Update June 2026

This year has started off with far more medical drama than anyone would want. The struggles with the stomach lesions continue, but it's all good news from oncology. I am getting better, but no one can guarantee dates so I'm just holding on happily to faith that soon my stomach (with the help of modern medicine) will have evicted the nasty tenants. My spine fracture has taken well to robotic procedures. It is rough going in ever 6-8 weeks, but I prefer that to major invasive surgery. Happy to say that my chronic kidney infections are under much better control. I was diagnosed as borderline or full on Type2 diabetes last year (That way of diagnosing makes no sense to me either, but I understand what they actually mean. The glucose readings are high enough to be Type2, but the possibility exists that we can reverse it.) So far we've kept it under good control. I had to have surgery in both my eyes because of a weird thing called pterygium (the white of your eye starts to grow over your eye), plus a retinol hole. So far everything seems fine with that, but I was told that the retinol hole will need mote treatments in a few months. I am still under the care of the hematologist for the clots in my lungs. These were diagnosed mid-October. Here's where things start to get weird. Almost 3 weeks ago our middle son became quite ill. A hospital stay with many tests show he has some neurological issues due to a reaction to medication. He will be seeing a neurologist and cardiologist for at least 6 months. Last week my husband woke me up screaming for help. He was having horrible pain in his chest. Of course I thought heart attack. I almost fainted in the ER when they said he had blood clots in his lungs. I told the ER doc about my own diagnosis and ongoing treatment. The shocked expression said it all. Soon we were surrounded by doctors and everyone had questions. He was admitted and I stayed with him because we were isolated. They called in specialists to figure this out because blood clots aren't contagious. Although my husband is home now (on the same blood thinners I take) he'll be going thru a lot more testing. So will I. The hematologist is quite curious about this. So are we! We are also concerned if something is going on which could affect the children.

⭐Great news: After many treatments and scans, during my second nuclear scan last week it was discovered that my pulmonary embolisms have disappeared. I will still need to go in once a month to be checked, but for the moment everything is wonderful. Hopefully my husband will also be rid of his embolisms soon. ⭐

In May I had to have serious surgery in my right foot. A previous bone implant had become damaged so I had to have a whole new surgery. This time they did it as bone graft, using a piece of my own bone from somewhere in my foot. This will take about 6 months to a year to heal. There is no way to know until scans show us how quickly it is melding together.

Finances have been a nightmare since my husband and son had to be off work for a period of time. I have applied for remote work, but when the foot surgery became urgent I had to pass on the jobs. I cannot return to work until I get medical clearance because shortly after the foot surgery the sight became infected & I got sepsis. I still have sepsis (something I didn't know much about before getting it), but was allowed home after an extended hospital stay. The infectious disease specialists told me it can take up to a year to be completely over it. I am hoping that I can do remote work very soon because we must have the funds to pay for insurance & co-pays.

Within the next couple of weeks I am to have cervical spine surgery and later lumbar spine surgery. These surgeries were to be done in late April and early May, but the situation with my foot took priority.

We have a daughter who had a COVID stroke in April 2020. She was left partially paralysed & still has significant aphasia. She also has Type1 diabetes. So we have a lot of medical costs to take care of her.

We also have two sons who have the same immunocompromising condition I do so the three of us have injections and infusions regularly.

All of this is what led me to take my great friend Ellen Kushner's advice to start a GFM. She has helped me run it every step of the way, including writing when I'm too ill to do it myself.

If you are able to help me with all these expenses - $5, $10, donations add up! - we'd greatly appreciate it. GFM now has a system where you can make monthly donations. The information is on the donation page.

Thank you to all who have helped me get this far along. I couldn't have done it without your help.

Hugs and love,

Coco

❣️

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*From 2025*

Dear friends,

Our friend Coco got very sick in 2016, severely limiting her ability to earn a living for her family. During the pandemic her daughter had a Covid-related stroke. Both Coco and her daughter need daily care and Coco has regular appointments for cancer, serious intestinal trauma and a spinal fracture. Her two younger sons both suffer from autoimmune diseases. Life is pretty much a round of medical appointments, and, as it’s the U.S..requires payments for monthly medical insurance, doctor’s visits, and co-payments for medication. But Coco and her family have been hanging on.

Every dollar they raise helps to cover all medical expenses.

Ellen Kushner and Farah Mendelsohn

(The above has been lightly edited as our needs have become slightly less with the help of all of you!)

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*From 2024*

Hi. I am Coco & I really need your help. I have been struggling with medical issues since 2016 when a tumor was found in my uterus & I had to have a complete hysterectomy. The hysterectomy led to a tilted bladder, which led to chronic kidney infections, which led to more hospitalisations than I can count.

⭐ On the advice of a friend I will add here that my needs are urgent at this time and...

1. GFM does take a percentage - the platform needs to have funds to keep running

2. It takes at least 14 days to get your GFM donations deposited into my own account

3. Because I am struggling with urgent daily financial needs, I am posting other methods by which donations can be made, which make the funds available immediately, if you choose to do it that way instead. Of course, it is entirely up to you how to donate. GFM donations will reach me eventually & be very helpful.

Here are alternatives which will get me the funds immediately:

Venmo @coco-pazzo

CashApp $CocoPazzo

Anyone wanting to use PayPal or Zelle can find the information in the latest update *January 2026*⭐

Jumping to the most recent issues, I have been dealing with stomach cancer, a fracture in my spine (I’ve just undergone a second surgery for it, and more are lined up for when I recover from this one). So far this year (2024) I've spent about 8 weeks in hospital. Yes, you read that right: I was hospitalised for double pneumonia in February. A CT scan for the pneumonia led to the discovery of malignant nodules on my thyroid gland. A week's stay in ICU after a thyroidectomy led to another hospital stay when it was discovered I had been infected with ESBL (a superbug in the eColi family, known to be passed around in hospital settings when a patient has an IV or a catheter.).

Along with my own illnesses, I have 3 children who are under medical care. I have POA for my daughter, who was left permanently disabled by a stroke brought on by COVID in April 2020. She has neurological deficiencies, cardiac issues, partial paralysis, aphasia, Type1 diabetes. She is on physical/occupational therapy. My youngest son has not truly recovered from 2 concussions in January. The other suffers from autoimmune illness and is under treatment. They have both been hospitalised lately, so must do their studies online.

I have always been the main bread winner in the family. But finally my brutal cascade of illnesses has rendered me unable either to run my catering company or to work as a personal chef. Although I have been doing what I can with small remote jobs, I am not earning enough to keep things going. Thankfully, the family has been able to cover housing & utilities, but that leaves out health insurance premiums, medical co-pays (including endless prescriptions for 5 people), car maintenance, car insurance and gasoline to numerous medical appointments every week.

Thank you for taking the time to read all of this & thank you for your donation of any size, or for sharing this request with big-hearted friends like yourself.

Coco

Please note that this fundraiser was started in fall of 2023. $4000+ of the donations shown above were made before the end of 2023. That money was spent on medical copays, late bills, gasoline, & groceries.