Local D.A.R.E. Officer has rare cancer
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| Tiffany and Maddy Murray |
She grew up in Bonners Ferry, the daughter of law enforcement officers, graduated high school here, and came back home to carry on a tradition.
The terrible diagnosis came just three months after the happiest day in she and husband Kevin's lives, the birth of their first child in ten years of marriage; daughter Maddy, born July 15.
According
to Kevin, a deputy with the Boundary County
Sheriff's Office, Tiffany has been diagnosed
with extra-abdominal aggressive fibroid
fibromatosis in her right shoulder and neck.According to an article in OncoLog, "Desmoid tumors are among the rarest of tumors - they occur in only 2–4 people per million per year in the United States. Although desmoids have a benign histologic appearance and lack the ability to metastasize, they can invade locally - often aggressively - and recur repeatedly."
Because of the rarity of this form of cancer and the extreme complexity of the procedures involved, very few hospitals offer treatment. For Tiffany, the nearest facility available is the University of California, San Francisco, and will require numerous trips over a prolonged period of time.
The Murray family will make their first trip to UCSF to begin her treatments early next week, which will consist of oft repeated surgeries, ongoing radiation, chemo and other therapies, along with long-term monitoring and tests due to this form of cancer's propensity to recur, even after the battle is long thought won.
Already, they know the cost of these treatments, with the added burden of travel, will far exceed what their health insurance will cover.
To help offset the expenses, Kevin established a page for his wife on GiveForward, a website dedicated to helping families facing catastrophic health care costs get the financial help they need in time to make a difference.
It's built on the conviction that until a person is faced with a terrible circumstance, they have no reason to understand the need nor the fear and helplessness, especially of hard-working people who take justifiable pride in their ability to take care of themselves.
Until experienced first hand, it's hard to comprehend the devastation a diagnosis can deliver in a single moment in time. All you've worked for and planned for; all your best effort, all a family has done and earned, is gone.
All that matters, suddenly, is taking care of a husband, a wife, a child. It's a moment of exquisite clarity; you forget dreams and plans and suddenly recognize the importance of that person who made the plans and dreams worthwhile.
Give Forward recognizes that only those who have been there understand; a common phrase is "no one else should ever have to face this," and that those who've been helped through the gauntlet will seldom fail to reach back and lend a helping hand to someone facing that moment of clarity for the first time.
To those who know, one thing is obvious. Kevin and Tiffany are used to giving, not getting. They are both strong and able and take pride in serving and giving to the community they are so much a part of.
One thing they are undoubtedly soon to learn is that Boundary County is amazing.
Word has undoubtedly gone out already, and plans are already being whispered as to how to best help Kevin and Tiffany, neighbors who have long dedicated themselves to helping us in so many ways.
It's not likely that a church service in Boundary County will pass this Sunday without mention of the Murray family. It's probable that everyone from the sheriff and police chief to everyone who serves in both agencies have been talking about their fellow peace officers and how to help for hours already.
On Monday, students in Boundary County Schools will board buses ... and talk about D.A.R.E. Officer Tiffany. Teachers will be asked how students can best help; on Tuesday evening, a special item will likely be added to the school board agenda in reference to help and appreciate Police Corporal Tiffany Murray and her family.
The law enforcement community is a small place, too. There's likely already talk going on between the officers of the BFPD, the BCSO, ISP, USCBP, IBHS ... of how to best stand with their fellow officers in their time of need.
In the small worlds of profession, home and family, no one is ever alone.
In a fleeting moment of fear for his wife and all he holds dear, Kevin Murray may have felt compelled to turn to a website dedicated to "paying it forward."
It is ever hard to ask for, expect or accept help, especially to those dedicated to serving.
The good thing is that it's impossible to deny help once given.
All they can do then is say "thank you," be humble ... and pay forward.