SONYA’S STORY & REVEAL

MEET SONYA

In late 2021 Sonya began having issues with her left eye. She was having some blurry vision and experiencing “floaters” in her field of vision. She sought treatment and was referred to a Des Moines based retina specialist in early 2022. After several visits and no answers, she was prescribed oral steroids and sent on her way despite the issues progressively getting worse.

In February of 2023, Sonya began experiencing confusion and disorientation. EMS was called and while enroute to the hospital she had a seizure. Because of the seizure, an MRI was performed when she arrived at the hospital. That MRI showed a relatively large mass on the left side of her brain. The mass was biopsied and a PET scan confirmed that Sonya had developed Diffuse Large B-cell Lymphoma. This was a rare diagnosis for someone as young as Sonya. The good news was that the PET scan did not show that the cancer had spread beyond her central nervous system. Due to the rarity of her specific cancer case and the lack of expertise locally, Sonya was referred to the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN where she is now under care.

Sonya was immediately scheduled to start high-dose chemotherapy. While at Mayo, Sonya was referred to an eye specialist who reviewed her prior records with the retina specialist. It was determined that Sonya also had lymphoma in both eyes. Once this discovery was made, Sonya was started on additional chemotherapy that is administered /injected directly into the eyes. Radiation followed the chemotherapy. Sonya has spent more and more time in her bedroom due to the aggressive nature of her treatments and having a bedroom created on the main floor is going to be a huge blessing.

Sonya’s Room Reveal