WYOMING, Mich. (WOOD) — The community is coming together around the family of a Wyoming mother of five, faced with a life-and-death decision.
In April, Carrie DeKlyen was diagnosed with an aggressive form of brain cancer called glioblastoma multiforme.
Two weeks later, she and her husband Nick learned their sixth child, a girl, was on the way.
“We’re just a normal family,” said Carrie’s sister-in-law, Sonya Nelson, while cradling Carrie’s 2-year-old son in her lap Wednesday. “We’re living our lives, you know, children, working. And you feel like your world just crumbles before your eyes.”
Surgeons have twice removed the tumor from Carrie’s brain. But both times, the cancer returned. Doctors at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor said Carrie could enroll in a clinical trial, but she would have to terminate her pregnancy.
“This trial, they said, would have prolonged her life, medically speaking, even longer,” explained Nelson. But they choose to continue with the pregnancy. So this is where we are at today.”
A Facebook page is chronicling the family’s journey.
Glioblastoma multiforme patients have about a 15-month life expectancy. Carrie’s family has hope, no matter the outcome.
Full story: WOOD TV