Marissa's Memorial
Donation protected
The beautiful 19 year old girl you see in this profile photo is my younger cousin Marissa Sheffield. Having some odd symptoms, such as prolonged headaches and loss of vision, she went to the doctor to find that she had a tumor the size of an egg on the front lobe of her brain. The doctors told her that it had been growing for some time and was not directly attached to the brain, which was excellent news.
The removal had great success with approximately 90-99% of the tumor being removed. However, the biopsy results showed that a portion of the tumor was malignant and at stage four. Marissa's team of doctors recommended extensive radiation, five treatments a week for a few months, followed by a year of chemotherapy. This was extremely difficult for Marissa because she is a broke college kid living over a hundred miles away from the facility where she would receive treatment.
Living in Apple Valley, California and receiving treatments at UCI Medical Center in Irvine, California was no simple task. Marissa does not have a driver’s license and no access to a vehicle. Myself and other family members came together to assist Marissa on this long tiresome journey through treatment. The poor girl had to undergo treatment Monday to Friday and bounce between the family members that could drive her. The stress of wondering where she would stay and who would take her to treatment on top of the side effects of radiation became very taxing. Marissa was forced to drop her college courses due to the inability to focus her full attention on studying. She was also extremely homesick. Marissa longed for the support of her mother, who is down on her luck and unable to afford a car, and her boyfriend, who is also a college student.
Despite all of this, Marissa remained strong and conquered those radiation treatments like the champ that she is. She was given the option to complete chemotherapy closer to home and took it. Having completed three chemo treatments, Marissa was fighting the side effects and trying to hold on to her sense of normalcy. However in this past week, Marissa was admitted back into the hospital for severe neck pain. The discovery made by the doctors has our family grasping for all the hope and prayer we can possibly receive.
Doctors discovered two additional tumors on Marissa's spine. One of the tumors is on the lower back of her head outside of the brain and is pushing on her spine. This tumor is intertwined with nerves and blood vessels, so removing the entire tumor is out of the question. The other tumor is smaller and doctors set a date to remove it next week.
However, Marissa lost her hearing and her face went numb yesterday. This caused doctors to pull her into surgery immediately, where they were able to remove about 30-40% of the tumor that is pushing on her spine. The surgery for her other tumor appears to be up in the air at the moment, while we wait for the results to see if the tumor is cancerous.
On top of this battle to conquer cancer, Marissa's family was set to move to Nevada this coming week. Unfortunately, times are tough and my aunt lost her home. She and my five cousins were planning on moving in with my grandparents until she could get back on her feet again. This plan has become impossible with Marissa in such a dire medical state. Even if everything goes well, Marissa will still need to remain in California in order to receive continued care from her doctors as they are one of the best in the field of childhood cancer.
I am asking that people pass this story on and/or donate in order to help my family during this very difficult time. All donations will go directly to the basic needs of Marissa and her family. Thank you so much for simply taking the time read this and caring about this girl with such a big bright future ahead of her.
The removal had great success with approximately 90-99% of the tumor being removed. However, the biopsy results showed that a portion of the tumor was malignant and at stage four. Marissa's team of doctors recommended extensive radiation, five treatments a week for a few months, followed by a year of chemotherapy. This was extremely difficult for Marissa because she is a broke college kid living over a hundred miles away from the facility where she would receive treatment.
Living in Apple Valley, California and receiving treatments at UCI Medical Center in Irvine, California was no simple task. Marissa does not have a driver’s license and no access to a vehicle. Myself and other family members came together to assist Marissa on this long tiresome journey through treatment. The poor girl had to undergo treatment Monday to Friday and bounce between the family members that could drive her. The stress of wondering where she would stay and who would take her to treatment on top of the side effects of radiation became very taxing. Marissa was forced to drop her college courses due to the inability to focus her full attention on studying. She was also extremely homesick. Marissa longed for the support of her mother, who is down on her luck and unable to afford a car, and her boyfriend, who is also a college student.
Despite all of this, Marissa remained strong and conquered those radiation treatments like the champ that she is. She was given the option to complete chemotherapy closer to home and took it. Having completed three chemo treatments, Marissa was fighting the side effects and trying to hold on to her sense of normalcy. However in this past week, Marissa was admitted back into the hospital for severe neck pain. The discovery made by the doctors has our family grasping for all the hope and prayer we can possibly receive.
Doctors discovered two additional tumors on Marissa's spine. One of the tumors is on the lower back of her head outside of the brain and is pushing on her spine. This tumor is intertwined with nerves and blood vessels, so removing the entire tumor is out of the question. The other tumor is smaller and doctors set a date to remove it next week.
However, Marissa lost her hearing and her face went numb yesterday. This caused doctors to pull her into surgery immediately, where they were able to remove about 30-40% of the tumor that is pushing on her spine. The surgery for her other tumor appears to be up in the air at the moment, while we wait for the results to see if the tumor is cancerous.
On top of this battle to conquer cancer, Marissa's family was set to move to Nevada this coming week. Unfortunately, times are tough and my aunt lost her home. She and my five cousins were planning on moving in with my grandparents until she could get back on her feet again. This plan has become impossible with Marissa in such a dire medical state. Even if everything goes well, Marissa will still need to remain in California in order to receive continued care from her doctors as they are one of the best in the field of childhood cancer.
I am asking that people pass this story on and/or donate in order to help my family during this very difficult time. All donations will go directly to the basic needs of Marissa and her family. Thank you so much for simply taking the time read this and caring about this girl with such a big bright future ahead of her.
Organizer
Tara Cawthon
Organizer
Menifee, CA
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