WEST UNION - A look into her husband's blue eyes. Or maybe a kiss on her two daughters' pink cheeks.

Robyn Meyer is grateful for little things and for every day given.

About a month ago, she was chasing a cow through a pasture. She leaned forward to crawl through a fence and collapsed.

"I just fell on the ground and laid there. I was so winded, and I was feeling so much pressure where my shoulder bone felt like it was pushing against my chest."

The 22-year-old woman and her husband, Cory, who was nearby, linked the apparent overexertion to Robyn's pregnancy. Due Dec. 18, Robyn thought her increasing size may have caused the shortness of breath.

But the pain persisted, and Robyn later heard a rattling sound in her lungs. She began to suspect something more.

In her 29th week, Dr. Troy Buchholz at Community Memorial Hospital in Sumner ordered a chest x-ray. He wanted to view a mass above Robyn's heart that had grown to the size of a small apple. Buchholz suspected the Hodgkin's lymphoma Robyn battled two years earlier had returned.

Buchholz referred his patient to a cancer treatment center in Waterloo. She had a bone marrow biopsy Oct. 7 and waited for test results.

The initial diagnosis was not only had Hodgkin's returned, but Robyn had acquired acute myelogenous leukemia. Hodgkin's disease is a form of cancer in the lymph nodes resulting in abnormal and uncontrolled growth of cells. Acute myelogenous leukemia is a malignant disease of the bone marrow.

"I knew that if I had cancer, I wanted my treatment to start right away," she says. "I think I said, 'I'm going to have this baby tonight.'"

Less than 48 hours later, Robyn was admitted to Methodist Hospital in Rochester, Minn. She was prepped for the early delivery of her baby. Braelyn Rose - 3 pounds, 6 ounces - was born by Caesarean section Oct. 12.

The pink-faced, blonde preemie "came out crying," Robyn says.

The baby was whisked to St. Marys Hospital in Rochester to be cared for in a specialized neonatal unit. Braelyn returned a few days later - just as Robyn began treatment.

Patients with this type of leukemia are typically given chemotherapy as soon as possible after diagnosis. The drugs, administered in a 24-hour intravenous drip, are designed to kill defective cells to restore normal blood production. Unfortunately, the drugs also kill normal white blood cells and produce side effects, like nausea and fatigue, and raise the risk of infection.

As the therapy began, Robyn passed the hours. She watched Braelyn's movement in an infant incubator on the hospital's third floor instead of cuddling and caring for her daughter.

Within 16 days of her birth, Braelyn weighed almost 4 pounds. Earlier this week she weighed about 6 pounds, and doctors may release her from the hospital soon.

"She's proven she's a grower and a feeder," Robyn says. "It makes us think we have a little market pig."

Battle within

Exposure to benzene - commonly found in ink, gasoline fumes, paint, solvents and pesticides - is a common cause of acute myelogenous leukemia. But Robyn is a licensed practical nurse at Hillcrest Home in Sumner and has ruled out that possibility.

More likely, her physicians say, one or more of the chemotherapy drugs given during Robyn's first bout with Hodgkin's may have triggered the disease.

Robyn is slated for a bone marrow transplant Dec. 19. Her only sibling, Wendy Steffens of Clermont, will be the donor. Robyn could be hospitalized for up to 100 days following the procedure. With doctors unsure if the first round of chemotherapy was completely effective, Robyn will likely begin a second round of chemo treatment next week.

The young woman will celebrate her 23rd birthday Dec. 1. She graduated from Sumner High School in 2001 and was involved in FFA. She and Cory were married about 14 months ago. The couple have two daughters, Kasydi, 13 months, and Braelyn.

Cory says his wife has always loved the farm. He teases her about chasing cattle while pregnant.

"You couldn't keep her out of the pasture if you tried," he says.

Robyn has experienced more in two years than many people endure in a lifetime.

"The hardest part is not being able to be with Kasydi. … At first it was really hard not to see her. Now, I'm just too tired to think much about it."

As for Braelyn, Robyn and Cory hope time will be available later for bonding. When Robyn is well.

That Braelyn is being cared for in the hospital is a relief in a way for Cory.

"I couldn't imagine now if she was a full-term baby and I'd have both her and Kasydi at home," he says.

The couple get help from the girls' grandparents, Steve and Jody Meyer of West Union and Wes and Renea Wood of Sumner. And in January, friends and the community will pitch in as well.

Robin Elliott, a friend of Wes and Renea Wood, says bills keep rolling in, and people want to help.

"They are a young couple with a beautiful family. If we could help them decrease their stress a little bit, we are glad to help," she says.

"They will have enough to worry or think about with Braelyn still in the hospital and with Robyn getting ready to undergo a bone marrow transplant," Elliott added.

Robyn has much to live for - and great concerns.

"I try not to ask why. I'm just afraid I'll be punished even more."

She dabs at her tear-filled eyes

"I just want it to go away. I just want to be a mom."

Contact Janell Bradley at jbradley@alpinecom.net.

How to help:

Friends and family are organizing a benefit for Robyn and Cody Meyer. The event will begin at 5:30 p.m. Jan. 6 at the Sumner American Legion Hall. For information, to make a donation or contribute items for an auction, write to Robin Elliott, 209 S. Polk St., Sumner, IA 50674 or call (563) 578-8023.