Rachel's Unexpected Summer Break

Sometimes our lives can change in a moment. We all say "don't take things for granted", but it can be hard not to when we get busy with our day-to-day lives.

My sister, Rachel, is a single mother of two daughters, ages 13 and 10 and is a full time project coordinator at an A&E firm. She coaches little girls volleyball and never misses a chance to cheer on her girls at their softball and volleyball games. Her girls are everything to her. When she has spare time, she even makes handmade soap which she sells locally, rides her bike, cooks vegetarian (she's famous for her quinoa casserole), sews upcycled bags made out of vintage ties, and travels with her girls. She is bursting with ideas and a true optimistic.

On June 19th, 2015 a lot quickly changed for Rachel. Feeling "off" while at work led to a trip to the local ER. The next thing she knew, she was having her first seizure ever followed by helicopter ride to Iowa City. After some testing, it was found that the seizure was caused by a brain tumor in Rachel's left temporal lobe. She was diagnosed with anaplastic astrocytoma which is a Grade III tumor. Surgery has been performed to partially remove the tumor and Rachel began IMRT (radiation therapy) combined with chemotherapy on August 3 to fight off remaining cells. This therapy is scheduled to last 7 weeks.

Please help us lessen the financial burden for Rachel which she is already starting to face. Once she has moved beyond this obstacle, which she intends to, she promises to never take anything in life for granted again. We are looking forward to positive results from radiation therapy and will keep you posted. Thank you so much for your support!