Krystal's Fight for Recovery

My name is Aubrey Winkelman. I am the older sister of Krystal Winkelman. I am reaching out to all our friends, family, and the community to help my baby sister in her financial recovery from eight or more surgeries in three years and a few more to come.

A few years ago, our oldest sister, Kayla Ehlert, was diagnosed with a rare form of ovarian cancer. After her diagnosis and in the beginning of her fight to beat cancer, Krystal and I had genetic testing done. Krystal and Kayla both received results of having the CHK2 mutation.

Technical term:

CHK2 is a tumor suppressor gene that encodes the protein CHK2, a serine-threonine kinase. CHK2 is involved in DNA repair, cell cycle arrest, or apoptosis in response to DNA damage. Mutations to this gene have been linked to various cancers.

Layman’s terms:

Everyone carries CHK2 in their DNA. CHK2 repairs damaged DNA, one of those damages being irregular cells or cancer cells developing in the body. However, for those who have this mutation, that part of the DNA is damaged and therefore does not function as it should to repair damaged, irregular, or cancer cells. Combine that irregularity with a family history of cancer, and your risk of cancer raises exponentially.

Krystal has been a survivor in all this. Her body may have failed her, but she keeps showing how strong she is and putting up a fight. This has not come without much mental, emotional, and financial stress. She has missed much work from required recovery time, symptoms, and surgeries. She has used all her sick time, vacation, and even exhausted the state's assistance from the FMLA program.

Next week, she will undergo another surgery to have her uterus removed. This one comes with a much heavier burden. Even aside from all the mental weight and all the financial stress, emotionally she is struggling. Having to make life-altering choices for her health and quality of life.

Our family has been handed a very short straw when it comes to medical health. If I could do more for her, I would without batting an eye. She’s my baby sister. She’s the happiest, sweetest, and funniest young woman. She’s the one who makes it to everyone’s events. She is the one who is always there to support others through their storms. She’s the one who helps to make some of the best memories. Now it’s our turn to show her all the love and support she has shown us.

If you have it in your hearts or budgets to help out in any way, it’s much appreciated. She’s overwhelmed and stressed. She doesn’t need to be worried about not making her bills or drowning in debt from all these medical procedures that could be saving her life. My goal is to see if we can raise $3-5k to help with bills and medical expenses.

Venmo: @Krystal-Winkelman