Kathy Strong! Hope - Faith and Love

Hi

My name is Lisa D'Ambrosio and I would love to tell you all the story of my best friend.

Kathleen Mestas is a lifelong resident of Malden MA. She attended Emerson Elementary, Beebe Jr High and graduated Malden High in 1989. Committed to her community and dedicated to the practice, Kathy has worked at Harvard Vanguard, Medford office for the past 30 years.

She is the baby of her close nit family adored by her mother Ann, her father Thomas, her sisters Elaine and Kim and her brother Tom.

Kathy is remarkable. She is kind, empathic, gentle, witty, loving, smart and caring. To know her is to love her. She leads life with her heart and she has never met a cat she didn't like. Kathy is my son, Emilio's beautiful Godmother and my daughter Sofia's partner in crime.

This is the chapter of the story were you all come in .. Kathy was recently diagnosed with Astrocytoma grade 4 brain cancer. Shock is still the state for all of us. Within weeks of this crushing news, Kathy has undergone multiple radiation treatments and started her chemotherapy journey. She has been admitted to the Beth Israel Deaconess and Tufts Medical Center for the past 8 weeks. This horrible monster has taken Kathy's ability to walk and to sometimes find the right words. It has taken her independence and her sense of finical stability. She finds herself relaying heavily on her family and friends, which is something my Kathy is not used to but is extremely grateful for. Since day one Kathy has confronted this battle with positivity and with a splash of humor. She continues to be strong, not just for herself but for her family and friends. This beast cannot take away Kathy's grace and the love she has for others.

As a loved one, words cannot express how unbearable it is to sit and watch this new normal take over. It feels like life is not fair and awful things happen to amazing people. The feeling of helplessness is too much to endure. So I'm humbly ask: please help ease some of Kathy's burden. All donations will be used for medical needs, medical equipment, medications, food and supplies. Let's show Kathy that she is not alone and support her through this horrific time. We are also accepting prayers!

Kathy has a long journey ahead with no intentions of giving up!

I promise you this is not the end for this is just another chapter in her story.

Thank you all