Mona's Medical Recovery Fund!
Donation protected
Dear Team Mona:
We need your help. We need it now. Our dear Mona is in the hospital and has been diagnosed with bilateral breast cancer and a rare, dangerous condition called limbic encephalitis. She had a double mastectomy to remove two invasive tumors that are causing inflammation in her brain and preventing her memory from functioning properly. She is also undergoing blood filtration procedures to try to stop swelling in her brain. I want to fill you in as to how we got here, and why we need your help... please read on... and please support Mona and her family during this urgent time of need by donating whatever you can to help them cover the costs they are about to incur.
Up until this sudden medical emergency, Mona has been a charge nurse on surgical/oncology at Riverbend Hospital - I have yet to meet a nurse, doctor, or staffer that doesn't love her, admire her, and care for her. She volunteers for reading groups and PTA events at Walterville Elementary, where her wonderful husband Sheng teaches (5th grade), and her daughter Maddy goes (1st grade). Her other two amazing kiddos go to Foundations Montessori, Kai is 4 years old and the cutest thing you have ever seen, and Koa is 2 1/2 years old and is a ninja in training.
Mona ran her first half-marathon last month and finished well under 2 hours! She is and has always been vibrant, caring, loving and smart. Her kids and husband are truly happy, joyful and wonderful. Her sudden illness impacts that only slightly as they remain hopeful and determined that she is getting the best possible treatment, and that she will recover over time.
As of April 19th, Mona had been battling some nausea and discomfort, but then small memory glitches started coming. She couldn't explain it, but she knew something was wrong, she even took herself in for blood work (smart nurse that she is). Unfortunately, the situation quickly went from bad to worse.
On April 21th, Sheng took Mona to the E.R. because her short-term memory had gone downhill fast. Throughout the night, the awesome hospital staff ran lots of tests and scans... which shockingly revealed a rare, dangerous case of acute brain inflammation (limbic encephalitis) which was causing her memory problems.
On April 22th, the amazing team at Riverbend Hospital ruled out a couple horrible things (no bacterial meningitis and no brain tumors) - HOORAY! However, there were still many tests to run and procedures to undergo to really figure out how to save Mona.
One of many treatment options began shortly thereafter: Plasmapheresis. Mona's blood needed to be filtered to protect her brain while more tests were done (scans and biopsies) to find the underlying cause of this dangerous swelling... And they did: Breast Cancer, Stage 2. Not only in one breast, but both.
Finally, things were starting to make sense, feel logical, containable, and be less of a terrifying mystery. Mona lost her father at a young age (16) to cancer. And she never met her maternal grandmother because she too had passed at a young age of cancer. Cancer.
Screw Cancer.
We can fight it.
Mona can recover; her family can recover and thrive.
We need your help to make this happen.
Mona's case is rare. But it is not hopeless. There are daily triumphs that coincide with the daily procedures and tests. Her short-term memory is still greatly impaired and unstable, and we have to reorient herself with her medical condition dozens of times each day. Even with all that, she is amazingly resilient and doggedly determined to get better.
The nurse in her understands the rationale behind each test, procedure, and surgery.
The daughter, wife, and sister in her yearn for and trust her family's presence - every minute she has one of us. We will not leave her alone.
The mom in her knows she must fight for her life and fight to conquer this so she'll always be able to be there for her three young children.
The staff at Riverbend is doing everything they can to make sure that her brain recovers, but brains take more time to heal than other parts of the body. Removing the cancer from her body is only one step, one piece of her overall health puzzle. Assuming we reach the road to recovery - because we WILL! - Mona (and Sheng) will likely need months and months, maybe a year, off of work to fully heal. With little to no income, and without your help, their debts will quickly add up and interfere with their ability to focus solely on getting better, and more importantly getting their family’s life back to normal.
We are confident that this community, which includes you, will help her get better and help bring her all the way back to the joyful, brilliant, bubbly Mona that we know and love... The person who is respected and loved at work as an amazing compassionate charge nurse devoted to helping others heal and live full happy lives... The person who is admired as a mother, wife, daughter, sister, colleague and friend...
We need your help.
Any money you can give will go directly toward medical costs, living expenses, daycare, rehabilitation, assistance and other related costs - present and future. Mona has a strict and limited diet, so the funds will also go toward groceries for her and her family. Sheng is an amazing cook/chef and doing that for his kids and for his family helps him cope with this medical emergency. Your assistance, whatever it may be, will help her family weather the storm.
With sincerest appreciation – Mona & Sheng’s Family
Please forward this site to everyone! Email, Twitter, telegraph ... let's share Mona's story and her inspiring strength and determination with the world! Remember, go to http://www.gofundme.com/MonaMedical and use the hashtag #teammona. And please leave a note in the comments section at the bottom of the page.
We will update this page as things progress. We encourage you to share your love however you see fit, but we ask that you check back here for details. If anyone has questions, please refer them to this page.
Go #teammona!
