First and foremost, let me apologize if you are receiving this news for the first time via GoFundMe.  There is a reason and I will get to that shortly ….

It is with a heavy heart that I come to you and ask for your assistance.  On May 10th Dana (Jarmel) Peterson received the call that nobody wants to get. “We regret to inform you that you have breast cancer (invasive ductal carcinoma)”.  It was a blow that Dana was not expecting nor one that she or Andy was prepared for by any stretch of the imagination.  Over the past couple of weeks, Dana and Andy have been attending numerous appointments to wrap their minds around the diagnoses and what needs to be done to get on the other side of this.  They have been as private as possible because their world has been spinning and the thought of trying to explain it to anyone else has seemed like a daunting feat when they can barely explain it to themselves.

Dana is set to have a double mastectomy on July 30th at Moffit. We do not know the stage and we do not know much past surgery at this point.  Once the surgery is complete they will be able to give Dana more information about next steps as to whether radiation, chemo or hormone therapy will be needed.  For now, we just have our sights set on surgery. 

You may be thinking “She is a successful esthetician, she MUST have insurance, short term disability, sick time and vacation time to help support them for the 4-6 weeks that she will be out of work.”  Unfortunately, less than 30 days prior to diagnoses Dana switched jobs to be closer to home and to the clientele in the community she grew up in.  Dana was able to recover her benefits from her previous job via Cobra, however, it is in the tune of 700.00 a month. The 4-6 weeks out of work for the surgery will not be paid as she will not have short term disability, sick time or vacation time.

You may be thinking “It is a good thing Andy is working and can help contribute while Dana recovers.”  Unfortunately, Andy has been out of work for 9 months due to chronic pain from a failed back surgery.  Andy is mustering through his own medical journey, trying to figure out how to regain his quality of life.  He is on long term disability and although it is a supplement of income, it is not enough to cover the expenses that they will incur while Dana fights.    

Life has hit Dana and Andy from both sides, so I begged them for their permission to do a GoFundMe.  It has taken a couple of weeks to get their permission for many reasons.  None the less, I gained their approval.

So, I ask you to please help. Our goal is $10,000.  The money will 100% go to assisting towards paying their bills for the 4-6 weeks Dana will be out of work to recover from the double mastectomy surgery.  The additional money will be used to help pay bills if Dana needs to be out of work to do chemo and later on breast reconstruction. Anything leftover will go to assist paying the out of pocket insurance deductible and any other expenses not covered by insurance.

We thank you for anything that you can provide to assist Dana and Andy.  Monetary donations, words of support, or services that you can provide.  Together we can help get them through this! 

Sincerely,

Sandy Blea

(Dana’s Best Friend and Fierce Supporter)