Hello! My name is Morgan and we are fundraising to help my mom with bills, medical expenses, and living expenses while she is off work long term. She was diagnosed with oral cancer in December and has to have an extensive surgery to have the cancerous tumor removed. The surgery will involve removing the bone and soft tissue from the roof of her mouth. To repair the hole that will remain after the surgery, they will be doing a free flap transfer and micro vascular reconstruction/nerve graft. Skin from the forearm will be used to fill that hole and an artery from that arm will be rewired up to the mouth to oxygenate the newly moved skin/tissue. Post-op, Dana will have a feeding tube for a couple weeks while they let the moved tissue heal and settle in its new place. We are praying that a tracheotomy isn’t needed but the Dr explained that it is often necessary because of the swelling that occurs in the throat/nasal cavities after the procedure.

Within 6 weeks after the surgery, she will undergo the first and hopefully only round of radiation. Because this is an outpatient procedure, she will be looking at either a 1-2 week hotel stay or a daily 5 hour round trip drive to UofM for the duration of the treatment. Her husband (Kurt) will also have to take a lot of time off work to be by her side while she is going through all of this.

Donations and LOTS of prayers are welcomed and appreciated during this time. Every dollar we can raise for her will help take a tremendous burden off of her and allow her to focus more on healing instead of on the financial strain.

Thank you to every person who reaches out, donates, or sends up a prayer!