We need your help. We need it now. Our dear Mona is in the hospital and has been diagnosed with bilateral breast cancer and a rare, dangerous condition called limbic encephalitis. She had a double mastectomy to remove two invasive tumors that are causing inflammation in her brain and preventing her memory from functioning properly. She is also undergoing blood filtration procedures to try to stop swelling in her brain. I want to fill you in as to how we got here, and why we need your help... please read on... and please support Mona and her family during this urgent time of need by donating whatever you can to help them cover the costs they are about to incur.
Up until this sudden medical emergency, Mona has been a charge nurse on surgical/oncology at Riverbend Hospital - I have yet to meet a nurse, doctor, or staffer that doesn't love her, admire her, and care for her. She volunteers for reading groups and PTA events at Walterville Elementary, where her wonderful husband Sheng teaches (5th grade), and her daughter Maddy goes (1st grade). Her other two amazing kiddos go to Foundations Montessori, Kai is 4 years old and the cutest thing you have ever seen, and Koa is 2 1/2 years old and is a ninja in training.
Mona ran her first half-marathon last month and finished well under 2 hours! She is and has always been vibrant, caring, loving and smart. Her kids and husband are truly happy, joyful and wonderful. Her sudden illness impacts that only slightly as they remain hopeful and determined that she is getting the best possible treatment, and that she will recover over time.
As of April 19th, Mona had been battling some nausea and discomfort, but then small memory glitches started coming. She couldn't explain it, but she knew something was wrong, she even took herself in for blood work (smart nurse that she is). Unfortunately, the situation quickly went from bad to worse.
On April 21th, Sheng took Mona to the E.R. because her short-term memory had gone downhill fast. Throughout the night, the awesome hospital staff ran lots of tests and scans... which shockingly revealed a rare, dangerous case of acute brain inflammation (limbic encephalitis) which was causing her memory problems.
On April 22th, the amazing team at Riverbend Hospital ruled out a couple horrible things (no bacterial meningitis and no brain tumors) - HOORAY! However, there were still many tests to run and procedures to undergo to really figure out how to save Mona.
One of many treatment options began shortly thereafter: Plasmapheresis. Mona's blood needed to be filtered to protect her brain while more tests were done (scans and biopsies) to find the underlying cause of this dangerous swelling... And they did: Breast Cancer, Stage 2. Not only in one breast, but both.
Finally, things were starting to make sense, feel logical, containable, and be less of a terrifying mystery. Mona lost her father at a young age (16) to cancer. And she never met her maternal grandmother because she too had passed at a young age of cancer. Cancer.
Screw Cancer.
We can fight it.
Mona can recover; her family can recover and thrive.
We need your help to make this happen.
Mona's case is rare. But it is not hopeless. There are daily triumphs that coincide with the daily procedures and tests. Her short-term memory is still greatly impaired and unstable, and we have to reorient herself with her medical condition dozens of times each day. Even with all that, she is amazingly resilient and doggedly determined to get better.
The nurse in her understands the rationale behind each test, procedure, and surgery.
The daughter, wife, and sister in her yearn for and trust her family's presence - every minute she has one of us. We will not leave her alone.
The mom in her knows she must fight for her life and fight to conquer this so she'll always be able to be there for her three young children.
The staff at Riverbend is doing everything they can to make sure that her brain recovers, but brains take more time to heal than other parts of the body. Removing the cancer from her body is only one step, one piece of her overall health puzzle. Assuming we reach the road to recovery - because we WILL! - Mona (and Sheng) will likely need months and months, maybe a year, off of work to fully heal. With little to no income, and without your help, their debts will quickly add up and interfere with their ability to focus solely on getting better, and more importantly getting their family’s life back to normal.
We are confident that this community, which includes you, will help her get better and help bring her all the way back to the joyful, brilliant, bubbly Mona that we know and love... The person who is respected and loved at work as an amazing compassionate charge nurse devoted to helping others heal and live full happy lives... The person who is admired as a mother, wife, daughter, sister, colleague and friend...
We need your help.
Any money you can give will go directly toward medical costs, living expenses, daycare, rehabilitation, assistance and other related costs - present and future. Mona has a strict and limited diet, so the funds will also go toward groceries for her and her family. Sheng is an amazing cook/chef and doing that for his kids and for his family helps him cope with this medical emergency. Your assistance, whatever it may be, will help her family weather the storm.
With sincerest appreciation – Mona & Sheng’s Family
Please forward this site to everyone! Email, Twitter, telegraph ... let's share Mona's story and her inspiring strength and determination with the world! Remember, go to http://www.gofundme.com/MonaMedical and use the hashtag #teammona. And please leave a note in the comments section at the bottom of the page.
We will update this page as things progress. We encourage you to share your love however you see fit, but we ask that you check back here for details. If anyone has questions, please refer them to this page.
Go #teammona!
Organizer
Tori Klein
Organizer
Springfield, OR
