The Hancock-Henderson Quill, Inc.
Five year old Angie Rankin (center), gives a hug to her big sister Kristen, 10, and a hug to the angel doll of her grandmother's. Angie has recovered from cancer and will be the Honorary Survivor at the RELAY FOR LIFE at Union High School Friday-Saturday.
Her sister is one of the many angels who make each day easier for Angie, just by being so kind and loving. The 2004 Relay theme is ANGELS AMONG US to honor the many caring people in our families and our communities.
Some angels like Angie's family, Kristen and parents Mike and Nancy Rankin of Raritan are up-close caregivers. Still many others show they care by working with the American Cancer Society in projects like the Door to Door campaign and Relay for Life to name a few. Their work gives families like Angie's hope. Without Angels Among Us, there would be despair.
by Dessa Rodeffer, Quill Publisher/Owner
The life of a cancer victim is not easy, but when angels surround you, it gives a flicker of hope when you see so many people are behind you, encouraging you, and praying for you, and working for a cure.
That is what RELAY FOR LIFE means for the family of 5 year old Angie Rankin. It means there are a lot of caring people in the communities who are not giving up on the fight against cancer. It takes time and money for cancer research, but progress has been made.
Angela Renee was born on November 17, 1998, the second child to Mike and Nancy Rankin of Raritan. She was welcomed by big sister, Kristen, who was five. Mike was working for Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railroad as a machinist and Nancy was working at the Raritan State Bank as a teller.
After Angie was two, their child care provider, Mary Stimpson of Stronghurst noticed Angie having problems with her balance. She had fevers that would come and go lasting 30 minutes to an hour, she would throw up and then she'd be fine.
"This would reoccur several times in a week, but she didn't complain of pain," her mother said.
She was treated for inner ear, but the symptoms continued to reappear- off-balance, fever, vomiting.
On February 26th, at Mary's insistence, Mike and Nancy took Angie to Burlington Pediatrics Association PC, to see Dr. Daws.
Nancy went over all the notes and comments as an intern watched Angie walk.
"We were told something was wrong and Dr. Daws ordered an MRI to be done that evening at the hospital. With special arrangements after 6:00 p.m., they called in an anesthesiologist. During the procedure, we were asked to wait in a room in Pediatrics."
"She came out of the anesthesia as quick as she went in as if nothing had ever happened."
Mike said as he waited for the doctor, he went into the nurse's break room to ask for a drink. "I noticed the nurse who had been taking care of Angie was crying. Her daughter is in the same class with Kristen. She tried not to let on and quickly got me a drink, but I knew something was wrong. I felt bad for her."
Ten minutes later, Dr. Daws, in a professional tone, came in and broke the news the best he could. "He had to be frank and brief, because of a sense of urgency," Mike said. "They were going to have her sent by ambulance to Iowa City and said we would have 30 minutes to get our things together and to make necessary phone calls. Cloud cover and spitting snow prevented them from life-fighting her," he said.
Dr. Daws showed the Rankins the MRI image of a tumor on the brain stem and Mike's first question was, "Is it cancer?"
"I'm inclined to think it is," Dr. Daws said, "but we will not know until they do a biopsy." He went on to explain that the blockage was in the 4th ventricle putting pressure on the brain stem and causing blockage of spinal fluid.
"The brain stems controls all your motor functions and primary functions like breathing, heart beat, etc."
After phone calls and a quick ambulance ride, the Rankins were in Iowa City. A neurosurgeon said it would probably be a week before they would did anything,
But plans were moved up and on Friday they performed the biopsy.
After trying to stabilize her while she was in intensive care for a week, they did brain surgery on the following Friday to remove the tumor.
The report from the surgeon was that "they had removed as much as is possible," Mike said.
As doctors were suspicious, they did another MRI. The MRI showed Angie had two tumors in her spine which were putting pressure on her spinal column.
Chemotherapy was ordered for a month and a half. "They didn't want to do radiation until she turned three. The "Chemo" and the stem cell transplant was being done to buy time. They guaranteed that she would have retardation from the radiation it if were done earlier," Mike said.
They began chemotherapy in the middle of March. With deep emotion, Nancy recalled the trauma of seeing her daughter in a gran mal seizure which Angie suffered on April 15th, Easter Sunday. The ordeal triggered doctors to take Angie off the "Chemo" and go to the stem cell transplant.
