free.

Benefits

Everyone is welcome...

*Change of plans*

Friday, June 5th, we will be having a celebrity bartending event with MEGA 104.3 @ Famous Sam's on 43rd Avenue and Glendale from 6-9pm, where family, friends and DJs will be serving drinks.

The official benefit will be Sunday, June 28th, at the same place @ 4pm.

Don't forget to wear pink! See you there!

Surgery...

Mom met with Dr. Spetzler yesterday and made the decision to have him as her surgeon.

The brain surgery has been scheduled for June 8th @ St. Joseph's hospital. She is really nervous but also glad to get it taken care of so soon. Please pray for her.

I'm sure many of you will like to be there the day of the surgery so I will post time information when we get it.

Angiogram...

The angiogram was much more painful than Mom expected. She was not completely put to sleep, so she was able to feel much of the procedure. They ended up making an incision which has caused her a lot of pain, so she has hardly been able to walk since yesterday. The test went well, but has left Mom in bed. Get well soon Mommy.

Angiogram...

Today Mom is @ Good Sam hospital getting her 2nd test- an angiogram done, which is a test where they inject dye and evaluate the blood flow through her brain. This way, the doctor can determine whether the AVM is blocking blood flow, where, how much, etc. The test will take pretty much all day, she is put to sleep and the dye/wire is inserted.

This Thursday she will meet with Dr. Spetzler, her 2nd opinion, which she is excited to see what he has to say, compared to Dr. Kumar.

On May 24th she will meet with her chemo/radiation doctor to discuss how the treatments went and to schedule her PET scan.

On June 4th she will meet with Dr. Kumer again, her 1st opinion... and make her final decision.

Fundraiser and benefit...

Here are some emails/fliers put together by family and friends! My mom is so grateful for all of the support she has been receiving!



Jacqueline Lizarraga, loving and dear friend and mother to three beautiful children was diagnosed with breast cancer in October of 2008. During Jacqueline’s difficult journey fighting cancer she has endured surgery, chemotherapy and radiation therapy. Just as she was about to be done with her radiation therapy she was diagnosed with arteriovenous malformation, a condition which causes bleeding in the brain and migraines. Without surgery she could face seizures or stroke. Due to the amount of medical bills, co-pays and missed days of work Jacqueline has already been through and will be going through she is faced with an overwhelming amount of bills. The family has set up an account for Jacqueline’s benefit to help her with these expenses she is faced with.

Donations may be made to CHASE BANK ACCT #669189979 . Any amount is greatly appreciated. Jacqueline’s family thanks you so much for your contribution.

JACQUELINE LIZARRAGA-GUTIERREZ

May 14, 2009
To whom it may concern:
A Benefit fundraiser is being held for Jacqueline Lizarraga by her family and friends. Jacqueline was diagnosed with State 3 Breast Cancer on October 9, 2008 and has just completed extensive Chemo & Radiation treatments. On April 23, 2009 she was faced with another challenge in her life and was diagnosed with Arteriovenous Malformation, a brain condition that now requires brain surgery.
We are looking for donations. It would be greatly appreciated if your company can donate a gift certificate or an item to raffle off at her Benefit Fundraiser. All proceeds raised will help her with any out of pocket expenses she may have during this difficult time. If you have any questions regarding this benefit, please contact Christine Bejar at 623.606.2208 or Naomi Sanchez at 623.206.7292.
Thank you for you support,
Friends & Family of Jaqueline Lizarraga-Gutierrez

Mother of the year!

http://news.cnnbcvideo.com/?nid=EdodPSaQL2NA5.FSwxAoPDEyMTgyMzE0&referred_by=15968273-HgEk1ux&p=moveon

Functional MRI...

On Friday Mom went in to take her 1st test, a functional MRI. She explained it to us and it sounds really interesting how they do it. The test was to figure out where her functional skills are located on the left side of her brain so that the surgeon can determine more about the surgery. The test was pretty long and it asked her to do a bunch of exercises in her head so that they could tell which part of the brain in stimulated. They would tell her to think of all of the words that she could starting with an 'A', etc. She will get the results when she meets with the doctor.

Mom also decided to get a second opinion regarding her AVM. She has heard a lot about a Dr. Spitzler, who is very popular with these types of surgeries and he does them more often than Dr. Kumar, so she will meet with him on May 21st.

Happy Mother's Day!*

Love you Mom!

For Mom...

Due to the amount of medical bills, co-pays and missed days of work Mom has been faced with during breast cancer and now her brain condition, the family has graciously decided to use a bank account for anyone who would like to contribute for Mom. She has so many friends and family members that want to help out, but don't know how and this is something that would help tremendously. We are also planning a benefit fundraiser in the near future and I will post that information as soon as we know it. We thank you in advance for your generosity.

Chase Bank account:

Kassandra Lizarraga
#669189979

Home sweet home...

Mom's removal surgery went well and she is home resting now.

Relay for Life...

Thank you Angela for honoring my Mom during the Relay for Life this weekend! Here is a picture of the luminaria bag...

Brain surgeon...

Today Mom met with the brain surgeon and he explained more about her condition. Her AVM is stage 2 out of 5, 5 being the most serious, so that is good news. But the doctor made it clear that it is important to take this seriously. Basically, he gave her 3 choices. 1. She can wait it out and see if her headaches go away, since radiation is over, which runs the risk of having a stroke, seizure or the veins bleeding more 2. Radiation on her brain, which she definitely does not want to do because of the experience she had with her breast radiation 3. Brain surgery, which comes with many more risks, but gives her the chance to be completely normal once the surgery is over. Because of where the malformation is located, it is easy to access in surgery but poses the risk of having more difficulties after surgery, like not being able to talk, move, etc. The doctor said he had a similar case last year with a 19 year old who was not able to move her hands for a week after, but lives a normal healthy life now. So Mom has a lot to think about, but she is most likely leaning towards the surgery. She says she wants to be able to have the surgery and move on if everything goes well, instead of sitting on it and worrying about new symptoms. The doctor told her to weigh her options and in the mean time, take 2 tests that will give him even more information about the location and situation. She will see him in 4 weeks, and he will have the results to take the next step. He also told her that she should go along with her original schedule for port-a-cath surgery on Tuesday, May 5 to have it removed.