Dear friends and family,

It is with heavy hearts that we share this devastating news. Last Monday, Suzanne went in for a second biopsy on a very suspicious lung mass. Unfortunately, during the surgery, she went into cardiac arrest and later suffered a stroke. After she was stabilized two days later it was confirmed that she has stage 3 lung cancer. It is aggressive, and it's projected that she will survive another 3-6 months without treatment.

She was held in the ICU up until Saturday and is being sent home today, Wednesday March 2nd. While we are glad she is coming home, there is little to no help being provided in terms of hospice care from the hospital or otherwise. This has left our family scrambling, especially my father who is having to take over the many responsibilities that our mother took onto herself before becoming bedridden.

As many of you already know, Suzanne was herself a caregiver and sadly, her client passed away recently. So, while she was navigating her own health problems, she was also unemployed and in search of a new client. This already put financial strain on their two-income household. Without assistance, she may not have the care that she needs while my dad works to keep the bills paid.

Having a caregiver is absolutely critical, as the stroke has rendered her blind and mostly paralyzed except some use of her right hand.

Andy is taking as much time off of work as possible given the circumstances, but it would not be financially realistic for him to stay home to care for his wife. It looks like they may have to pay out of pocket for a caregiver among the other medical expenses that must be settled. We are unsure that this is possible without help.

We want to try and make this transitional time as peaceful and stress-free as possible for everyone, especially Suzanne.

Thank you from the bottom of our hearts.