Help Esperanza and Family Through This Tough Time

Hello,

My name is David Benitez. I am organizing this GofundMe on behalf of my mom. Her name is Esperanza. It means Hope in English...

In November 2024, my mom was diagnosed with stage 4 ovarian cancer. The doctors were hopeful. Since then, my mom has stayed strong. She, like her name, has given us hope that things will get better. However, a few weeks ago, the doctors held a meeting with my family and I and informed us that my mother, Esperanza, only has approximately 6 more months to live. Since getting this notice, mom’s health has rapidly declined, and we know our remaining time with her is short.

Summary: We are a small family of 5 with limited income and even more limited extended family support. My father is no longer able to work due to having to take care of my Mom full time. My brother is holding down the rest of the household payments, and my sister and her fiancé have had to fund funerals for both of her fiancé’s parents over the past year. We are trying to focus on cherishing every moment we have left with Mom, but we also find ourselves incredibly worried about how we will be able to afford giving her the funeral she truly deserves.

The funds raised will go towards:

Moms Story:

Throughout her life, my Mom has always been a caregiver and a fighter. She has always made efforts to help out our neighbors, and I'm not even going to lie.. random people from the street? I remember her frequently coming home with random children that she had volunteered to look after. Our family would ask where this kid came from, and she would say something like, " Oh, I overheard this lady having childcare issues, so I let them know that I can look after their children." My siblings and I would just look at each other with blank stares and shrug. Over time, we got used to it, though. She built relationships with random people, and we inherited random children every 4-5 years. It was funny and strange that strangers trusted my mom and our family like that, but that's the kind of people we are and the kind of person she is. She gives hope to those who need it.

Most recently, Mom decided to work for the state, continuing to help those in need. She realized that she could make legit money working for the state while still helping others at the same time. It made her happy. She shared stories with me about how much her client and her client's family loved her. My mom would always cook her client a homemade meal and help her with all of her personal needs. My mom learned a lot about the health profession and dealing with doctors because of her client. Mom always stood up for her client whenever she felt that the doctors were dismissing them. Mom always went above and beyond for anyone she cared for. Till this day, her client and her client’s family still call mom, wishing her well and hoping that she will return to work soon. My mom treats everyone like family, and people recognize that.

Mom didn't care that she had to ride the bus early in the morning to get to her client's house or that she had to ride the bus back home during the sketchiest (scary) hours of the day.

Seriously, sometimes she told us that people were getting punched and harassed on the bus. We were scared for her and would constantly insist that she just accept a ride from one of us instead. Not only is my mom kind, but she's also a badass.

Fast forward several years. My mom began to feel weak, and her stomach began to hurt badly. So badly that she would second-guess even going to work. The trooper that she is, she ultimately decided to still go to work, until she could go no longer…

Mom never missed work, especially for her client. So when she stopped going in for her shift, we knew something was seriously wrong. She began to experience incredible pain in her abdomen. Her stomach began to expand as if she were pregnant. We didn't know what was going on. My brother Gabriel took her to a few appointments. Some of the doctors didn't seem as concerned. Others were skeptical. LABS were taken. Doctors didn't know what was going on. They sent my mom home, but she continued to have this bloated stomach and incredible pain. She couldn't even eat...

After a few days of labs and being continuously dismissed, she became lethargic and essentially a ghost of herself.

My family became restless.. Gabriel rushed Mom to the ER at LA General.. He pleaded with the staff and doctors and tried to explain that our Mom was not okay.

The doctors kept Mom overnight.

It was bittersweet... someone finally took my Mom's symptoms seriously, but it came at the price of our Mom being diagnosed with stage four ovarian cancer..

Still, Mom kept strong. She didn't cry. She didn't give up. She continued to have Hope. The doctors were amazed at how well she was taking chemo. They genuinely seemed shocked at how well my mom was holding up. When we were in tears, she would be calm and collected. She used her experience with her client to navigate the hospital system. She knew which drugs did what and what side effects each of them had. The doctors would say, "You know too much. We have to be honest with you." Not that the doctors were deceiving her or anything, but she knew her stuff. Like I said, Mom is a badass.

Five months went by, Mom's cancer count was low, and we were really happy to hear this great news! Everything was looking good. They told us that surgery was on the table now, and the procedure would take some time, but would be relatively safe.

During surgery, they found more cancer, carcinoma… modules everywhere. Different types of cancer. Aggressive cancer. The doctors pivoted. They said that because Mom has been strong throughout the process, they will try a stronger form of chemo to hopefully kill whatever is left.

This new chemo treatment was supposed to be even stronger than the one before. We thought that if the first chemo worked in killing the targeted area, then this new chemo, along with my mom's strength, would give us even better results. Unfortunately, it did not go well. The doctors told us the cancer was non-responsive, and worsening at a rapid pace. After a few attempts with the new chemo, the doctors informed us that they would need to consult with one another in order to determine how to proceed. Shortly after their consultation, they called my sister and informed us that they would like to schedule a family meeting. We knew what ‘family meeting’ meant. It’s what doctors say right before they tell you what you really don’t want to hear. None of us felt eager or ready for this ‘Family meeting.’

The doctors started off the family meeting by emphasizing how valiantly mom had been fighting. They praised her for being so well informed about her medication and noted how surprised they were by her resilience throughout the chemo process. They told us that our mom was ‘too smart’ for them. Everyone laughed a little. We all knew that mom was something special…Then came the hard part. The doctors admitted that there were no treatment options left for mom..They said that with stage 4 cancer, the options available are naturally limited, but that they had had hope because my mom was so strong. She had handled the first round of chemo excellently. But unfortunately, we were at a point where there was nothing else the doctors could do for her. They went on to explain that mom had only 6 more months or less to live.

The whole room went quiet.

Nobody said anything for a few seconds. Mom eventually ended up being the first one to speak up. She was calm and collected as she said, “Gracias Doctora/Thank you Doctor.” Mom then thanked everyone in the room and told the doctors that the hospital had taken excellent care of her throughout the chemo process. She told them that she was grateful for her entire treatment team and that she was ready for anything else the doctors had to say. We were all in tears. The discussion then became about aftercare. How could we make sure Mom was comfortable, and how soon could we take her home? The doctors patiently informed us about our options. We were tired but grateful for their support.

Nothing was the same after that meeting. We were all incredibly hurt by the news and each of us tried to cope with it in our own way.

Mom was quickly placed in home hospice care. Without her regular treatment, she began to decline rapidly. Despite this, she continues to fight and find the strength to laugh, eat, and pray with her family, all while being completely bedridden. We know she doesn’t have much time left, so we all do our best to make her comfortable and cherish every single minute we have left with her. Every day, we continue to hope that we will have another tomorrow with her

Thank you for taking the time to learn about my mom's story, and thank you for your support. It would mean the world to us to be able to give my mom the funeral she truly deserves.