Breast Cancer Journey To Recovery

Hi Family and Friends,

My mother was diagnosed with breast cancer in April. We were very blessed that her cancer was found very early. However, things began moving very fast. She sought treatment at MD Anderson in Houston. Her cancer went from a stage 0 non-invasive to stage 1 Invasion with rapid growth within two weeks of diagnosis. Her team of doctors recommended surgery within a week. She chose a double mastectomy with reconstruction to reduce the reoccurrence of the cancer.

Mom and Dad have lived at home in the valley all of their lives. My mom is a special education teacher and has been my grandmothers primary caregiver for years. My dad works out of town and is home for a limited amount of time. Mom’s team of doctors are in Houston making it both costly and difficult to manage her care physically and financially. Given the circumstances, we decided it would be best for her to stay in Houston during the time of treatment so that I could help her meet some of her needs during the initial process.

This was an ideal situation since I am on summer break from school and will be starting school again soon. Her next phase in her recovery is reconstruction surgeries her first one starting in the fall. We are doing our best to prepare for the care my mom needs now as well as in the fall. The fall will be difficult because I will be back in school making me unavailable to provide the care my mother will need for recovery. The surgery will result in her to need for a caregiver for at least 8 weeks.

It has been very difficult to watch my mother go through this process. My mom has always put God and family first while managing to dedicate herself to helping others all of her life never expecting anything in return. She has always been a giving person of herself. Taking part in church, school, and community functions. She has suffered with others in their difficult times doing what she could to help never thinking life would take this turn and now finds herself asking for help.

All funds donated to her will go towards her needs for a caregiver during the months she will have to be in Houston. Funds will also be used for added healthcare needs, bills, travel, treatment, and medical equipment insurance will not cover.

Should you feel uncomfortable with donating through GoFundMe, please feel free to send funds to her Zelle. You can message me for her phone number if you don’t have it or you can send through her cashapp to $IreneHRdz.

Thank you for your time.

-A note from Mom:

These Scars…

Have taught me more than I ever imagined possible. They have taught me to appreciate the norm in life, to slow down, patience, to drink lots of water, that it’s okay to get or ask for help, that I’m not superwoman, and most of all that I have been blessed with friends and family members that love and care about me.

I count my blessings for having a loving and caring husband, who’s taken time away from work to stay up at night and care for me. God blessed me with a miracle daughter because he knew I would need someone to help do wound care at home when there are not enough funds to have a home health care wound nurse. It was both a blessing and a miracle that the surgery timeline and her summer break worked out where she could help me thru the initial phase of recovery. She’s been excellent. God also blessed me a future son-in-law who supports not only my daughter but received me into his home with open arms during this trying time.

Every phone call, card, care package, and text message has been so appreciated! Thank you for praying and thinking of me.

The most difficult thing is life is asking for help. Many have asked “how can I help”? Or “let me know if you need anything”.

This is what is needed: Funds… funds will be needed to continue this journey to recovery. Insurance is taking care of most medical costs, not all of course. The accommodations needed at home to make managing my healthcare and life easier is costly. I will be undergoing multiple surgeries and will be out of work for 14 weeks leading to my pay being docked for those missed days. Not all medical equipment is covered by my insurance and the need for hiring a caregiver in the fall will be costly.

My faith, family, and friends are keeping me going when all gets overwhelming, and the pain gets the best of me. The road ahead is difficult and I want to thank everyone in advance for any and all contributions.