June 4th, 2019 will forever be remembered as “The Day that OUR World Turned Upside Down”. What should have been a happy day to celebrate my mother’s 69th birthday turned into our own little nightmare. My dad took her to the Emergency Room at Lafayette General that morning for severe stomach pain and just hours later they discovered an upper intestinal blockage and a 4-inch tumor on her right kidney. Numerous tests later, the doctors have determined that my mother has a very aggressive form of Stage IV Kidney Cancer. The cancer in her kidney has entered her bloodstream and has spread like wildfire throughout her entire body. The cancer is in several organs and they are giving her targeted radiation treatments to try and slow down this aggressive monster. She has lesions in her left knee that she recently had a torn meniscus repaired in. The lesions are aggressively attaching/eating away at the femur bone. The cancer is in her hip and pelvic area and aggressively eating away at her hip bone area. This is causing much pain and discomfort for her. She has multiple lesions in her brain that have caused swelling and are pressing on her optical nerves creating double vision for her. This leaves her disoriented and unable to watch tv, read or focus on any one thing for very long.  She needs a family member with her at all times to help with her daily tasks.

Her husband of 47 years and the love of her life has not left her side and her three daughters have changed their work and home schedules to be with her as much as they can; often driving from Baton Rouge to Lafayette every few days, flying in from Maryland to visit and changing work schedules to accommodate. My father has been at the hospital with her since June 4th and his employer has been good to him as far as giving him time off to be with her until we have a better picture of what the future hold for all of us. Her family has rallied around her and we are all getting through this as best as we can with God’s Gracious Mercy. We have wonderful friends and an amazing church family from First Baptist Church in Lafayette that are filling the roles that my mom and my dad have had to put on hold due to this diagnosis.

This GoFundMe account is to help defer some of the medical, travel and monthly expenses as our family navigates through this trying time. All Money raised will go to Jeff & Diana Strassel and their family. Every little bit will help. Please follow your heart and be a blessing to my family in this time of need. Thank you in advance for your prayers and donations! May God Bless Each of You!