ALL THINGS FOR ASHLEY WITH LOVE
Donation protected
Ashley's story begins many many years ago, she was diagnosed with Fanconi's Anemia when she was three years old. This is a very serious and rare blood disorder. She went through five years of blood transfusions, bad infections, brusing, severe bleeding issues, shots, biopsies, experimental drug therapies. We tried everything to save her. The doctors did not give us much hope. When she was 8 years old, her sister Sabrina was born and she was an identical match for a bone marrow transplant. So at birth, they collected Sabrina's stem cells from the umbilical cord and they did the first ever Cord Blood Transplant here in California on Ashley on October 31, 1995. This transplant of cells, saved Ashley's life. Ashley was released from the hospital that December in time for Christmas. As her parents, we could not be more grateful and blessed for this miracle.
Ashley had some medical complications growing up due to her childhood illness and having radiation and chemo therapy, but nothing like what she had gone through for those long horrible five years. She was cured of FA. She was able to go to school, she was in dance, she was able to watch her sisters grow up, she had boyfriends, she graduated high school, she worked and recently met a great guy.
So for 20 years our family was blessed to have Ashley here with us and able to watch her grow up and enjoy life.
Last December, Ashley was sick a lot with colds, sore throats, shortness of breath and very tired. Back and forth to the doctors, cold medicines, home remedies for chest hurting, hoarse voice. Doctor told her two separate times, it is probably asthma and gave her an inhaler. A couple trips to the ER, with no help. Then in February, she went back to the ER, they admitted her and spent 9 days in the hospital. They saw something on the xray and CT scan. She had double pneumonia and a huge lump on the side of her neck. They biopsied the neck twice with no results and treated her with antibiotics. Once the infection was gone in her lungs and the swelling was down on her neck, they discharged her.
She never ever got well, two days after getting out of the hospital, she started feeling really bad again. She followed up again with her primary and the primary sent her to an ENT. Still nothing. All the while she was trying to work, feeling tired, feeling like she had something stuck in her throat, hoarse voice and not able to breath very well at all. The littliest things made her exhausted and she could not breath. So for all of March and April, she suffered. She went back to the Emergency Room on May 2nd. Xray and CT scan immediately showed a mass in her throat/espophagus area restricting her airway. They biopsied the mass and about a week later she was diagnosed with Squamous Cell Carcinoma Cancer of the head/ neck and lungs.
We have been in the hospital ever since trying to fight this cancer. But before we could start chemo and radiation, we had to secure her airway with a trach to open up her airway. The tumor was pushing on her trachia and closing her airway. This also forced them to put a G tube in her stomach so she could get nutrition. So she could not talk or eat anymore like a normal person. We all missed hearing Ashley's voice and just talking to us.
We proceeded with the 5 doses of radiation and 2 treatments of two different chemos. Neither one of these treatments worked for Ashley, just caused a lot of suffering on her part. The CT scans showed again, increased growth of the cancer. It was now in her neck, lungs and liver. As of today, the cancer has spread to her neck, lungs, liver, stomach, shoulder and back areas causing her great pain. She has also had several blood clots that they have been treating while we have been going through all of this. Just two days ago, her heart started going into Atrial Fibrilation (A-Fib) and her oxygen levels have gone down.
We still had some hope, her oncologist had told us about this new drug that was out there and had recently been approved for some cancers, and hers was one of them. BUT in order to qualify to receive this drug, Ashley had to be well enough to be discharged and receive this treatment on an outpatient basis. This is a very expensive medication and her insurance will not cover it if she is an inpatient. It was very tough and down to the day, but Ashley was able to be discharged to home with myself and a home healthcare nurse taking care of her. The very next day, Tuesday, July 21st, we were fortuate to be able to start the immunotherapy. We won't know for a little bit if it is working or if the tumors will respond to it. They say everything that is happening to her in the last few days could be a flare up due to the immunotherapy drug and that things will get worse before they get better. She has to be able to get well enough to be dischargd from the hospital again to be able to have this medication again. (oh yes, forgot to mention that we ended back in the ER on Friday, July 23rd, due to her heart going into A-Fib and her oxygen level being so low). So we are praying that in the next few days, she will start feeling a little better and we can get her vitals and breathing under control so she can be an outpatient again and have the second dose of the new medication. This is going to be much harder this time around, as she is much sicker.
Ashley's Dad and I wanted to start this GoFund for her because she has been through so much in her life and we just feel like she deserves something special when she does finally heal and beat this cancer. She has always been a fighter, facing horrific challenges with little complaint. So brave, so strong. We would love for this money raised to be a wonderful reward for all the suffering she has gone through the past few months. Even if the immunotherapy does help and starts killing off the tumors, she is going to need care for the rest of her life. Her body has gone through some very serious things while she has been in the hospital and she will have long term effects from these complications.
We don't know what the future holds for our sweet girl, but her story deserves to be told and her fight deserves to be heard!! We are so proud and inspired by her courage and bravery everyday. We hope you can find it in your heart to help raise some money for her, she will be so grateful and touched that so many people cared. Love from her Parents and her two sisters, Sean, Angela, Sabrina and Alyssa Ross.
