This news will be heartwrenching to many, but we as a family have had some time to process the situation and have come to terms that it’s beneficial to share.

Long story short, my mom, Crystal Grady, has Stage 3 Colon Cancer.

In late August, my mom was diagnosed with iron deficiency anemia and was ordered to have a colonoscopy and endoscopy thinking she might have had Siliacs disease. After 9 weeks of unsuccessful iron infusions, and as her health was tremendously suffering, the doctors discovered a 2x4cm mass in her colon during her colonoscopy. Shortly thereafter, my mom was diagnosed with Colon Cancer and almost immediately underwent surgery to remove the mass and nearby lymph nodes. Out of the 28 lymph nodes removed, 3 came back positive for cancer. This then warranted a her Stage 3 Colon Cancer diagnosis. They were able to achieve clean margins and removed all cancerous cells, but given the stage of the cancer, precautionary measure, she’s required to complete chemotherapy as part of her treatment beginning December 13th.

Though there are still many unknowns, we as a family know that God’s hand has been heavy through her journey, and she will fight this!! Even then, she will be out of work as a special education teacher in our local school district for the next 6 months as she receives her treatment on a bi-weekly basis, being hooked to her chemotherapy for 48 hours continuously for each treatment. Aside from the physical effects, there’s no doubting her emotional health will also take a toll, which will most likely cause her to miss more time than she currently anticipates (I’m sure of it). Her options during treatment would be to take the entire time off, or return to work during the days that she will not be receiving chemo.

Per her words, “I miss my sweet, dear, kind, loving students so deeply that taking six months off is not an option for me. I miss them every day. I know that they need me to learn and grow as much as I need them. I also know that I am the missing piece of their consistency in their daily routines and know they need that as much as possible. While I know that they understand I need to heal, they are part of my whole being which is going to be part of my healing during these excruciating and difficult times. I am optimistic that my body will do well and my immune system will hold up enough that this will be my option, but will not know until after it begins.”

All we can do at this time is focus on her health, the here, and the now. She’s been an amazing support to the children, families, and teachers of our community, and has always been an amazing mother, wife, daughter, sister, grandma, and friend. If I could give her the world, I would (and I’m sure others would too) - but for now, theres not much I can really do other than help lessen the financial burdens she and my stepdad have had and will continue to face in the short months to come. For now, this GoFundMe will be an emergency reserve until we know the out of pocket costs for chemotherapy treatments.

Any donation helps. $1, $5, anything. A million bucks wouldn’t make this situation disappear, but anything donated would definitely make this less stressful financially on her and my stepdad, and will also warm our hearts during such a rough time.

Please DO NOT bombard her with private messages, as this is already overwhelming as it is.

If you’d rather support her emotionally, feel free to leave her a message of kindness to encourage her to have strength and positive thoughts as she begins her final journey to health. ♡

Thank you all for your time and support. We love you all, and definitely feel the prayers already! ❤️‍㋡ Share if you’d like - it’s encouraged. ️

#curecrystal