Dana Cebulak's Final Expenses
Donation protected
I have created this fundraiser on behalf of my mother, Dana Cebulak, who was diagnosed with Stage 3 breast cancer in April of 2015. Since that time she has gone through so much: surgery to get her ovaries removed because the cancer was thought to be hormonally-caused, a double mastectomy so she wouldn’t have to worry about the cancer coming back in her other breast, reconstructive surgery (and then the subsequent removal of her reconstructed breasts because her implants became irritated, painful, and infected), and various hospital stays for one type of infection or complication or another.
As time went on, we thought mom was doing better. All of her latest scans had shown that there was no cancer in her body. But back in February 2020, we learned that my mom’s cancer had come back. This time, the cancer was in her lungs, liver, and various bones. It was really bad in her hip bones. She had small hairline fractures, so they decided to give her surgery to put rods and pins in her hips to support them so that she wouldn’t break them if she fell. Well, a few weeks after this, X-rays also showed that she had hairline fractures in her femur bones. So, once, again she had to have surgery. They had to take out the rods and pins they had just put in her hips and put in longer ones that went all the way down her thighs. Since then, she has been unable to walk for very long distances. She has been relying heavily on a wheelchair for mobility since March. It is terrifying how quickly she has gone downhill.
Near the end of November 2020 we learned that the cancer has spread to her brain. She was getting radiation treatment and chemotherapy. However, the spread of the cancer has been unable to be contained in her lungs, and her liver is now failing. Her eyes are yellow with jaundice. She hasn’t been eating very much over the last couple of weeks. She has lost about 100 pounds since February.
At the beginning of December 2020 we had to put Dana Cebulak on Hospice Care and stop all cancer treatments. It is becoming increasingly clear that her body and spirit are exhausted from all of these intense and aggressive treatments. Since then, she has continued to decline rapidly. As of 12/12/2020 she has been mostly incoherent for the past few days and unable to swallow her pain medications. We have moved on to administering liquid morphine to try to keep her as comfortable as possible. Nothing feels real as the family is attempting to muddle through the horrible reality that Dana Cebulak, our beloved mother, grandmother, wife, and daughter will soon be gone.
I should have created this GoFundMe months ago, but I didn't want to believe that my mom's time was running out. While we don't know how much time she has left in this world, it is clear that it isn't enough. The life insurance policy that my mom has will only cash out in full after having the policy for a two full years. She got this policy earlier in the year when she found out that she was sick again. It is becoming increasingly clear that she will not be able to make it to that two year mark.
I worry about my dad and how he is going to cope with losing mom and managing her final expenses when she does pass. I am trying to alleviate some of this stress for him by helping pool together a cushion of funds to help ease the burden a little bit.
The family feels so lost right now, and we appreciate any financial assistance that any of our family and friends can provide--no matter how little the amount. Everything and anything helps.
Mom has been the rock of our family--the glue that keeps us all held together. As she gets nearer to passing, we are all falling apart and feeling lost. Please continue to keep all of us in your thoughts and prayers this holiday season as we cope with losing the very woman who filled this time of year with wonder when her children were young. Now all my siblings and I wonder is why this is happening to such a wonderful, loving, caring, and devoted soul. She is only 50 years old, and she has so much that she still wanted to do in life. She wanted to enjoy retirement with her husband, Troy Cebulak. They just had their 25th wedding anniversary in June. She wanted to travel. She wanted to play with her grandchild and see her children get married and have children of their own. We will never understand why this happened to her and why she had to fight and suffer so hard for so long only for it to end like this.
Thank you, and God bless.
As time went on, we thought mom was doing better. All of her latest scans had shown that there was no cancer in her body. But back in February 2020, we learned that my mom’s cancer had come back. This time, the cancer was in her lungs, liver, and various bones. It was really bad in her hip bones. She had small hairline fractures, so they decided to give her surgery to put rods and pins in her hips to support them so that she wouldn’t break them if she fell. Well, a few weeks after this, X-rays also showed that she had hairline fractures in her femur bones. So, once, again she had to have surgery. They had to take out the rods and pins they had just put in her hips and put in longer ones that went all the way down her thighs. Since then, she has been unable to walk for very long distances. She has been relying heavily on a wheelchair for mobility since March. It is terrifying how quickly she has gone downhill.
Near the end of November 2020 we learned that the cancer has spread to her brain. She was getting radiation treatment and chemotherapy. However, the spread of the cancer has been unable to be contained in her lungs, and her liver is now failing. Her eyes are yellow with jaundice. She hasn’t been eating very much over the last couple of weeks. She has lost about 100 pounds since February.
At the beginning of December 2020 we had to put Dana Cebulak on Hospice Care and stop all cancer treatments. It is becoming increasingly clear that her body and spirit are exhausted from all of these intense and aggressive treatments. Since then, she has continued to decline rapidly. As of 12/12/2020 she has been mostly incoherent for the past few days and unable to swallow her pain medications. We have moved on to administering liquid morphine to try to keep her as comfortable as possible. Nothing feels real as the family is attempting to muddle through the horrible reality that Dana Cebulak, our beloved mother, grandmother, wife, and daughter will soon be gone.
I should have created this GoFundMe months ago, but I didn't want to believe that my mom's time was running out. While we don't know how much time she has left in this world, it is clear that it isn't enough. The life insurance policy that my mom has will only cash out in full after having the policy for a two full years. She got this policy earlier in the year when she found out that she was sick again. It is becoming increasingly clear that she will not be able to make it to that two year mark.
I worry about my dad and how he is going to cope with losing mom and managing her final expenses when she does pass. I am trying to alleviate some of this stress for him by helping pool together a cushion of funds to help ease the burden a little bit.
The family feels so lost right now, and we appreciate any financial assistance that any of our family and friends can provide--no matter how little the amount. Everything and anything helps.
Mom has been the rock of our family--the glue that keeps us all held together. As she gets nearer to passing, we are all falling apart and feeling lost. Please continue to keep all of us in your thoughts and prayers this holiday season as we cope with losing the very woman who filled this time of year with wonder when her children were young. Now all my siblings and I wonder is why this is happening to such a wonderful, loving, caring, and devoted soul. She is only 50 years old, and she has so much that she still wanted to do in life. She wanted to enjoy retirement with her husband, Troy Cebulak. They just had their 25th wedding anniversary in June. She wanted to travel. She wanted to play with her grandchild and see her children get married and have children of their own. We will never understand why this happened to her and why she had to fight and suffer so hard for so long only for it to end like this.
Thank you, and God bless.
Organizer
Brittni Cebulak
Organizer
Gerald, MO