Bone Cancer Medical Expenses
Donation protected
Hello, I am Amy and I am 27 years old. Hearing the words your tumor is cancerous always feels like a death sentence. Unfortunately I am not allowed to have a death sentence because my fiance and I have custody of his 9 year old sister. They lost their mother to breast cancer on Jan 9th of 2013. I made a promise to my late mother in law that I would raise Kylie as my own and be around to take care of her.
My story starts on New Years Eve I started to have vision problems. I figured I just needed new glasses, after having my eyes checked and the problems still happening. My doctor ran blood work to make sure I was not diabetic, all of my blood work was normal. At the end of Jan. my right eye had turned all the way inward causing me to see double. After seeing my optometrist he diagnosed me with 6th nerve palsy. I waited the 3 months and when my vision did not return, I was back at square one. My PCP ordered an MRI, on Wednesday May 14 I had the MRI and prayed it would come back clean. The following day I was at the zoo on a field trip with my preschoolers and received the phone call that there was a mass and I would need to see a neurosurgeon. It took a few days for my PCP to find the best neurosurgeon possible.
A week later I met my neurosurgeon, He said my best and only option was to have the mass removed. The mass was 17x15x9MM . On June 3rd I had brain surgery. My neurosurgeon worked with an ENT to remove the tumor through my nose. During the surgery I suffered a minor stroke, which caused the neurosurgeon to leave a part of the tumor still in there. Waking up after surgery and not being able to feel half your body is a very scary feeling. I was in ICU for 4 days but spent a total of a week in the hospital. I was lucky enough that my fiance did not leave my side. I recovered for 3 weeks at my moms house. Slowly over the course of a month I started to get feeling back on my left side.
At my first post-op appointment I was told by my ENT the tumor was a Chordoma, which is a rare form of bone cancer. Hearing the words cancer is one of the scariest things that can happen. It automatically feels like a death sentence.
On June 30th I meet with my Neurosurgeon, who said I needed 6 weeks of a specialized type of radiation called proton beam therapy. It is the best kind of treatment for the type of bone cancer I have. The closest place to have this treatment done is in Bloomington Indiana at the University of Indiana. After a month of fighting with my insurance company, I have finally been approved.
I will need to stay in Bloomington for the 6 weeks and this comes at a price. I live 5.5 hours away from Bloomington in Michigan. The money I raise will go directly to giving me a comfortable place to live, food to eat, and money to get me back and forth for treatment. Before treatment can be done I will need to pay my out of pocket maximum deductable, so money raised will also go to that. Being away from my family and friends for six weeks will be diffucult but I know it needs to be done so I will be around to keep my promise to my late mother in law.
My story starts on New Years Eve I started to have vision problems. I figured I just needed new glasses, after having my eyes checked and the problems still happening. My doctor ran blood work to make sure I was not diabetic, all of my blood work was normal. At the end of Jan. my right eye had turned all the way inward causing me to see double. After seeing my optometrist he diagnosed me with 6th nerve palsy. I waited the 3 months and when my vision did not return, I was back at square one. My PCP ordered an MRI, on Wednesday May 14 I had the MRI and prayed it would come back clean. The following day I was at the zoo on a field trip with my preschoolers and received the phone call that there was a mass and I would need to see a neurosurgeon. It took a few days for my PCP to find the best neurosurgeon possible.
A week later I met my neurosurgeon, He said my best and only option was to have the mass removed. The mass was 17x15x9MM . On June 3rd I had brain surgery. My neurosurgeon worked with an ENT to remove the tumor through my nose. During the surgery I suffered a minor stroke, which caused the neurosurgeon to leave a part of the tumor still in there. Waking up after surgery and not being able to feel half your body is a very scary feeling. I was in ICU for 4 days but spent a total of a week in the hospital. I was lucky enough that my fiance did not leave my side. I recovered for 3 weeks at my moms house. Slowly over the course of a month I started to get feeling back on my left side.
At my first post-op appointment I was told by my ENT the tumor was a Chordoma, which is a rare form of bone cancer. Hearing the words cancer is one of the scariest things that can happen. It automatically feels like a death sentence.
On June 30th I meet with my Neurosurgeon, who said I needed 6 weeks of a specialized type of radiation called proton beam therapy. It is the best kind of treatment for the type of bone cancer I have. The closest place to have this treatment done is in Bloomington Indiana at the University of Indiana. After a month of fighting with my insurance company, I have finally been approved.
I will need to stay in Bloomington for the 6 weeks and this comes at a price. I live 5.5 hours away from Bloomington in Michigan. The money I raise will go directly to giving me a comfortable place to live, food to eat, and money to get me back and forth for treatment. Before treatment can be done I will need to pay my out of pocket maximum deductable, so money raised will also go to that. Being away from my family and friends for six weeks will be diffucult but I know it needs to be done so I will be around to keep my promise to my late mother in law.
Organizer
Amy Golembiewski
Organizer
Taylor, MI
