Houston Family Benefit Planned
Dec. 14 Event To Help Hugo Family
By Deb Barnes

HUGO - The last two years have dealt Mark and Michelle Houston—and their two young children, Chris and Nicole—a low blow.

Mark, a dentist, was diagnosed with mantle cell non- Hodgkins lymphoma—a treatable, but not curable, form of cancer—in August 2006. Mantle cell lymphoma, a moderately aggressive cancer, is a tumor of the mantle cells that surround the germinal (reproducing) centers of the lymph nodes.




Plans were made for a bone marrow transplant.

Michelle was diagnosed with ALS (Lou Gehrig’s Disease) just three months later.

Mark and Michelle have both been given 3-5 years to live, and without medical intervention, even that span would likely not have been possible.

“She had muscle spasms all over her body,” Michelle’s sister, Tonya Lindquist, related.

“She was hoping it was MS [multiple sclerosis] or something else.”

The disease, beginning with weakness in one leg, progressed to the other leg. Michelle, a dental hygienist, first walked with the assistance of a cane. Then came the wheelchair, as the disease worked its way up.

Early in 2008, Lindquist said, Michelle began having problems with her breathing.

After two months in the hospital on a bipap machine to assist her in breathing, Michelle had to make a decision to either have a permanent tube inserted in her neck, or to go to a hospice.

She chose the hospice.

“They said it wasn’t going to be very long,” Lindquist said.

Six months passed by. At that point, Mark’s cancer was found to have returned, and plans were made for a second bone marrow transplant.

“At that point, [Michelle] took herself out of hospice to get a trach[eostomy],” her sister said.

After 9 months away, Michelle returned to the family’s Hugo home and the children on Sept. 25. But by that time, Mark was at the University of Minnesota Medical Center, Fairview.

“The second [transplant] they say is harder, more difficult, and more risk,” Lindquist said.

Now back at home, Mark is particularly susceptible to infection and has a special air filtration unit in his room.

Family members are finding it more difficult to visit. “I have a 2-year-old and a 4-year old who are always sick,” Lindquist said, “so it’s more challenging to see them.”Other, more permanent changes, have followed. Mark has sold his practice, located in New Brighton, as he concentrates on coping with his illness.

He makes the journey every day to have his counts checked and to monitor his progress with the transplant.

Even with the tracheostomy, ALS is tough to cope with. “Each day, she can feel something taken away from her,” Lindquist says.

As the family enters its third holiday season living with illness, it’s also hard on Chris, 14, and Nicole, 12. The Houston children attend Mahtomedi schools, Chris in 9th grade and Nicole in 7th grade, and according to their aunt, they serve as the family’s lifeline.

“They’ve been strong kids … and they’re really close to each other,” she said. In the meantime, the family’s medical bills are mounting, as Michelle’s hospice care was not covered by insurance. Other bills are also adding up.

The community has an opportunity to help give the Houston family a brighter Christmas season.

A benefit will be held at the Hugo American Legion, 5383 140th Street North in Hugo, on Sunday, Dec. 14, from 2 to 7 p.m. A spaghetti dinner will be served from 2 to 6 p.m.

There will be lots of fun for the whole family: Miss Minnesota and former North Star player Bill Butters will be in attendance and activities for children will be held from 2-4 p.m. Lu’s DJs and KJs will be there, and both silent and live auctions will be held.

A spaghetti dinner will be served, at a cost of $10 for adults and $5 for 6-and-under. Donatelli’s has donated the spaghetti; the Olive Garden has donated the salad.

If you are unable to attend the benefit, but would like to make a cash donation, send checks to: US Bank, Attention: Houston Benefit Fund, 4700 Clark Avenue, White Bear Lake, MN 55110.



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