When Ashlyn sets her mind to something, nobody can hold her back. When she decided to be a nurse, she did not take the easy path…after graduating with her Bachelor’s degree, she went on to an intensive, 18 month program to achieve her goal as quickly as possible. As you can imagine, this was a stressful, challenging time for Ashlyn and she knocked it out of the park, achieving a passing score on her NCLEX on the first try in May! She immediately found a job and began working as a cardiac ICU nurse, quickly becoming known as someone who truly cares about her patients and gives everything she has. Little did she know that just six months later, she would receive a cancer diagnosis (at only 26 years old) and become a patient at that same hospital where she is a nurse herself.

This week, she has undergone surgery to have a large tumor on her thyroid removed, and she is currently still in the hospital due to some complications. After having over 30 lymph nodes removed (all malignant), she is now facing months of difficult treatment along with medication for the remainder of her life to maintain normal thyroid levels. As you can imagine, the costs associated with this level of care are astronomical. From the initial cost of appointments, scans and surgery, to the additional hospital stay, cancer treatment, and medications, the costs are quickly adding up. Her intent is still clear: get back to work as quickly as possible after the surgery to avoid bills piling up. Since she has only worked for a short time in this role, she does not yet qualify for paid time off or FMLA. Thankfully, she does have insurance but with all of the changes to high deductible plans over the past several years, she will be looking at reaching her max out of pocket cost in both 2025 and 2026 before you know it ($10,000 per year). The stress of the medical diagnosis on top of the bills is severely affecting her ability to focus on healing.

She has not asked for help and still intends to return to work as soon as she is able to (she will likely not be very happy with me when she sees that this has been set up to hopefully help offset some of her costs, but we can deal with that time when it comes). As someone who is constantly giving to others, it is difficult to be in a position to receive but we are hoping to help her do that without thinking twice!

Our goal here is simple: raise enough money to cover Ashlyn’s known out of pocket costs for 2025 and 2026. Without knowing what the future holds, that is the best we can do at this time. As her health needs become more clear, there may be other things we are able to help with (driving to doctor’s appointments, meal coordination, taking shifts off her plate, etc) but until that point, please consider making a donation to help ease some of her stress. We would like to allow her to take the time off from work that is needed, complete the necessary medical treatments, pay her medical bills and give her the peace and comfort she needs so she is able to fully recover and get back to doing what she loves - being a nurse!

Thank you in advance and please keep Ashlyn in your thoughts and prayers for a positive outcome and full recovery. If you are unable to contribute, please help by sharing this post.