Carrie's Fight With Cancer

Hi, my name is Haylee, and I am Carrie Fox’s granddaughter.

For those who may not know Carrie, she is one of the most driven and wild woman I have ever met, and anyone who has had the privilege to meet her would agree. She moved to Alaska in 1978 with her parents, brother Tony, and sister Wendy, where she spent the next 35 years of her life. Her favorite thing, besides working, was catering for friends and family. Growing up, I remember hearing her at 4 am, banging pots and pans in the kitchen, prepping for her party that night. In 2013, she moved to Taos, New Mexico, where she started her electrical business and has lived there since. Her love for work has always been immeasurable, and she never wants to be outworked by anyone, regardless of who you are.

In June 2023, she was diagnosed with stage 4 squamous cell carcinoma, the same cancer she was diagnosed with 39 years ago when she was pregnant with my mom. The tumors started small in her stomach and rapidly spread to four of her organs: her bladder, liver, lungs, and aorta. After months of fighting and battling chemo, the cancer metastasized to her lymph nodes and is now in her bloodstream.

In August, Carrie had nephrostomy tubes put in due to the tumors growing on her bladder. In September, my mom moved to Taos from Alaska to help take care of her and drive her to and from any appointments she had.

On March 9th, 2024, she was admitted to the emergency room in Taos, New Mexico, due to a severe infection in her nephrostomy tubes. On the 10th, grandma was transferred to the ICU where she spent the next six days of her hospital visit. The infection caused her to lose all motor function and dropped her potassium and sodium levels to a critically low point, so she was under constant watch.

On March 18th, she was released from the hospital on hospice care, where she finally got to go home and see her dog Coco and be surrounded by pictures of family, friends, and her fox paintings she loves.

My grandma has always had a spunk to her that kept her going, but her spunk is slowly starting to fade. As her tumors continue to grow, we are unsure of how long she will be with us. This GoFundMe was created to help financially support my mom and grandma with the bills not covered by insurance and to prepare financially for her cremation and funeral costs. I know she has many people who love and support her, and if you are unable to contribute financially, we would appreciate you thinking of her and sharing her GoFundMe just as much.