Deborah’s Fight with Cancer

To a loving friend and mother;
Deborah Rylander

Deborah worked as an essential part of our ICU unit as secretary, and was the first friendly face that nurses, doctors, and visitors saw when they entered our unit. She is a loving mother and friend, and loves to travel. 

In 2021, Deborah’s life changed unexpectedly to her, and those all around her from Houston to Dallas. After a routine dental appointment to evaluate a common toothache, Deborah was diagnosed with stage 4 Cancer. Who would have thought? I mean this could have been anyone. Such a shock for such bright a soul. Deborah was determined to fight, and soon scheduled a surgery to remove part of the cancer. 

Her journey led her to a hospitalization in the ICU in Houston. Her surgery consisted of  removal of half her jaw, tissue inside her mouth and part of her lip and 29 lymph nodes removed. She underwent a 16 hour surgery where bone from her leg was taken along with muscle and artery and skin to rebuild the jaw and mouth. Doctors were forced to place a tracheostomy due to swelling from the surgery. This is a surgical airway in the neck. Since this can interfere with eating, a feeding tube also had to be placed. But with all this adversity, she is still willing to fight. With grace, strength, and a tremendous amount of courage, she has made it home! But, she has yet another surgery next weekto continue reconstruction of her mouth. We are praying this surgery goes well with adequate pain control and an easy recovery. She will then have 6 weeks of radiation 5 days a week. Radiation can be painful, but she is bracing this with the brightest spirit. 

Since she can no longer work and an ICU stay can mean hundreds of thousands of dollars, we are asking for help. Illness can mean unanticipated expenses that are overwhelming. She would never ask for this kind of help. The smallest contribution will help Deborah and her family with this battle, create time for them to be together and bring them some peace. Time together is precious.  After donating, please share this page and send out your positive thoughts and prayers to help Deborah. If you are unable to donate, please still share this with friends and family.