Ellen's Continuing Journey

I never imagined having to rely on anyone for monetary support. We live modestly and pay our bills on time. However, the last several years have put us in circumstances I never could have imagined.  After years of dealing with knee issues, I finally became so debilitated that knee replacement surgery was required, with not just one surgery, but two due to complications of the initial surgery.  Then, in the midst of rehabilitation from those surgeries, I was diagnosed with ovarian cancer in a late stage, and our world turned not only upside down but also inside out.  Chemotherapy, surgery, more chemotherapy and radiation followed, and we found ourselves in a situation we never expected to be in, having to ask for the assistance of friends, acquaintances and even strangers through this website with bills that mounted and became, frankly, insurmountable.   Every single person who helped us did so with compassion, support and kindness, and it was a blessing that helped give me the strength to fight and win. It was a singularly humbling experience, one I frankly hoped I would never have to repeat again.

 

I counted my blessings, for the help we received, but most especially for the news that I was in remission, something the doctors said was possible but would be an uphill battle, given the stage of cancer that I was battling.  My remission lasted for 1 ½ years; a long time to some, the blink of an eye to me, with constant visits to the oncologist and each time, holding my breath that the remission was still my reality.  2015 ended on a very sobering note. Having suffered for years with worsening back pain, unrelated to my cancer, I was referred to a neurosurgeon who was finally able to diagnose and treat my problem, and I had back surgery the week of Thanksgiving. As luck would have it there were complications and less than 2 weeks later I had to undergo yet another required additional surgery to cure a leakage of spinal fluid that had left me plagued with migraine headaches and vertigo since the first surgery.  Though the second surgery took care of the problem, while recuperating I received a call from my oncologist to advise me that my latest scan indicated that the cancer had returned.  Approximately 4 weeks later, on the heels of the two back surgeries, the week of Christmas was spent in the hospital again, having to undergo yet another long operation to remove the cancerous tumors.  I am currently recuperating from this surgery, and later this month I will begin a second grueling regimen of chemotherapy.

 

I am unsure, after dealing with all of these issues, where I am finding my positive attitude, but I am hopeful that once again, when all of this is completed, I will hear those words that every cancer patient longs for – you are in remission.  However, I wish that the only issues we were dealing with were my health; as you might imagine, even with insurance, with all of the various procedures I have had to undergo, and the gaps that insurance leaves in payment, I am prostrate with fear with the financial burden that all of this has placed on us.  As I said earlier, we live modestly, and have always paid our bills timely and completely, but these circumstances are truly beyond anything I could ever have imagined, leaving us tens of thousands of dollars in debt.  Not only is it the fact of the debt, but it is the further issue that certain of the treatments that are now in front of me, and are required to give me the chance to have a full recovery, are beyond our abilities right now, since many of the medical providers either require payment for bills already incurred before moving forward, or significant amounts paid up front before they will consider scheduling life saving procedures. 

 

My prayers were answered last time and I once again find myself in the position to ask for the kindness of friends, acquaintances, and even strangers that are reading this request, to help us to be able to shoulder this significant financial burden and give me the opportunity to receive the medical care I require to again attain remission.  If you are in a position to help us, and believe me, I am well aware that I have no right to expect anyone to help in this way, I cannot even put into words how grateful I, my husband, and my daughters will be for your kindness.  Know that this is one of the most difficult things I’ve ever had to write, to ask for, and anything you can do to help us relieve this burden and let me again find the remission that each cancer patient seeks is a blessing beyond comprehension.  My most fervent prayer is to one day be again in complete health and be able to pay this forward by helping someone else that finds themselves in the position I am currently in.  Thank you for reading my words, and for anything you might be able to do to help me.