Within an hour Angie had been through a CAT scan and was prepped for emergency surgery for a Ventriculostomy to relieve the pressure of fluid that had built up around her brain. A Ventriculostomy is where they drill a hole into the skull and insert a tube. It was important to keep her very still and lying in bed.
Angie woke up blind and her mental status was gone for about a week. Slowly, the pressure was relieved and it went away.
What a joy it was when Mike's dad walked in and little Angie said, "HI GRANDPA". "She had to have seen him. No one had said a word," Mike said.
"A permanent shunt was put in and by the end of week she was telling us her favorite shows and back to normal, the lovely, giggly, Angie," her dad said.
The Shunt is actually a valve that automatically relieves excess pressure.
"If the brain swells, they told us that you either go into a coma and die or you have a seizure- she was lucky."
After recovering from the shunt procedure, Angie underwent a stem-cell transplant.
For this they can use either donor cells or cells which are harvested from the patient.
Doctors harvested bone marrow from Angie. The process was done at the end of March during her 2nd week of chemotherapy. The procedure was quite unique.
A machine spins the blood, and between spins it separates and counts the stem cells, then puts the blood back into the blood stream.
The stem cell transplant also involves lethal chemotherapy treatments.
The lethal chemotherapy is strong enough to kill the cancer cells, but in the process is so strong it also kills the bone marrow. Therefore, stem cells are dripped back into the body in the same way as a blood transfusion. They gradually change into the type of blood cells they need to be.
The first one was not enough, so they had to repeat the procedure again. The procedure was done before Angie suffered from the gran mal seizure.
Angie's shunt will remain until she is age 13, when due to growth, it will have to be replaced . Mike explained that the shunt is coiled and stretches out as she grows. She will need a shunt for the rest of her life.
Angie had three stem cell transplants and after each session, her body needed six weeks for recovery. She finished these by the middle of October.
It was a life-changing experience for the Rankins. Everything was uncertain. The family was able to go home, but Mom and Angie had to return to Iowa City for six weeks of radiation therapy. Usually Mom and Angie stayed at the Ronald McDonald House and Mike came on his days off of work. It makes you think differently about all your loose change when you eat at McDonalds. The Ronald McDonald House has been such a blessing.
Kristen would come with the grandparents on weekends when school was in session.
It was an exciting day when Angie's family could take her home. Her final radiation treatment was given on December 31st, 2001 and all went home to start a new year together.
Mike and Nancy said 2002 was fantastic. Angie had four MRIs. The first three were okay, but the fourth one they were afraid of some bad news, but it turned out to be benign and not a problem.
2003 was a good year with 4 MRIs and various doctor visits turning out to be positive.
This year, Angie's MRIs are every 6 months.
In January they ordered growth hormone shots and in May they did blood work and rechecked her growth hormones. They explained that the radiation destroyed some of her Pituitary gland, so she is behind on her growth rate. She receives a shot six days out of the week.
Nancy and Mike said that the personal support they have received has been overwhelming. People from the community, from Raritan State Bank, from BNSF fellow employees, and from the churches, have meant so much.
"We have received prayers, gifts, moral support, it's hard to put into words what this means to our family. It is all so very humbling...and overwhelming," Mike said.
"Relay for Life - "Angels Among Us" - Honorary Survivor
"Theresa Fox, a cancer survivor, and now Relay For Life Survivor Chairperson, asked if Angie would be the "HONORARY SURVIVOR' for this year's walk, we thought it was great. A lot of wonderful people put in a lot of hard work to achieve a very difficult goal," Mike said.
"It's wonderful," Nancy agreed. "It is important to help raise money to help find the funding for research. If Angie had been diagnosed just one year earlier, she would not have survived because of the advancements cancer research has made."
"Their actual goal is to make more people survivors.," it's a very elusive goal, but they are achieving it, and we're very glad to be a part of it."
Angels Among Us, there are many. At this year's Relay, the angels are caregivers, family, friends, doctors, nurses, co-workers, neighbors, politicians, and donors and supporters joining in the fight for cancer.
Nancy and Mike said, Relay For Life is "all of us" working together, for "it takes a community to raise a child - in this instance, to save one."
The Henderson County Relay for Life begins this Friday, July 23rd and ends Saturday, July 24th.
RELAY FOR LIFE AGENDA
FRIDAY 6:00 P.M. Opening Ceremony
FRIDAY 6:15 P.M. Survivor's Lap
FRIDAY 9:00 P.M. Luminaria Ceremony
SATURDAY 8:00-10:00 A.M. Closing Ceremony