Hello to my family and friends...known and unknown.

I was raised in the old fashioned way that you take care of your family business and don't burden others. I've tried as best as I can to do just that. I don't take asking for help for me or my family easily. Well, right now my daughter needs help which I can't give her. So I need to swallow my pride and ask if others can step up and give her a helping hand. I know that right now during Christmas time and the economy it may be difficult to help financially, so prayers are a blessing and have helped her tremendously.

My daughter is the sweetest, most caring and thoughful person I know. She and her two young children have been living with me and her step-dad for three and a half years since her divorce. She has been attending college to get all her pre-reqs to start nursing school and has been invited into the Phi Theta Kappa society for nursing students because of her 4.0 grade point average! She only has two more classes to go before applying. Proud mom here!

In the beginning of September my daughter was feeling extremely fatigued and experiencing shortness of breath which made her pass out and hit her head. The Dr. ordered a blood panel and found out her hemoglobin was extremely low and wanted her to go to the hospital to get a blood transfusion. I accompanied her and she had one blood transfusion. While there, the Dr. wanted to find out why her blood count was so low. The ER Dr. called a gastroenterologist for a consult, because she has suffered from Chrohn's since her early twenty's. They wanted to do a colonoscopy and upper endoscopy. The colonoscopy came back showing that she had a large mass on her hepatic fissure in her colon. We were all surprised as she never experienced any bleeding or excessive pain. The Dr. told us if it's high up in the colon you don't necessarily see any blood.

She stayed in the hospital for four days to get three iron infusions done.

She was sent to an oncology surgeon who said she may have to remove all of the colon after chemotherapy, but that wouldn't be decided until after her first few rounds of chemotherapy and another MRI.

She then had a liver biopsy as her CT scan showed that her liver had some lesions on it. It came back positive that the cancer had spread into the liver and some nearby lymph nodes making her cancer stage 4A. He told us that means it is treatable and surgical. If it had spread further they would not have been able to treat it. So the plan is; chemo first, surgery, then a few more rounds of chemo. Then prayerfully no more cancer. ☝

Then it was time to get her port placed and start chemotherapy. I can't tell you how ill it made me feel inside to see how afraid my daughter was and knowing what was in store for her in the months ahead and I could do nothing but love her through it. It took me hours after picking her up to even glance at her chest and see that port bulging from it This momma's heart was breaking!

So far she has had four rounds of chemotherapy. One more to go before the MRI and possible surgery. Her Dr. said the chemo is working and her numbers are improving ☝ that is a huge blessing and thanks be to God!!

The hardest part for all of us was telling her children that mom has cancer.

It broke our hearts to see their fear. My granddaughter who is 12 asked me if mommy was going to die and my grandson who is 11 asked me if mommy was going to lose all of her hair I've always felt honesty was best. I told them the truth, that we don't know what the future holds, but everyone is doing all they can to help her and we pray everyday for complete healing. They have seen her very sick from her chemotherapy and you can see the stress on their faces even if they don't say anything. They want to stay close to mom and have exhibited some anxiety issues which they are dealing with through their school counselors. Due to being in school she is unemployed, she receives child support, but as most know that doesn't cover everything. Her job as a Nurse would ensure she would have a career to financially support herself and her kids. Unfortunately, cancer had other plans so schooling is being postponed and the opportunity to get back into the workfield has also been. She has state insurance right now for herself. In going through this journey, she has found out they don't cover everything. She has a naturopathic Dr. who prescribes supplements and alternative care which isn't covered by insurance. She also sees an acupuncturist and massage therapist which helps with her anxiety and side effects. Her first couple were paid for and it helped her relax a lot. She would like to continue these treatments. She will be having surgery soon and I'm sure there will be co-payments. With one of the drugs she takes she has to have the house temperature set at 70 all day and night as it makes you feel very cold. Electric heat is expensive. Unfortunetly, I have been the only one employed the last couple of months and part time at that. We can't help her much financially, but what we can do is give her and her beautiful children a stable, loving, supportive home as she travels this uncertain road.

So please if you can help out in any way it would be so much appreciated and a blessing to her.

Thank you in advance for your thoughtfulness ❤☝