Better Foul Than Sorry

Here is this week's column for you to enjoy.

A friend of my family’s had an extremely interesting story that I felt was important to pass on to the women of this readership.
Jenny Sorrell wanted to treat her mom to a fun night at Ameriquest Field for Mother’s Day. What she got was shocking news that led to a different outlook on life.
Jenny had planned earlier to go on a trip to North Carolina, but fate kept her in the metroplex to give her a chance to attend the May 7 game when the Texas Rangers hosted the Cleveland Indians.
Jenny bought tickets online however when she received them in the mail, Jenny and her mom were placed on the wrong row. This was the second change in her plans, a plan that seemed to have no design in store.
The next change in her destiny came during the game. Jenny said she and her mother had decided to leave at the bottom of the seventh inning. Yet, once the Rangers were doing so well and they were having such a good time they decided to stay longer.
During the bottom of the eighth inning, Alfonso Soriano, having already hit two homeruns for the evening, had every eye watching as he stepped up to the plate. Even Jenny was waiting in anticipation to see what would happen. Soriano fouled a line drive into the crowd and Jenny could see the lightning-fast rip coming straight for her.
“I saw the ball coming but I just couldn’t move,” Jenny said.
The ball crashed into Jenny’s stomach and took her breath away. She was taken to the first aid station at the ballpark and after checking her out they recommended she go to the emergency room.
To not scare her mom too much, Jenny decided to wait on the hospital visit until the next day. On Sunday evening, Jenny went to the ER and had a cat scan done. The doctor came in to tell her the news.
“The good news was my spleen hadn’t ruptured,” Jenny said. “The bad news was I had cancer.”
Her oncologist confirmed what the doctor told her. Jenny discovered she had ovarian cancer that had already developed to stage three.
Jenny’s doctor, Dr. John Schorge, told her it would take surgery and six treatments of chemotherapy three weeks apart.
During the surgery, 15 tumors were found, one weighing ten pounds alone. Doctors had to remove her spleen and appendix due to the size of the tumor.
After having five-and-a-half liters of fluid removed, Jenny was put on a ventilator in the ICU. Following an 11-day stay in the hospital, six of which were spent in the ICU, Jenny came out with a new attitude towards life.
“This was a wake up call to me,” Jenny said. “The little things in life aren’t that big of a deal anymore.”
While considering the events that have led up to this, Jenny said she was grateful the ball hit her.
“It has made me realize I need to let women know to ask for a CA-125 blood test,” Jenny said. “Doctors don’t run this type of test during our annual checkup because it isn’t 100%, but it is better than nothing.”
When I asked Jenny if the way she had discovered this tragic event was just a weird twist of fate she replied with a solid no.
“It’s a miracle that it happened the way it did,” Jenny said. “And that I’m alive.”
For those who read this, I suggest you ask your doctors about this CA-125 blood test and see if it will work for you. Jenny Sorrell would never have known about her cancer had it not been for a baseball, but you have the opportunity to check on your body before a miracle needs to occur.