New Member <DAYOOPER25@...>

[Guest guest]

A

>Hello! Here is the BIO for me, De Grand

>

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Becky:

Whoa! What a long bio! You've been through it! Glad to have you aboard!

Sherry

[Guest guest]

Hello! Here is the BIO for me, De Grand

Nickname: Becky or Beck

Belief: In GOD

Born: 9-22-71 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Raised: Upper Penninsula of Michigan since age 7

High School: 1989 graduate of Escanaba Area Senior High

College: 1994 graduate of Northern Michigan University in

Marquette, MI

Degree: Bachelor of Science in Zoology

Occupation: Washington State Department of Agriculture Field Supervisor

for

the Gypsy Moth Program (seasonal), 3 years in Washington, 2 years

as a field technician in Michigan (1st job after

college)

Off Season: worked in scuba industry, environmental lab technician, and

administrative work for the city of Seattle Library;

also a

student of

Human Resources/Management for the past 2 years

Residence: Seattle, Washington since June 1996

Fiance: Harley Dufek (age 24) born and raised in Alaska; met on

January

19th at Menard's Hardware (where we both worked) in Escanaba Michigan

when I

was between seasons with the Michigan Department of

Agriculture. He attended Bay De Noc Community College and earned an

Associates Degree in Electronics and has worked for the past 3 1/2

years

as an Electronics Technician and Design Engineer. He is now

exploring the trades field and earning his Jouneymen License as an

Electrician in Commercial Audio Installation. He is

extremely

sweet and and very handy (he does all the remodeling on our house). )

Wedding: June 17th or 18th of 2000

Siblings: (age 21) currently attending Stout University in

Menomonie, WI; studying Dietetics and Nutrition (graduates this spring

2000)

(age 18) currently attending first year of

college

in Communications and Journalism at Platteville in WI

Parents: Pat and Jeanette - currently living in Tomahawk, WI but

relocating to Moses Lake, WA in two weeks

Father - Mechanical Engineering Manager

Mother - Licensed Practical Nurse

My Passions: Scuba diving, Roller blading, and living life at large!

Hobbies: Hiking (especially up mountains), waterskiing, traveling

to

new places and exploring, riding motorcycles occasionally (Harley has a

Harley son of course and I have a Kawasaki EX 500

that

is teal and purple), coming up with new ideas for our house remodel

project,

learning to grow flowers and landscape garden (very new to this!),

(kick

boxing, step aerobics, and lifting weights when I am in

that

kind of mode), watching movies (I love this), enjoying in the luxury of

good

family and friends and cuddling with Harley.

Pet: Sigmund - an absolutely beautiful 2 1/2 year old green

iguana

that is now 4 feet long! He is our " baby " and Harley has even built him

his

own apartment in a closet.

Music: Favorite Band - Collective Soul, Favorite cultural music

-

Loreena McKennit (Irish folk/Celtic)

Classic Rock, Alternative, Yanni, Peruvian music (my new

thing), Pop rock, Aerosmith, Chapman, Led Zepplin,

Etheridge,

McGlachlin, SmashMouth (to name a few),

Classical,

some Country (Shania Twain, Tritt, Berry, Black Hawk, Little

Texas), the Beattles and the Rolling Stones, Hip Hop, and Boys to Men.

OK, now for why I am here:

Diagnosis: NF 2 with small bilateral acoustic neuromas (one one

each

side), and several small (of various sizes) meningomas scattered across

the

lining of my brain.

How: Started to lose some hearing in Spring of 1998 but did

not

personally notice it. Harley kept telling me but I did not beleive him

until

I realized in the summer/fall of 1998 that I was

losing

hearing in one ear. I was lying on the couch watching tv and I noticed

a

drastic difference in volume when I switched sides. Also, I heard

crickets

every night that summer until I realized when it

was

raining one night that we don't have crickets here (at least not in the

city). Since I am a diver, I assumed I had some inner ear

blockage

causing the problem. I decided to get some health insurance that

fall

and became eligible in December/January. My hearing then changed and

the

other ear seemed to be affected last winter. It seemed

to

fluctuate. I was working in an office under some " soft spoken " women

and

began to have great difficulty understanding their speech

unless

they spoke directly to me. I also struggled to hear people when

there

was any background noise. (It was very embarassing. In an interview, I

had

to keep asking the woman furthest from me to repeat

her

questions. She seemed rather bothered by it. Twice it happened when

the

others on the panel were rustling with their papers and I could

not

undertand her at all. It was very humiliating!) Friends and

family

began to point out my problem and for a couple months I even experienced

momentary vertigo. I began seeing doctors in April and

since I

am on an HMO it was a long process to get to the " right " doctors to

diagnosis

it. Thankfully after an auditory evaluation an ENT ordered an

MRI

(which I had in July). I was seeing an onocologist after they found

the

tumors because of my previous history with cancer. He was rather

baffled by

the whole thing because I had a stunning health

checkup

(very good) in May. He was not overly concerned about my hearing in May

even

though I was clearly frustrated by it. In late July/beginning

of

August, I finally was able to see a neurologist and get a " few "

answers.

I am still awaiting the results of the genetic blood test that I took a

month

and a half ago. However, I have been referred to a

Gamma

Knife Neurosurgeon outside my HMO that says I definately have NF 2. I

just

had another MRI this month so they could get a better image of

the

tumors.

Proposed

Treatment: The proposed treatment is Gamma Knife radiation by Dr.

Young of NW Hospital and Gamma Knife center in Seattle. I have been

told

that I am not a good candidate for surgery because of the

nature

of the tumors and that they are on both sides. Surgery has too many

risks.

However, I was told that I will eventually lose my hearing if I

undergo

the radiation treatment.

When: Possibly November 1999. I am still trying to make a

decision

and research any other options that will preserve my hearing and

balance. (I

don't have balance problems now. The minor vertigo

went

away after a couple months.)

Previous

Medical History: Hodgkin's Disease (cancer of the lymph nodes) -

diagnosed

in September of 1992. I had 2 tumors: one node in my neck that was

removed

for biopsy, and one large tumor in my chest

between my

heart and lung. I began the ABVD drug protocal in October of 12

chemotherapy

treatments (6 months) and ended with 2 1/2 weeks of

daily

radiation to the chest area in May 1993.

Outcome: Very successful! I made a complete recovery and

there is

no trace of scar tissue left (as an x-ray showed this year). My blood

counts

are all within normal range and the best they

have

been since the start of my remission.

Remission: 6 YEARS as of last May!!! WooHoo!