Christina's Beat Cancer Campaign
Donation protected
The Full Story from Christina's Point of View
November 11th, 2016: This was the happiest day of our lives. After over 3 years of dating, I finally proposed and she said yes! Christina could now put all of her attention on wedding planning rather than anxiously watching my every move.
January 1st, 2017: We celebrate our last few months of being "single" according to government forms.
January 5th, 2017: In the midst of planning for our wedding in October, Christina begins having difficulty breathing while walking up the stairs to our apartment. She wanted to wait and see if it got better before heading to the doctor.
January 7th, 2017: After being unable to sleep laying down, Christina tries to find a doctor that will take new patients on Saturday, but the best she could do was get an appointment Monday morning before work. By this time, she had done some research and determined that she most likely had walking pneumonia.
January 9th, 2017: Christina goes to her appointment and gets a chest x-ray. The doctor informs her that there appears to be a large amount of fluid in her right lung and she should go to the ER. The inital diagnosis is severe pneumonia and will require her to be admitted for a day or two. After we arrive at the ER, she has a CT scan performed to better understand the severity. Until this point, the staff were light-hearted and cracking jokes. When the doctor walked in after seeing the scan, there was noticeable change in demeanor. The CT scan revealed that fluid was not in her lung, it was outside the lung. Essentially, the fluid was collapsing her right lung. The cause of this fluid build-up was attributed to an 11cm mediastinal mass sitting above her heart. This was the first time we heard the word "cancer". At this point, it was only a possibility, but it was still the last thing we expected.
February 8th, 2017: Christina finally leaves the hospital. Since first arriving in the ER a month ago, she had a chest tube inserted, stayed in the ICU for 6 days, had a drain tube place below her heart, transferred to Moffitt Cancer Center, confirmed her diagnosis of T-Cell Actue Lymphoblastic Lymphoma (ALL), received her first round of chemotherapy, and finally had the drain tubes removed. Today is the day she finally got to be reunited with her dog, DJ. Today was a good day.
February 16th, 2017: Christina decided to transfer her treatment to the University of Chicago Hospital after much debate regarding two different treatments. Her new treatment would be strictly outpatient and would spread the chemotherapy over weeks rather than days.
February 21st, 2017: Christina started her first cycle of the new regimen today. She found out that the mass was now 8 x 4 cm! Just before starting treatment, it was 13 cm! Although this regimen will last 7-8 months, we are excited to know that the chemo is working!
Why create this campaign?
We have not yet received the larger bills from the multiple hospitals and providers yet. So far, there are only a few coming at a time, but they are quickly piling up.
On October 21st, 2017, I am going to marry Christina. I want this to be exactly what she was planning before everything happened. Family members already put money down on various deposits, and we want to alleviate some of the financial burden on those footing the bill for her medical expenses.
Other ways to contribute:
Greeting Cards
Gift/Gas Cards (traveling to hospital 4 days/week)
Wedding Ideas
Hats
*Prayers*
Thank You!
Thank you for taking the time to read this. I know each of our lives can be hectic at times, but I am truly thankful that you took the time out of your day for Christina.
November 11th, 2016: This was the happiest day of our lives. After over 3 years of dating, I finally proposed and she said yes! Christina could now put all of her attention on wedding planning rather than anxiously watching my every move.
January 1st, 2017: We celebrate our last few months of being "single" according to government forms.
January 5th, 2017: In the midst of planning for our wedding in October, Christina begins having difficulty breathing while walking up the stairs to our apartment. She wanted to wait and see if it got better before heading to the doctor.
January 7th, 2017: After being unable to sleep laying down, Christina tries to find a doctor that will take new patients on Saturday, but the best she could do was get an appointment Monday morning before work. By this time, she had done some research and determined that she most likely had walking pneumonia.
January 9th, 2017: Christina goes to her appointment and gets a chest x-ray. The doctor informs her that there appears to be a large amount of fluid in her right lung and she should go to the ER. The inital diagnosis is severe pneumonia and will require her to be admitted for a day or two. After we arrive at the ER, she has a CT scan performed to better understand the severity. Until this point, the staff were light-hearted and cracking jokes. When the doctor walked in after seeing the scan, there was noticeable change in demeanor. The CT scan revealed that fluid was not in her lung, it was outside the lung. Essentially, the fluid was collapsing her right lung. The cause of this fluid build-up was attributed to an 11cm mediastinal mass sitting above her heart. This was the first time we heard the word "cancer". At this point, it was only a possibility, but it was still the last thing we expected.
February 8th, 2017: Christina finally leaves the hospital. Since first arriving in the ER a month ago, she had a chest tube inserted, stayed in the ICU for 6 days, had a drain tube place below her heart, transferred to Moffitt Cancer Center, confirmed her diagnosis of T-Cell Actue Lymphoblastic Lymphoma (ALL), received her first round of chemotherapy, and finally had the drain tubes removed. Today is the day she finally got to be reunited with her dog, DJ. Today was a good day.
February 16th, 2017: Christina decided to transfer her treatment to the University of Chicago Hospital after much debate regarding two different treatments. Her new treatment would be strictly outpatient and would spread the chemotherapy over weeks rather than days.
February 21st, 2017: Christina started her first cycle of the new regimen today. She found out that the mass was now 8 x 4 cm! Just before starting treatment, it was 13 cm! Although this regimen will last 7-8 months, we are excited to know that the chemo is working!
Why create this campaign?
We have not yet received the larger bills from the multiple hospitals and providers yet. So far, there are only a few coming at a time, but they are quickly piling up.
On October 21st, 2017, I am going to marry Christina. I want this to be exactly what she was planning before everything happened. Family members already put money down on various deposits, and we want to alleviate some of the financial burden on those footing the bill for her medical expenses.
Other ways to contribute:
Greeting Cards
Gift/Gas Cards (traveling to hospital 4 days/week)
Wedding Ideas
Hats
*Prayers*
Thank You!
Thank you for taking the time to read this. I know each of our lives can be hectic at times, but I am truly thankful that you took the time out of your day for Christina.
Organizer
Joshua Drisko
Organizer
Riverview, FL
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