We love you Ashley Christine Ross more than you could ever imagine!!! :)
From Ashley and all of her family, thank you for taking a moment to read about her courageous fight against cancer!
WE LOVE YOU ASHLEY, LOVE DAD, MOM, SABRINA AND ALYSSA. YOU ARE CLOSE TO OUR HEARTS FOREVER!
Ashley had some medical complications growing up due to her childhood illness and having radiation and chemo therapy, but nothing like what she had gone through for those long horrible five years. She was cured of FA. She was able to go to school, she was in dance, she was able to watch her sisters grow up, she had boyfriends, she graduated high school, she worked and recently met a great guy.
So for 20 years our family was blessed to have Ashley here with us and able to watch her grow up and enjoy life.
Last December, Ashley was sick a lot with colds, sore throats, shortness of breath and very tired. Back and forth to the doctors, cold medicines, home remedies for chest hurting, hoarse voice. Doctor told her two separate times, it is probably asthma and gave her an inhaler. A couple trips to the ER, with no help. Then in February, she went back to the ER, they admitted her and spent 9 days in the hospital. They saw something on the xray and CT scan. She had double pneumonia and a huge lump on the side of her neck. They biopsied the neck twice with no results and treated her with antibiotics. Once the infection was gone in her lungs and the swelling was down on her neck, they discharged her.
She never ever got well, two days after getting out of the hospital, she started feeling really bad again. She followed up again with her primary and the primary sent her to an ENT. Still nothing. All the while she was trying to work, feeling tired, feeling like she had something stuck in her throat, hoarse voice and not able to breath very well at all. The littliest things made her exhausted and she could not breath. So for all of March and April, she suffered. She went back to the Emergency Room on May 2nd. Xray and CT scan immediately showed a mass in her throat/espophagus area restricting her airway. They biopsied the mass and about a week later she was diagnosed with Squamous Cell Carcinoma Cancer of the head/ neck and lungs.
We have been in the hospital ever since trying to fight this cancer. But before we could start chemo and radiation, we had to secure her airway with a trach to open up her airway. The tumor was pushing on her trachia and closing her airway. This also forced them to put a G tube in her stomach so she could get nutrition. So she could not talk or eat anymore like a normal person. We all missed hearing Ashley's voice and just talking to us.
We proceeded with the 5 doses of radiation and 2 treatments of two different chemos. Neither one of these treatments worked for Ashley, just caused a lot of suffering on her part. The CT scans showed again, increased growth of the cancer. It was now in her neck, lungs and liver. As of today, the cancer has spread to her neck, lungs, liver, stomach, shoulder and back areas causing her great pain. She has also had several blood clots that they have been treating while we have been going through all of this. Just two days ago, her heart started going into Atrial Fibrilation (A-Fib) and her oxygen levels have gone down.
We still had some hope, her oncologist had told us about this new drug that was out there and had recently been approved for some cancers, and hers was one of them. BUT in order to qualify to receive this drug, Ashley had to be well enough to be discharged and receive this treatment on an outpatient basis. This is a very expensive medication and her insurance will not cover it if she is an inpatient. It was very tough and down to the day, but Ashley was able to be discharged to home with myself and a home healthcare nurse taking care of her. The very next day, Tuesday, July 21st, we were fortuate to be able to start the immunotherapy. We won't know for a little bit if it is working or if the tumors will respond to it. They say everything that is happening to her in the last few days could be a flare up due to the immunotherapy drug and that things will get worse before they get better. She has to be able to get well enough to be dischargd from the hospital again to be able to have this medication again. (oh yes, forgot to mention that we ended back in the ER on Friday, July 23rd, due to her heart going into A-Fib and her oxygen level being so low). So we are praying that in the next few days, she will start feeling a little better and we can get her vitals and breathing under control so she can be an outpatient again and have the second dose of the new medication. This is going to be much harder this time around, as she is much sicker.
Ashley's Dad and I wanted to start this GoFund for her because she has been through so much in her life and we just feel like she deserves something special when she does finally heal and beat this cancer. She has always been a fighter, facing horrific challenges with little complaint. So brave, so strong. We would love for this money raised to be a wonderful reward for all the suffering she has gone through the past few months. Even if the immunotherapy does help and starts killing off the tumors, she is going to need care for the rest of her life. Her body has gone through some very serious things while she has been in the hospital and she will have long term effects from these complications.
We don't know what the future holds for our sweet girl, but her story deserves to be told and her fight deserves to be heard!! We are so proud and inspired by her courage and bravery everyday. We hope you can find it in your heart to help raise some money for her, she will be so grateful and touched that so many people cared. Love from her Parents and her two sisters, Sean, Angela, Sabrina and Alyssa Ross.
We love you Ashley Christine Ross more than you could ever imagine!!! :)
From Ashley and all of her family, thank you for taking a moment to read about her courageous fight against cancer!
WE LOVE YOU ASHLEY, LOVE DAD, MOM, SABRINA AND ALYSSA. YOU ARE CLOSE TO OUR HEARTS FOREVER!
Organizer
Angela Ross
Organizer
Ramona, CA