Hello, my name is Carl Lledo. I am the second eldest of a family of five crazy kids, meaning I have four siblings and will always have four siblings. Since age seven, my sister Carlene Mae has been battling with a cancer tumor called ependymoma. Ependymoma is a rare kind of cancer; you can treat it to get rid of it temporarily, but we learned that it will always come back, and stronger.

After eight years, her battle has honorably come to an end. After getting treated by chemotherapy and surgeries in UCLA, she was discharged from the Summerlin Hospital to be free from their care. Unfortunately for her, the treatment left her barely mobile for her to go out as much as we wanted to. But we still admired the time we had together at home.

After a week of this, Mae started showing some unusual signs of losing her senses. One by one, Mae lost her hearing, then her speech, then her sight. Following this, we received the news that Mae would never be able to wake from her sleep again, as they would put her on respiratory assistance to give her more time to be with us.

I visited Mae at the hospital this morning with some of my family at 11:00 am. Mae was as she usually was, her unsteady breathing mixed with unpleasant sounds. We had to leave, and I had promised her we would come back next time to see her. At around 5:00 pm, we received news that Mae’s oxygen dropped. As all of the family started to arrive, just getting off from work or even getting early outs, we came and saw her vitals each at irregular levels.

One by one, family members joined the room, coming together in prayer for Mae and her peace. The last person to enter was my strong mother. Shortly after my mom joined the room, she noticed Mae’s lips becoming pale, and her fingers turning purple. Her breathing stopped, and her heart rate slowed. Mae had waited for my mom to arrive before going away. As we held onto the hope of her heartbeat, the doctor came in with her stethoscope and announced her passing at 6:30 pm.

For the longest time, I had been praying for God to put her at her peace, and away from pain and suffering. The hard truth was that this was the way. Doctors from everywhere did what they could, but they could only do so much. Thank you to all who have done their part in the healing of Mae.

Although my story was told here, me and my family set up this GoFundMe for the sole purpose of raising money for Mae’s funeral expenses. No family is ever ready, and never expecting a funeral for a kid so young. Any dollar donated to us will be funded towards Mae’s funeral and other goods that will help us remember her. So I kindly and respectfully seek your help as friends and family to help towards this cause. Even if it’s a dollar, or sharing this link, any voice is much appreciated.

Salamat sa lahat, thank you all for everything, as me and my family take this time in grievance for Mae. Any amount truly helps.

Rest in peace, Carlene Mae. ️❤️‍