Hello, my name is Amy Coats and I am fundraising for my mother, Norma Jean who is 82 years young. The worlds best mom to five of us; Brenda, Cheryl, Matt, Wayne, and the surprise, myself. She has two sisters Ann and Erna, 6 grandchildren, and is known as Mama Coats to many people whom she has lovingly cared for over the past fifty some years. Our house has an open door policy and everyone has always been welcome. Mama Coats is known for filling bellies and her specialty is homemade doughnuts.

In Fedruary of this year mom started feeling worn down. We notified her Doctor and following many months of tests we finally learned that she had invasive ductal carcinoma breast cancer which, at that point, had metastasized to one lymph node. We were devastated, yet it was just the beginning of what was yet to come.

Nearly a month went by before we saw an oncologist. Treatment was put on hold because mom was experiencing shortness of breath. Her condition steadily worsened. Now requiring supplemental oxygen, she couldn’t walk 5 ft without completely losing her breath and several times she even lost consciousness. A Cardiologist noted that it was due to the “natural aging process” and Pulmonary tests suggested low lung volume which was most likely caused by “her age”. Fractured ribs were noted and identified in August yet never mentioned to us. She had complained about pain in her abdomen since February. Was nobody going to treat my mom because she was 82? There were so many unanswered questions because nobody was listening to us. I decided to take mom to Phoenix. What came next was unimaginable.

Since being admitted to St. Joseph’s hospital on November 2, mom has been diagnosed with severe pulmonary hypertension which has caused right heart failure. Then we found out that she had severe COVID which snowballed into sepsis then thrombocytopenia which then caused an unknown microangioplastic hemolysis disorder that has led to two platelet transfusions, 3 plasmapheresis transfusions and a bone marrow biopsy with results still pending. In non medical terms her red blood cells are self destructing and her platelet levels have become dangerously low. Everything just started shutting down and nobody knew why.

Our once simple life has been replaced with sleepless nights, meetings with Doctors and lab work. And that Cancer diagnosis that was discovered several months back, it has now spread to her spine, pelvis and clavicle. I guess you could say that I finally got some answers.

Through all of this mom has been quiet and calm. Her only concern is that she doesn’t want to be a burden to anyone. This simple plain Jane(as she calls it) from Sandwich, Illinois just wants things to go back to being “normal”. Unfortunately, things will not be going back to normal. She has endured the unthinkable and the outcome is still unknown.

She has never heard of Gofundme and she doesn’t understand the capabilities of technology today. Her response to me doing this fundraiser was, “Why would people want to help me pay my medical bills, and how would they do it through a computer?” Help me show her how it can be done. Please help me relieve the financial burdens that my mom is facing.

She most likely will have to be on supplemental oxygen and her insurance won’t pay for a portable oxygen concentrator. Due to her age and physical state, she will not receive chemotherapy or radiation for her metastatic breast cancer but she will need long term immunotherapy and hormone blocking medications to prevent her cancer from spreading further. Her pulmonary hypertension requires numerous medications that she will probably take for the rest of her life. She will need to travel to and from Phoenix for continued care and she is unable to do that alone. I have stopped working so that I can get her the help that she so desperately needs. This has greatly affected me and my children. Your contributions are greatly appreciated. No donation is to small because everything will help. I will continue to update her status on this page as well as Facebook and other social media outlets.

Thank you for taking the time to learn about Mama Coats. We hope that you are able to help us so that we can help her. Much love.