Broussards gain new perspective on meaning of life
By Kristen Higdon, Contributing writer, editor@heraldguide.com
In early May, Emile and Erica Broussard of Destrehan started what would turn out to be a long and trying road of uncertainty and shock.
“I remember it being like any normal Monday,” Emile said. “I went to work then took my accounting final and, when I got out, I had a text from Erica saying she was in the emergency room because she was experiencing severe abdominal pain.”Doctors dismissed it as gas pain, but Erica, a registered nurse, knew it was more. Tests revealed she had a baseball-sized mass on her pelvis.
“We were speechless,” Emile said. “But we are both pragmatic people and, not wanting to get ahead of ourselves, we were optimistic about how we attack this thing.”
After a sleepless night, the couple followed doctor’s orders and followed up with Erica’s obstetrician, who suggested laparoscopic surgery to define the mass. Soon after the surgery began, the doctor came and told Emile that the mass was not what they had originally thought.
“They were saying they think it may be in her colon and a couple of spots in her uterus,” Emile said.
However, among all of the things the doctors told Emile and the couple’s family, one statement was loudest – “We are sending it out for labs, but our initial thoughts are that it is cancer.”
Emile said they were in disbelief.
Despite the surgery and possibility of cancer, the doctors were still perplexed by Erica’s case.
This, in turn, provided little, if any, solace to the family.
After three days of more scans and tests, the doctors changed their prognosis saying it was, in fact, not in the colon. “We had three plus doctors looking at us saying they did know or understand the nature of the mass,” Emile said. Erica’s condition made it to the head of oncology at Oschner, and he even remained a little uncertain about the case. Both the mass and the location of it proved to be a rarity.
Feeling helpless, Emile, who had recently switched insurance policies, remembered seeing something about MD Anderson Cancer Center in his new packet of benefits. He called, filled out the paper work and made it known to her local doctors.
“When Erica found out that I had called MD Anderson and that we were going to Houston, she looked at me like I was crazy,” Emile added. “But no one here had the means or the experience with her case, and MD Anderson was ready to schedule us an appointment.”
It was in Houston where the couple met Dr. Nick, who after some tests diagnosed Erica with low-grade serous primary peritoneal carcinoma. The tumor was in the lining of her abdomen, and she needed major surgery to remove it. When the couple finally received reliable answers from doctors, it was a relief yet a punch in the stomach at the same time.
“It was the sickest feeling I have ever felt in my life,” he said.
The decision to have the surgery was a no brainer for the couple. Nevertheless, they had another decision to make. The oncologists were unsure of the health of Erica’s ovaries; therefore, the couple had to make a decision whether or not to have a hysterectomy given the unknown circumstances that may arise in surgery.
“We researched on the Internet, which can be dangerous, and found that this type of cancer has a huge recurrent rate, so we had to do some soul searching,” Emile continued. “It came down to the fact that we have a healthy little boy and is another child worth her not being able to see him grow up.”
The couple opted not to undergo in vitro fertilization. They decided that if one day down the road they wanted another child that there were plenty of them who could use a good home.
Come to find out the cancer did spread to Erica’s ovaries. She did well in the surgery, but it was hard for Emile and other family members to comprehend the large area that the mass covered. According to Emile, her recovery was a rollercoaster.
The day after surgery, Erica was walking around, but had trouble eating. Every other day there was a setback, but she was determined to move forward.
At this point, this was the longest the couple, who had been married four years, had ever been away from their son. Erica was having a rough day, so Emile arranged for James and Emile’s parents to come to Houston, and they surprised her. “I know it sounds crazy, but that was when morale changed,” Emile said.
Those two days that James was in Houston, Erica started to make so much more progress, and after two weeks of recovery, she was discharged.
As for Erica’s attitude toward everything she has gone through and will continue to endure, Emile says his wife has been even keeled through out everything, focusing on each day and appointment as it comes.
“Of course she has had her moments, as we all would, but her strength and resilience has been incredible to see,” he said.
Erica is still recovering from surgery, although her pain is lessening. The couple is preparing to travel back and forth to MD Anderson for Erica’s six rounds of chemotherapy treatments.
When the couple were on their way to Houston, they learned their friend wanted to set up a GoFundMe page to help with their expenses. They did not know how they felt about it at first as they never thought they would need any sort of assistance like this, especially given their young age – Emile, 29, and Erica, 28.
“I grew up in Destrehan, and I have always known it to be a close-knit place, but this experience has shown us how awesome it is to live in a small town where everyone knows you and cares about you,” Emile said.
So far, the fund has raised more than $5,030. That is not including the huge community outreach they have experienced through out Destrehan. From meals being delivered to “TeamErica” shirts being made, the outpouring of support has been surreal for the couple.
“This has been a horrible, horrible thing, but this has brought our family closer and has put everything into perspective,” he continued. “There is so much more to life than the simple act of getting up, going to work, cutting the grass and eating dinner.”
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