Darlene Kieselat Donnelly 's medical bills
3 years ago; Friday, May 25, 2018, Darlene Kieselat Donnelly finally relented. After several weeks of having difficulty vocalizing her thoughts, she gave in to the wishes of concerned friends and family and went to an emergency room.
Two CT scans and a 3:30 am MRI revealed two "liaisons" at the Broca area of the left frontal lobe in her brain. Suddenly the beginning of this Memorial Day weekend, which we often associate with brighter days ahead became the start of something very different!
Four days later Darlene had 1 of 2 tumors surgically removed. The other tumor was deemed inoperable and would have to be treated. She was immediately diagnosed with Glioblastoma brain cancer, which is considered the deadliest human cancer, with only 25% of those diagnosed surviving the 1st year. With the unbelievable love and support from family, friends and tremendous outpouring from our community, Darlene has found the will to now approach the final days of year #3!
Darlene is a lifelong Pequannock resident who is most proud to have served the community she loves. From 2001 to 2018 she was the owner operator of Colorforms Hair Salon, which until It's closing was Pequannock's longest running salon. She spent the previous 17 years as a stylist/colorist at The Cutting Corner on Newark Pompton Turnpike. For 35 years she continually donated to charities that effect our community the most. She donated hair in the name of specific clients to Locks for Love which used the hair to weave wigs for children with cancer. She donated ALL proceeds from pink hair extension campaigns, every October to breast cancer foundations. She offered free hair washes to residents displaced by the floods and always had her door opened and couches waiting for anyone who just needed to escape or decompress from the stress of their daily lives.
To this point, the family has not sought financial assistance, choosing instead to keep all focus on the continued love and support for Darlene. They started the private Facebook page Team Darlene (ATTACH LINK) to provide updates and chronicle the events of her battle. The page has grown to over 400 members who have all had a big part in uplifting her spirits through your comments, well wishes and prayers! It is this outreach that has been the best treatment. The rest is quite expensive...
Darlene's condition has deteriorated dramatically in recent weeks, to the point where the family has to begin pondering a future without her. As you can imagine the cost of this 3-year battle has become extensive. Three rounds of chemo, three rounds of radiation, countless MRIs and tests have put a tremendous burden on the family!
We, The Friends and Family of Darlene are asking for your support. Would you please consider a donation, no matter how small? If you cannot donate, please know that your prayers and support are greatly appreciated!
The family would like to thank everyone for their overwhelming emotional support during their darkest days! They could not have done it without you!