On Saturday, 04/13/2019 from 7-11:00 pm, The Family and Friends of Denise DiGiugno will be hosting a Beef and Beer Benefit in her honor at the Independent Oil Workers’ Union Hall in Gibbstown. The funds raised that evening will help immensely with medical bills in hopes of lifting a great deal of the financial burden off Denise and her family’s shoulders…

In 2014, Denise went for routine testing and incidentally, a Meningioma (a tumor, usually benign, arising from the meningeal tissue of the brain) was found. She had routine scans every 3 months, 6 months, 9months, then graduated to every year since there was not a change up until mid-2018. Her daily routine was interrupted when her feet began dragging and having a numbing sensation. She began having trouble putting on her shoes (even flip-flops were a tough chore for her to endure). On August 18^th, she fell down steps and experienced her 1^st seizer at home. At that time, she fractured several toes and her left foot became worse, causing to have issues with her balance. Her Physician had done an EEG which did not show anything, therefore had a repeat MRI which showed growth of the tumor from August-September. At that time, Denise could hardly walk or keep her balance without assistance. Her Physician confirmed it was side effects from the Meningioma. Over Memorial Day weekend while at a relative’s house, she had another seizer. In mid-September, she was granted permission to go to Disney with her daughter, son-in-law, and 3 small grandchildren which was planned many months before her condition worsened.

While in Disney, she did not have much strength to walk, therefore she had to rely on the help of her daughter on a scooter. On October 17^th, she met with Dr. Alan Turtz (Head of Cooper Neurosurgery) to discuss surgical procedure and follow-up plans. At that time, Denise, her husband Frank, and daughter Andrea were informed she has Bilateral Parasagittal Meningioma (which was increased on the right side that is why her left leg was weaker than her right. Dr. Turtz stressed it was a very risky procedure with the possible risk of paralysis, stroke, or bleeding. On October 23^rd, Denise braved an 11-hour Craniotomy. According to the Cooper Neurosurgeon team, everything went well and as planned, however, had to see how she was when she woke up. They were able to remove 90% of the tumor with possible cypher knife in the future.

To the Physician’s surprise, Denise was able to move her legs while in recovery, which they stated to her husband and daughter that it was a miracle! By that Friday, she was transported to Marlton Rehab which was her home for approximately 2 weeks before fevers began on and off and she started having more frequent seizers. Keppra (medication) was increased, which ceased the fevers where she was able to come home with her family for a short period of time. On November 15^th, the seizers started again, and she was instructed to return to the ER and was admitted on November 16^th. Further testing revealed an infection had set in. On November 21^st, she had to undergo another surgical procedure to remove bone fap and clean out the infection. Since Denise had part of her skull removed and had a soft spot, she was measured for a protective helmet that she would need to wear up until she is able to have reconstructive surgery (when everything heals completely, possibly Spring 2019). At that time, a PICC line was also inserted. After surgery, her wound was not healing properly, therefore they tried a wound pump which did not help.

Needless to say, she had to go back in for another surgical procedure on November 26^th to clean out once again and re-close the wound performed by a Plastic Surgeon and Dr. Turtz. Due to this surgery, Denise experienced more intense pain, swelling of the face and bruising around her eyes. On December 4^th, she was set to be released back to Marlton Rehab, but was having some confusion speaking, was not feeling right, and knew something was wrong. Dr. Turtz’s nurse was contacted, the transfer was canceled, and another MRI was performed where it was confirmed she still had the infection (with fear of a possible abscess). She was running a fever for 2 days post-surgery then was finally starting to feel better that Friday. On December 10^th, a follow-up MRI was done, where it showed the infection became worse and had to go under another clean out with cultures being taken on December 11^th. A titanium plate was placed, instead of the mesh in hopes of curing the infection completely and possibly eliminating reconstructive surgery. Denise and her family are taking it one day at a time, but she has a long road ahead of her recovery wise.

With that being said, we are reaching out to Family, Friends and local businesses in hopes of getting items donated to have a very successful basket auction and evening (completed baskets, gift cards, items to go in a basket, monetary donation, etc.) If you are able and interested in helping the DiGiugno Family, please do not hesitate to contact Jessica or Michael, and they will be more than willing to pick-up. Anything is greatly appreciated at this time. Thank you and I hope to hear from you soon.

Tammy Merinuk
968 Kings Highway Apt T-06
West Deptford, NJ 08086
(856) 357-3820
TammyMerinuk@comcast.net

Jessica DiGiugno
1128 Walnut Avenue
Woodbury Heights, NJ 08097
(856) 430-4539
Jess7digi13@aol.com

Michael DiGiugno
256 Jessups Mill Road
Clarksboro, NJ 08020
(856) 381-7044
Camaro350mike@yahoo.com