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Ashley's Fight Against Cancer Fund!

My sister is a 26-year-old, happily married, mother of two, but everything seemed to come crashing down around her and her family on Friday, March 3rd, 2017.

To help you all understand best, perhaps it's better that I start at the beginning. 

Being a young, healthy mother, my sister was rarely ever sick for more than a few days at a time, but around November of 2016, her health began to unexpectedly decline. She was always fighting off bad colds, flus, extreme fatigue; the doctor's kept telling her that it was a perk of kids. What they were sick with, so were you.

In January of 2017, my mother received an emergency phone call from my sister. She was very disoriented and had collapsed in the hallway of her home; while alone with her sons. By time my mother arrived, my sister's sons had propped her up against the wall, were sitting on either side of her, and refused to leave her until their dog let them know someone had arrived to help.

A trip to the ER revealed her to be Anemic, with a count of 7.5. They gave her blood transfusions and kept her overnight. In the morning, she was released and told that she needed to take less Ibuprofen, watch her iron intake, and take the antibiotic they'd just given her.

We were all so happy! She seemed to be recovering! Until she wasn't... She began having dizzy and weak spells again, heart palpitations so bad that she was short of breath and couldn't stand on her own feet any more. Then we were all happy again, my sister found out that the antibiotics had interfered with her birth control and she was pregnant! Another Baby! 

On Thursday, March 2nd, 2017, my sister went in for a follow up test to check her Anemia. At 5:30 AM, right after returning from work the next morning, my sister received an emergency phone call from her doctor's office. She needed to report to the nearest ER for her Anemia; her counts had returned below 5. The ER rushed her to a room, confirmed her count at 4.8, confirmed her pregnancy, gave her a transfusion, and transferred her to the larger hospital in the area.

The new hospital admitted her, and informed her that her iron count was fine, something else was wrong. A doctor came in and informed her that the only thing left to check would be her Bone Marrow. Within an hour, the test was done; within another 30 minutes, the doctor had returned, but his news was about to devastate us all.

My sister was immediately diagnosed with Acute Myeloid Leukemia, a fast moving cancer that needed treatment as soon as physically possible, My sister is strong, I know the Cancer isn't what emotionally destroyed her about this. When the doctor informed her of her condition, he warned her that her pregnancy was young enough that the Chemotherapy would be too much for the baby. If she tried to keep it and put off treatment, the baby and her would be gone in a few short months. To get better, to stay with her husband and two young boys, my sister was forced to let go of her unborn baby.

The doctors believe that without the baby, my sister wouldn't have been diagnosed in time. Her unborn child saved the life of their mother, at the cost of their own. 

Now, my sister sits in the hospital, receiving treatments, separate from her family. The Chemotherapy has left her immune system so weak that she can't see her husband and sons, because of those common colds. To make matters even worse, before all of this happened, my sister and her husband were preparing to move to a new home. My sister's job was new and she'd only had it since February 6th, 2017; because of this, her job had no obligations to her and let her go. Now, they're having a hard time making ends meet. 

My sister's husband is a Disabled Veteran and right now, they're barely making it by with what he makes. Honestly, she's worried about all the medical bills that are slowly building; and the real possibility that she may leave her family in a situation that they can't get out of.

Please, all I'm asking is for a little help to keep them on their feet and help ease my baby sister's already troubled soul.

Organizer and beneficiary

Rachael Foster
Organizer
Palm Bay, FL
Ashley Roma
Beneficiary

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