Don't Forget The Flippin' E
The Story of Tracey Tressler De Libro
by
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CHAPTER TWO In November 2005, Tracey called me from work in California. I was sitting at my computer, most likely writing and reading emails. Pat was watching TV in the bedroom. She said she had coughed up sputum and tasted blood and asked me what would make that happen. I thought of infection, or lymphoma (from my career as an oncology nurse), and told her she should see her doctor and get a chest x-ray. The next day she called me again after she had seen her internist. Tracey said, “I felt silly for going to the doctor. She (the doctor) didn’t even take my temperature. She thought I was worried about hemorrhaging. I felt fine and a bit silly, so I didn’t push for an x-ray.” The following week she had a second episode of hemoptysis (coughing up blood), so I suggested she find another doctor. Her friend referred her to Dr. David Grossman, who took her complaint very seriously. He ordered a chest x-ray that revealed a mass in her left upper lung. He told Tracey it could be infection and gave her a prescription for antibiotics. He mentioned it could also be a fungal infection common in hiking areas in southern California. He added that cancer was a possibility too. He made her promise to come back in two weeks for a follow-up visit. Even with my experience, I didn’t really consider cancer a serious possibility. I was concerned about the fungal infection. Trace said it was not curable, but it could be treated. I googled it and read all I could. I was relieved she seemed to have a caring and competent doctor. She lived so far away and this was such a surprise for me. Tracey always looked healthy and had been telling me about the hikes she took and how much she loved them. I figured she couldn’t be too sick to hike six miles at a time. At her follow-up visit, Dr. Grossman said the mass was unchanged in size. He was able to get her a CT scan that same day. The recommendation from the CT scan was to obtain a lung biopsy. The biopsy was scheduled for December 8, 2005 in Interventional Radiology at Sherman Oaks Hospital. She would have a local anesthetic. I was feeling anxious about the biopsy so I asked Tracey if I could come out there to be with her for the procedure. She told me, “No. I have friends who offered to go with me. I want you out here if it turns out to be serious.” I thought, friends aren’t the same. Her mom should be with her for this. I said, “I’m retired, sweetie. And I can afford to come out as many times as you need me or want me there.” Tracey said, “No. I’m okay. Don’t come out yet.” I was frustrated to be so far away from her. On the day of her biopsy, December 8, her cousin Barb was having lumbar spine surgery and I spent the day in the hospital with her and her family. We were in the family waiting room until late in the afternoon and I was starting to worry that I hadn’t heard anything from Tracey. According to my time calculations for the west coast, the procedure should have been done. I called the hospital and asked for the radiology department and spoke to the radiologist who had done her procedure. He was very upbeat and said Tracey was fine. She was required to lie flat on her side to avoid complications like a pneumothorax (collapse of her lung) or bleeding. He said she was now sitting up, eating and drinking, and would be released soon. I felt relieved but I needed to hear her voice. Tracey finally called my cell phone after I had gotten to Barb’s hospital room. First, she apologized because she had called the pizza delivery people first. I relaxed and laughed, happy that she could joke. She said the procedure had been rougher than she’d anticipated. She said it was painful when they punctured the lining of the lung and even more so when they punctured the lung itself for four biopsies. She could feel herself blacking out. When she came to, they were slapping her face and calling her name to revive her. I was horrified to hear about this. I knew a lung biopsy was considerably more risky than a breast biopsy, and wished I hadn’t listened to her and had just flown out there anyway. She told me she had just texted her brother, Ed, as he was also very worried and had tried to reach her. She was going to finish her pizza and then relax. She still insisted I stay home. I was glad the procedure was over but kept dwelling on how bad it was for her. As a mother, I wanted to kiss her and tend to her. I hated her being alone and I needed to see her.
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About the Book
About the Book “DON’T FORGET THE FLIPPIN’ E”
Diane Tressler, a single parent, raises her two children, Ed and Tracey, while working and studying for a nursing degree. After eighteen years of single life, Diane marries Pat Sheridan and acquires five grown stepchildren.
Diane’s daughter, Tracey, graduates from the University of Maryland and moves to the place of her dreams - California. She begins a career in the entertainment industry, working at ABC, Viacom, and Paramount.
In 2005, Tracey learns that she has lung cancer. Angry and afraid, she undergoes surgery and chemotherapy. Her mother cares for her through her cancer treatments on the West Coast. In 2007, Tracey falls in love with Brandon De Libro, and they put their relationship on a fast track, marry, and have a beautiful baby, Bella, all in the last year of Tracey’s life.
During her pregnancy, Tracey’s health deteriorates and she reluctantly agrees to have brain irradiation. Brandon, Bella, Tracey, and Diane spend the rest of Tracey’s days at their Huntington Beach house.
We hear in Tracey’s own words how she feels about dying and leaving baby Bella. Some of Tracey’s beautiful and unique prose is included, and her writings add to the book’s special charm.
About the Author
Diane White was born in Baltimore, Maryland in 1942, the year Casablanca first entranced movie goers, and the year Marilyn Monroe married her first husband.
In the 1970’s, Diane eventually tires of getting by on past glories - Spelling Bee Champ, Chase Elementary School, 1954, and Most Humorous Female, Kenwood High School, Class of 1960 - so, in 1962 she earns an associate degree in liberal arts (A.A.), and in 1975 another associate degree in nursing (A.D.), both from Essex Community College. In 1982 she graduated from the College of Notre Dame of Maryland with a B.S. in science and a major in nursing. In 1992 she earned a master’s degree from the School of Library and Information Science at Indiana University.
Diane spent most of her working career at the Greater Baltimore Medical Center (GBMC), where she was a radiology film librarian, operating room nurse, diagnostic radiology nurse, and radiation oncology charge nurse. She had been a CPR instructor for the radiology department and was a certified oncology nurse (C.O.N.). She was a recipient of the T. Rowe Price Scholarship for employees working towards health careers. For several years, she was a volunteer for the American Cancer Society, and volunteered in various departments at St. Vincent Hospital in Indianapolis, and at GBMC in Baltimore.
Diane is retired and lives in Maryland with her writer-husband, Pat Sheridan, and their dachshund - Mighty Aphrodite, and their dorkie (dachshund- yorkie combo) Winston Churchill. Diane is “Grammy” to two granddaughters and ten step-grandchildren.