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After almost giving up on love, Dina Huxley’s life fell into place.
She found her soul mate, Iain, in 2018 through a dating app. They married a year later and welcomed a baby boy in June.
It was a storybook ending that collapsed just two weeks after the birth of their son.
Iain, 46, was diagnosed with stage 4 pancreatic cancer, which had spread to his liver.
Instead of enjoying her new life as a mother, she began to seek treatment to help Iain, who traveled back and forth to the hospital with infections that delayed her chemotherapy.
“It’s like we’ve hit a tree and we’re found upside down,” she said.
Help for the Huxleys came from unexpected places, including strangers willing to donate breastmilk, old flames with medical advice, and government officials halfway around the world.
Pancreatic cancer, which claimed the life of Jeopardy host Alex Trebek, is now the third leading cause of cancer death in the United States, according to the American Cancer Society.
A recent study found that deaths from pancreatic cancer will only exceed lung cancer by 2040. The disease is usually not discovered early and, unlike other cancers, treatments are still limited.
Dina Huxley said she wants others to know about the symptoms, which can include abdominal pain and jaundice, and insist on testing so she doesn’t face the same fate as her husband.
“It is a notoriously devious and very aggressive cancer,” she said.
Huxley, 43, worked for Sotheby’s before the pandemic. Iain, is a software engineer who created the Yahoo weather app. Once connected online, they immediately clicked.
“I didn’t think I would meet such a perfect match for me. It’s like we were made for each other, ”said Huxley, who immigrated to the United States from Russia at the age of 12. Her husband grew up in England and Australia and came to the United States while studying at university.
They married in 2019 and weathered the pandemic together in their one-bedroom pad in Brooklyn without any conflict, Huxley noted.
The couple pursued IVF and Huxley got pregnant with their son – but in late 2020 Iain started to experience mild discomfort under his ribs. Blood tests indicated a possible problem with his pancreas, but diagnostic tests revealed nothing.
“We thought, phew! We were relieved, ”Huxley recalls. “But he continued to have pain and discomfort and it kept increasing.”
“It’s like we’ve hit a tree and we’re found upside down.”
Dina huxley
By the time Ethan was born on June 6, Iain’s pain was excruciating.
“He just asked for a scanner,” she said.
After the test revealed cancer, the couple rushed to find the right doctors. Dina even “shamelessly” texted a former appointment who’s a doctor asking for help – which the doctor provided, ensuring prompt consultation with a specialist.
The new mom had hoped to breastfeed her newborn baby, but caring for Iain amid the devastating diagnosis made it nearly impossible.
Desperate, she appealed last month for the donation of breastmilk to a Facebook group for moms, claiming her husband had just been diagnosed with stage 4 cancer and “due to severe stress and various other things. reasons, I had to give up breastfeeding “.
“We are still very keen to feed our son breast milk for all the health benefits,” she wrote.
Hundreds stepped in, offering their milk or messages of support.
“Oh my God. It was overwhelming. So many moms reached out,” she said.
But Huxley said her pediatrician had indicated that the donated milk could pose a health risk. So Huxley refused the help and eventually switched to the formula.
She leaned on her mother, and a baby nurse who stayed long after her initial stay ended, to help take care of Ethan. Iain’s parents wanted to help but were stranded in Australia until a Member of Parliament intervened and they will finally arrive next week.
Huxley said she can’t wait for some extra help spending more time with Ethan, who may never know his father.
“I have no words to describe heartache,” she said.
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