Help Clara Morris battle cancer. "Her fight is our fight."

If you know her, you have seen her light. The passionate, fun-loving personality that draws in strangers as if they are best friends. Whether in a restaurant or on a flight, it is not whether you know Clara Morris, but rather how long will it be before you embrace her friendship and warmth. If you have had the pleasure of meeting her, you know that you have shared a moment with an amazing person. You may also have heard of the rough path she has been on for the last 18 months, and she needs your help. This ask for assistance comes from her friends and family.

In late 2023, at 39 years old, Clara was shown an image of a lemon-sized brain tumor in the radiologist’s office. The tumor was quickly removed via craniotomy that left much of her skull filled with a bone putty. It was determined that it was an aggressive form of solitary fibrous tumor, called hemangiopericytoma. Through the healing and subsequent months of radiation, Clara was still the beacon of hope and positivity we had all fallen in love with. Unfortunately, in a follow-up scan 6 months later, metastasized tumors had appeared in numerous organs and bones. By now, her doctors knew and cared deeply for her, and they wanted her treated by those who knew this type of cancer, so they called their friends to find the best specialists.

Throughout all of this, Clara was determined to earn her own way and continue helping people at the job she loved, working in the Operating Room. She adored her coworkers and was always filled with pride after helping the team fix a broken or injured body. She has only ever been squeamish when it comes to her own blood! Despite her efforts to continue working and providing for herself, she began having seizures due to the trauma to her brain from treatment, rendering her a liability in the hospital and she was asked to resign. As beloved as Clara was by her coworkers, a shirt was made that states, “Her fight is our fight”. Photos of the shirts being worn have been sent from hospitals around the US and various European countries. Her absence is noted in the hospital and the legacy of her personality is shared to all the new employees.

The sarcoma specialists have found a bi-weekly chemotherapy that has worked to slow the stage 4 cancer growth, but it can never be cured. Regimens like this, however, rarely come without a cost. She has had to delay treatment for over a month after hospitalization for a severe fungal pneumonia and is currently on another month-long hold after an emergency 2nd craniotomy to remove the skull prothesis that had become compromised. A 3rd brain surgery is scheduled for August 2024 to replace the open skull, before she can resume the chemotherapy.

While Clara has much support from those close to her and great health insurance, her inability to work leaves a need for financial help. Every dollar raised will go to living expenses until things can stabilize. Anything leftover will be placed into a fund for her 17-year-old son’s educational use.