Written by: Bailey Hemphill
Family Success Story The Linders
M
eet the Linders—Jake and Mindy, and their children, Paige and Neenah of Blair! The family also has an English bulldog named Meatloaf, who the kids love. The family tries to stay as normal as possible, Mindy jokes: “Whatever normal is…” Jake and Mindy have been married for 17 years. “We have a strong marriage based in love and trust; and that’s helped us form basic morals for our kids,” says Mindy. But it wasn’t until Paige’s health became a constant concern that their marriage underwent its true test of strength. When Paige was 3, and Neenah was barely 5 days old, the Linders found out that Paige had acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). After her diagnosis, Paige went through two and a half years of outpatient treatment at Children’s Hospital & Medical Center, which involved lots of oral chemotherapy, intravenous chemotherapy, shots, spinal taps, bone marrow biopsies, and time at the clinic. After 11 months of therapy, Paige was finally cleared of the ALL, but when she was 6, the cancer reared its ugly head once again. This time, the treatments became much more aggressive, requiring Paige to spend more time in the hospital. “She went to the clinic weekly, if not multiple times a week,” says Mindy. “At that time, we looked for a bone marrow donor, so that she could get a transplant.” The Linders then received both bad and good news. Unfortunately, the hospital could not find a good match for a transplant; but Paige’s leukemia was in remission. After another two and a half years of therapy and what seemed like an eightmonth “home-free” streak, the ALL returned when Paige was 9. “We knew she had to get a transplant. We tried the registry again, hoping for a cord blood transplant. [This time], they were able to find an appropriate match.” But the Linders couldn’t get the
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live•love•grow
From left: Mindy, Neenah, Paige, Jake
transplant in Omaha. They had to go to the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis in June 2009 to get Paige’s transplant. Mindy stayed with Paige in Minnesota while Jake stayed home with Neenah, coming up for frequent visits on the weekends. After a couple months, Paige came home in September, only returning to Minnesota for checkups; but eventually, she was cleared to have the rest of the work done at Children’s and is currently cancer-free. “It was hard on everybody, especially because we have a really close family. [Our extended families] were tortured by the diagnosis each time,” Mindy says. “Jake and I had to be with Paige most of the time, so we needed help with Neenah.” The Linders’ friends and family both pulled together and helped take care of Neenah and looked after the house while Jake and Mindy were at the hospital with Paige. It was that support that kept the Linders going through the tough times. “I don’t think we could have done it if we didn’t have them. We’ve met people who didn’t have that support system, and I can’t imagine doing that. If it weren’t for [our family and friends], Jake and I wouldn’t have been able to keep our jobs and be there with Paige.” Mindy also feels grateful for the staff at Children’s Hospital for their extraordinary help and attention. “There’s no comparison! We wouldn’t want to be anywhere else.” Mindy believes Paige’s health struggles made her and Jake’s marriage stronger. “It was kind of one of those blessings in disguise. It made us work together as a team at the hospital and at home,” Mindy says, adding that, to strengthen a marriage during difficult times, a husband and wife need to work as one. When asked why she thinks her family is successful, Mindy responded that her family really focuses on communication. “Communication is a big success for our family…just making sure everyone is in the loop with the schedule and the plan…it works for our family.” But above all, Mindy says the family has “that love that is never going SPECTRUM to go away.”
family
• • • • February 2012
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