Lending a hand: how to help out the Short family

Amy Short and her family don’t like to ask for help.

So their friends are doing it for them.

Amy was diagnosed with Glioblastoma last March after suffering severe headaches.

Glioblastoma is an aggressive type of cancer that can occur in the brain or spinal cord. Glioblastoma forms from cells called astrocytes that support nerve cells.  

For many months, Amy’s scans showed no new growth in her tumor after treatments.

She wore an Optune device, which is s a cap covering a series of electrodes that the patient wears on their head as long as they want every day. It is powered by a battery pack that patients can carry with them.

The cap works nonstop, applying alternating low-intensity electric fields to the tissue under the electrodes — 200 kilohertz pulsing front to back, side to side, endlessly repeating as long as the patient is wearing the device.

The electric fields interrupt cancer cell structures during division, disrupting the cell as it tries to replicate.

While it is often difficult to get chemotherapy to work on brain tumors, Optune goes directly into the brain, shuts down and kills tumor cells, while it spares normal cells. She also continued with chemo treatments and received an MRI every couple of months.

At the end of February, Amy began experiencing similar symptoms to when she was first diagnosed with the Glioblastoma.

A MRI showed new growth on the tumor.

She underwent brain surgery on March 21 and once she heals, she will be a part of a clinical trial at the Siteman Cancer Center in St. Louis.

Kathy Hug has set up a meal train for the Shorts while Amy is recovering from her surgery and taking part in the clinical trial.

Hug said that last spring there was interest in people wanting to make meals for the Shorts.

“I have been through cancer treatments myself so I know how much meals helped us,” she said.

Hug said creating a meal train website that helps people participate in helping the family.

“Nobody likes to ask for help and most people won’t ask for help,” she said. “The Shorts will not ask for help.”

Hug said the web-based meal and errand organizer is perfect because it allows her to do the asking for them while allowing her to be specific on what the family truly needs.

The site allows Hug to list the day the family needs meals and people sign up for the days they want. A calendar shows what each person is bringing.

“No one needs three lasagnas in one week, so this can eliminate that,” Hug said. “It is also a way to teach people how to bring a meal to someone.”

Hug said one suggestion the site makes is to use disposable containers so they don’t need to worry about returning the container. It also allows her to list what food to avoid.

Hug said chemo can change the way a person tastes things and sometimes a specific smell can make them nauseous. The site will also send reminders to people on the day before they are supposed to take a meal to the family.

The site also allows people to add errands, such as picking up groceries, taking people to appointments or picking up a child. The website also allows organizers to put in special events on a specific day such as sending a notecard in the mail every Friday just to say you are thinking about the person.

“A simple gesture can put a smile on their face,” Hug said.

Gift cards can also be donated through the site.

Hug met the Shorts through the summer softball program in 2015 and the two families were on a travel softball team together.

“The Shorts love this community,” Hug said. “They are doers, they learn about something that needs to be done and they just jump in and help out. If it has to deal with helping out the community or kids or families within the community they are ready to volunteer.”

Hug said that people often help out when they first learn someone has been diagnosed with cancer, but treatment can be long and needs change as treatments change.

The Shorts try to live their lives as they did before Amy’s diagnosis by cooking and shopping when they can.

“That doesn’t mean they don’t need help, though,” Hug said.

Hug said the cost of having cancer is trying on any family. Missed work, medical bills, lack of sleep and stress can all add up.

“The best part is there are numerous ways that are in place already so that you can help out,” Hug said.

Erin Ward, who is a friend of the family, set up ways to allow people to donate to help pay some of their monthly bills.

People can donate via Paypal or drop off a donation at any Busey Bank for the Amy Blue-Short Benefit Fund. To donate monthly, people can email welovetheshorts@gmail.com. A Facebook Page called We Love the Shorts, which is ran by Hug and Ward, also keeps people updated on Amy’s journey.

Hug said that Amy has maintained a positive attitude through it all.

“She never says ‘Poor me,’” Hug said. “She deals with the cards that she has been given and has been a great role model for her girls.”