Now, my mom only has her left eye. Mary Shea Stephens: Mother, Grammy, Aunt, Sister, baker, baseball fan and friend. On Monday, February 20th at 8am I got a text that she was going to urgent care because she couldn't see out of her right eye and it really hurt. Then at 9am she called to say she was being taken by ambulance to St. Luke's Emergency Room because they thought she had had a stroke. I met her at the ER. At 3pm we got an MRI and were told it looked like there was a mass behind the eye.  I took her to a retina specialist who ran some tests and directed her to see a specialist at Washington University. Meds for the pain and quite a bit of Googling later, we had a lot of questions by the time we got to Dr. Kumar Rao's office on Thursday. They did an Ultrasound and Dr. Rao explained that my mom had Ocular Melanoma - EYE CANCER!! With this news she was shaken yet managed a Pirate joke when it was clear her eye would have to be removed in order to save her life. We went down the hall to meet the surgeon,  Dr. Steven Couch. Uveal or Ocular Melanoma is rare and can spread to the liver or bone. A C.T. Scan of her chest and abdomen did not show any additional tumors, a bit of good news mixed with the scary. We learned about the procedure, recovery time and the prosthesis she will get in a few weeks.  It's all very crazy, and until further tests are run on the tumor, we won't know how likely the cancer is to metastasize. There are only about 2,500 new cases of O.M. in the United States each year. It's impossible to say for sure why Mary got this disease but we do know her fare complexion and both her parents having had cancer are factors found in those with O.M. On Friday March 3rd her right eye was taken out and an implant was put in. The surgery took an hour and a half and she stayed overnight in the hospital.  Dr. Couch said that it went exactly as it was supposed to and test results should be back in a few weeks. She is on strong pain pills and bed rest for at least a week. Now she has to adjust to life with only one eye, half her vision permanently gone and the possibility of the cancer growing elsewhere. Mary is very dedicated to her family, friends, ESPN and good food. On behalf of my amazing mom I am asking for your help. We all know how expensive healthcare is and although I never considered the need to crowd source, GoFundMe has made it possible for you to contribute to Mary's care. Once her insurance deductible its met she will have one less burden and can focus on living to see another Cardinals World Series win or maybe even a Blues Stanley Cup! In addition, be on the lookout for "Eye Love My Mom" bake sale fundraisers in the St. Louis area over the Spring.