Help during Viki's cancer treatment
Donation protected
Dear friends of my sister, Viki ~
Viki is five and a half months into chemo treatments following a cancer diagnosis early in June; she has had nine treatments so far and with her last treatment, she began a new chapter of sorts. Two weeks ago, she began a new chemo 'cocktail' after one drug in her original mix caused an allergic reaction out of the blue.
She has a great oncologist and he has worked with her every step of the way, encouraging her to live her life and do the things she loves as best as is possible. In August and September, they worked together to space out her treatments a bit so she could follow through with a commitment made in the spring to choreograph a student production of 'Fiddler on the Roof' at NC State.
She was able to get through all of the choreography work and rehearsals, and when my daughter and I went to opening night, we were blown away by the show (it isn't easy to take a crowd of college kids with varying theater/dance/voice experience and get them all in sync in just a few weeks!).
However, she is back to her every-two-weeks schedule for chemo, and this long slog through chemo has been rough, bringing a lot of fatigue. The good days she had hoped to have during her "off" weeks to devote to her regular freelance work have been fewer and farther between than expected. It's obviously tough to put in regular working hours when your body is weathering chemo.
Friends, especially those at a distance, asked at the beginning about how they could make a gift of money to go toward her living expenses (rent, utilities, etc.) and some out-of-pocket medical expenses during these challenging months, and people (including friends of mine who have never even met Viki) have been incredibly generous.
Since it looks as if chemo will be continuing for awhile longer, I thought I would update everyone and share the site again for those at a distance.
We continue to be bowled over and humbled by the scores of friends who help out in so many ways (dog-walking, house-tidying, errand-running, transportation-providing, sending caring notes, and much more); it is the silver lining in this difficult time.
If making a small gift toward day-to-day expenses during this time is something you would like to do, my family and I hope you'll find this page an easy way to do that.
Regardless, we are grateful for your gifts of love, prayers and support.
Carla, Viki's sister
postscript: I wish that GoFundMe would allow you to set up a campaign without stating a specific goal, as putting a dollar amount out there feels uncomfortable to me, but that's not a possibility, so I have adjusted the “goal” figure based on thinking of several months' rent, etc. — just to have a number and check that box. But please know that we are grateful for all help, whether it is a small contribution here or 20 minutes spent walking Viki's dog on a day when you have free time.
As she asked me to pass along in the very first CaringBridge post back in June, Viki hopes everyone will focus on thoughts of wellness and healing rather than the diagnosis -- that's where she will be focusing her energy as she does chemo every two weeks. She absolutely wants her friends to consider her the same friend, dancer, choreographer, gardener and writer she was before this challenge began, rather than seeing her as 'Viki the Cancer Patient.'
Viki is five and a half months into chemo treatments following a cancer diagnosis early in June; she has had nine treatments so far and with her last treatment, she began a new chapter of sorts. Two weeks ago, she began a new chemo 'cocktail' after one drug in her original mix caused an allergic reaction out of the blue.
She has a great oncologist and he has worked with her every step of the way, encouraging her to live her life and do the things she loves as best as is possible. In August and September, they worked together to space out her treatments a bit so she could follow through with a commitment made in the spring to choreograph a student production of 'Fiddler on the Roof' at NC State.
She was able to get through all of the choreography work and rehearsals, and when my daughter and I went to opening night, we were blown away by the show (it isn't easy to take a crowd of college kids with varying theater/dance/voice experience and get them all in sync in just a few weeks!).
However, she is back to her every-two-weeks schedule for chemo, and this long slog through chemo has been rough, bringing a lot of fatigue. The good days she had hoped to have during her "off" weeks to devote to her regular freelance work have been fewer and farther between than expected. It's obviously tough to put in regular working hours when your body is weathering chemo.
Friends, especially those at a distance, asked at the beginning about how they could make a gift of money to go toward her living expenses (rent, utilities, etc.) and some out-of-pocket medical expenses during these challenging months, and people (including friends of mine who have never even met Viki) have been incredibly generous.
Since it looks as if chemo will be continuing for awhile longer, I thought I would update everyone and share the site again for those at a distance.
We continue to be bowled over and humbled by the scores of friends who help out in so many ways (dog-walking, house-tidying, errand-running, transportation-providing, sending caring notes, and much more); it is the silver lining in this difficult time.
If making a small gift toward day-to-day expenses during this time is something you would like to do, my family and I hope you'll find this page an easy way to do that.
Regardless, we are grateful for your gifts of love, prayers and support.
Carla, Viki's sister
postscript: I wish that GoFundMe would allow you to set up a campaign without stating a specific goal, as putting a dollar amount out there feels uncomfortable to me, but that's not a possibility, so I have adjusted the “goal” figure based on thinking of several months' rent, etc. — just to have a number and check that box. But please know that we are grateful for all help, whether it is a small contribution here or 20 minutes spent walking Viki's dog on a day when you have free time.
As she asked me to pass along in the very first CaringBridge post back in June, Viki hopes everyone will focus on thoughts of wellness and healing rather than the diagnosis -- that's where she will be focusing her energy as she does chemo every two weeks. She absolutely wants her friends to consider her the same friend, dancer, choreographer, gardener and writer she was before this challenge began, rather than seeing her as 'Viki the Cancer Patient.'
Organizer and beneficiary
Carla Atkinson
Organizer
Raleigh, NC
Viki Atkinson
Beneficiary