Missing My Mom

Final Edit: Our sweet mom is gone. She went in for surgery on her heart Friday morning, and died from complications Saturday afternoon. I packed up and drove to Arkansas Sunday and got here yesterday. I'd post more, but I'm still not sure I've processed everything. It seemed appropriate to post this here along with all the other updates about her journey. I know mom appreciated the love and support she received from all of you...as do I. Please keep our little family in your thoughts and prayers. We're missing her something fierce over here. Edit: Please read current updates for more information. My mom is out of money and needs our help. I can't believe this is all happening so fast.... My maternal grandmother died one year ago today. My friends and family pulled together to help get me and my two daughters to California to be with my family, and, for that, I will be forever grateful. Now, my mom is fighting for her life, and we're literally thousands of miles away.... A few weeks ago, my mom went to Urgent Care for a spider bite. Urgent Care sent her to the emergency room to get it checked out instead. The emergency room told her she needed to a see a surgeon. When she saw the surgeon, he did a biopsy and found that the "spider bite" is actually a very large tumor that is pushing it's way through the skin under her arm.  Stage 4 Metastatic Breast Cancer - The devastating disease that has no cure.... My mom has tumors in both breasts, tumors in her brain, and tumors in a few of her lymph nodes.  Her oncologist's first priorities are the tumors they found in her brain. She has four of them. Three of them are each the size of her fingertip, but the 4th one is large and close to her brain stem. Her cancer is very aggressive, but they are doing everything they can to shrink the tumors so she can enjoy the rest of her life. Please, whomever you believe in or pray to or whatever good energy you send out, please consider including my little family in your thoughts. She a very strong woman and is in good spirits. I know she will try to fight this for as long as she can, but it's going to be a very long road. She's keeping a strong face for all of us, but I know she's scared. We all are.   How you can help... My mom lives in Arkansas and I live in Arizona. Traveling back and forth will be very expensive, but I need to be there for her as much as possible.  I have 2 young daughters in school. Moving just isn't an option for us right now, but they deserve to spend as much time with their grandma now, too.  A woman with a servent's heart.... My mom spent most of her adult life taking care of other people. When I was in elementary school, my grandfather was diagnosed with cancer. She traveled back and forth to help my grandma the care of him for the next few years and was there for both of them in his final days.  A few years later, my grandma broke her hip and required full time care. My mom packed up and moved to California to take care of her. When grandma passed away last year, I thought my mom would finally be able to rest and enjoy her golden years.  Instead, the unthinkable.... It's been a whirlwind of emotion and stress for everyone. My heart is breaking for her and our little family. I have a lot of regret for letting "life" get in the way of spending as much time with my mom as I could before all of this happened. My heart is filled with the desperate need for more time. We take life for granted until death comes knocking on our door.  Lately, my mom talks wistfully about things she wishes she had done, places she wishes she'd seen, things she wishes she had experienced. My hope of all hopes is that we will be able to do as many of those things as possible as a family and to somehow make loving and lasting memories in spite of all this pain. Please, if you can find it in your heart to give, every little bit counts. If you can't donate, please consider sharing so we can reach more people. From the bottom of our hearts, thank you!