Ashley Gomes -Total Pancreatectomy Transplantation

Hi everyone,

We have created this GoFundMe page to help an incredible young woman Ashley Gomes.  Ashley is a strong and inspirational 28 year old who has struggled for the last 7 years battling a serious medical condition called Pancreatitis.  In the past year she was given the incredible opportunity to undergo a new surgery procedure that has only been performed 3 times in Ontario called a Total Pancreatectomy and Islet Auto Transplantation (TPIAT).  After doing extensive research and preparation, Ashley decided to be the 4th person in Ontario to undergo this medical procedure and have the chance at a full and normal life.  So on November 24th, she underwent a 14 hour ,multi organ transplant surgery in which 2 doctors from other countries were flown in to remove her Pancreas, Spleen, part of her stomach and part of her small intestine. Part of the procedure is to extract the healthy enzymes that still exist within the Pancreas and inject them into the Liver, with the hopes of creating  a Super Liver. The plan is that the Super Liver will take over for the Pancreas and do what the Pancreas use to do.  This surgery is still very new in Ontario and there is still a lot that is being learned and developed along the way.  Ashley's surgery will take place at Toronto General where a new operating room has been built in order to undergo the extensive procedure. Ashley's hope is to come out of this surgery a year from now with a healthy and full life ahead of her.  As many of you know, Ashley is a trained Fire Fighter and has been unable to go after this long dream of hers because of her illness.  She is currently working at Silver Star Sod & Landscaping where she is very loved and valued. She is a strong and reliable young lady who can brighten your day with just her smile alone.  After the surgery Ashley will be unable to work and support herself for an entire year as she fully recovers and heals.  There will be lots of rehabilitation, medications and extra expenses for this young lady in the next year. Ashley will require anti rejection medication, vaccinations (as she no longer will have a spleen) and other medications that are not covered by our health care system and that are incredibly expensive.  Our hope with this GoFundMe page is that together we can help her on the road to recovery with the least amount of stress as possible.  We want her to be able to completely focus on a full and healthy recovery and not on the expenses.  We ask and thank you in advance for all your help and your contributions to this incredible cause and for the chance to help  this beautiful and bright young lady find the wonderful happy path that she so deserves in life.

Ashley is such an amazing person that words not can not come close to describing how much we love her! We are so blessed to have her in our lives and hope to have many wonderful blessed years with her.

Warmest Regards,

Nick Cabral (Ashley's Best Friend) , Sabrina Gomes (Ashley's Cousin), Manuela Gomes (Ashley's Mom) and Maria Lincho (Ashley's Aunt)