Hello everyone,

This is Celina (Emma's sister). Emma has asked me to update this fundraiser because her treatment and recovery forecast have changed significantly.

Earlier this week, on Monday, August 11, Emma went to Tempe St. Luke's ER due to severe pain from an abscess that had developed on the left side of her abdomen, where they had done exploratory surgery several months ago. Her last update informed us of this. The following day, they performed another surgery to find out what caused the abscess. This most recent surgery revealed that during the initial exploratory surgery, the surgeon inadvertently "nicked" her bowel. This caused serious complications, including an infection where stool escaped and got stuck on a piece of mesh from a hernia surgery she had about 15 years ago. The infection has caused a fistula to form in her abdomen. This has caused her prognosis to take a turn. Her treatment plan is for her to continue chemotherapy for the next 2 months and be placed on a strong regimen of antibiotics. After the treatments are finished, hopefully the tumor will have shrunken enough to be removed safely. After recovering from that, she will have fistula surgery, which is typically a 6 to 8-hour surgery. She will remain in the hospital for 2-3 months post-surgery. Yes, 2 or 3 MONTHS.

I initially thought shrinking the tumor would be a long shot, but I am confident it isn't as perilous as it seems. However, the fistula surgery and recovery will be more challenging.

Now, we need more prayers, support, and donations. Emma has exhausted the GoFundMe account for rent, medical bills, and expenses. Her rent is paid until October 1. With help from our niece, she is looking for a place to rent. Her medical deductible cap was met, so she shouldn't incur additional medical costs until next year. However, she won't be able to work as a Lyft/Uber driver for a while. We don't know how long this will take. Our greatest hope is that she will recover from all of this and carry on the best she can. As always, any donations are greatly appreciated. Emma has expressed that if you do not want to use this GoFundMe site to donate, please message me or her on Facebook, or message either of us from this site, and we will provide details on how to Zelle her directly. If you prefer to send her a check, please message me here or on Facebook, and I can provide her address or mine. I know we've been asking for a lot throughout this year. It's been a difficult one, so can you all please share this on your social media accounts as well? Thank you!

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Celina McNulty