Fitzpatrick Aleksandrow Family Fund

Hello,

My name is Joy Fitzpatrick. This is a faith and prayer request with the option/opportunity to contribute a gift to our family, if you would like to. Please do not feel at all compelled to give monetarily. There are people who have been reaching out and wanting to help, this is a helpful way to create a centralized place for that.

More so, though, this is a prayer request.

Here is our story:

I am the single mother of 17 year old Lily and 15 year old Sam. I have 100% custody and financial responsibility for these 2 beautiful souls.

2 years ago I had Triple Negative Breast Cancer, went through chemo and surgery and survived. I've spent the last 2 years rebuilding my strength, going back to work and raising my children.

4 months ago I began noticing a pulled muscle feeling behind my right shoulder blade.

2 months ago I started having the slightest feeling in the back of my throat, almost at the base of my neck, but internally.... It felt like when I was swallowing my food or saliva, it was going around something. Like there was a tiny piece of food stuck at the bottom of my throat.

On October 11th, 2023 I went to the doctors about the feeling in my throat. My doctor said that it was probably acid reflux and prescribed me a medicine. But due to my cancer history she also sent me to get a chest X-ray, "just to be safe." I went to the X-ray, came home and took a nap, feeling satisfied that it was probably acid reflux and all was fine. I woke up to many missed calls and emails from the doctor's office telling me I needed to get a CT scan that night. Then I pulled up the picture of my chest X-ray..... It was shocking.

One month later, I now know that I have Small Cell Lung Cancer. The there are 2 spots of SCLC on my right lung. It is in a lymph node. And within my chest wall, pressing against my voice box and esophagus, is a 2" x 2" mass. This is an aggressive cancer and from the looks and voices of all the medical people, it's very alarming to say the least.

I have spent this month trying to understand what this means and what I can do. This is the protocol that is going to be attempted.

I will receive chemo treatments November 15, 16 & 17 and then again December 6, 7 & 8.

After the 2 cycles of chemo are given, they will scan to see if the cancer shows signs of shrinking.

If it has, I will then begin a 6 week regimen of daily radiation and multiple days a week "mini-doses" of chemo in hopes of continuing to shrink and possibly eradicate the cancer.

If the first 2 cycles of chemo did not shrink the cancer, there is really nothing else they can do and nature will be allowed to take it's course.

These treatments show results on 20% of people with this cancer.

These days could potentially be the last I will ever spend as I am, as I've been.

So this is my prayer request:

My prayer is not for healing. It is not for death either.

My prayer is that the story unfolds in the way that will best bring my children into the closest possible relationship with God for their futures.

My prayer is that my particular life, my ripple effect on those I know, my ripple effect on the world, the universe, is the most worthwhile and God giving that it can be.

I don't know what that answer is, only God does. If things do not come around, I want that to feel just as beautiful and God blessed as if the cancer is cured and I'm given more time. I believe that God works all things for the good of those who love Him, and I love Him dearly. I want to go into this with complete surrender. I know that each moment and outcome is for good, I don't want to try to dictate how I think that should be.

I have prayed for specific outcomes for things before, I believe God does answer prayers. I also believe, and have experienced, times where I had my prayers answered in the ways I wanted them to be, but in hindsight, I realized that God did that to show me why His way would have been better. This time I don't want to put my human understanding of "the best outcome" into the mix.

Please pray for us, please pray- comfort, peace, multitudes of moments where we feel God's presence. I pray that you pray that God use this situation in our lives to know Him better. But please, surrender beyond that. I believe in prayer very powerfully and this feels very important to me to ask of you.

I could be here 2 more days or 40 more years. I am equally ok with both. Life span is not a concern for me. I just want my kids and I to see God in the clearest way possible, and for Him to decide how that looks. Life and death are both beautiful and God blessed.

I don't know what will happen. I don't know a lot.... but thank you for thinking of us, thank you for praying for us.

God's blessings to everyone.