Help Gabby Overcome Cancer and Medical Challenges

Last April, Gabby started on a path that has been emotionally, physically, and financially challenging. Gabby hadn’t been feeling well for several weeks and decided to stop at the ER for what she hoped to just be something small and easily managed. It turned out that she was in septic shock, and her organs were shutting down and dying. Through a team of doctors, a battery of tests, and 21 days spent in the hospital, Gabby was able to go home but not without having to continue the fight of her life. It was found that she had a rare form of colorectal cancer, and there is a tumor that had perforated and ruptured her colon, along with spots on her lungs that will be mentioned later. After the hospital stay, several surgeries, and several weeks of radiation and rounds of chemotherapy, the tumor had shrunk to half the original size but was still there and causing chronic pain in her hip, pelvis, and down her leg, among other cancer and treatment-related side effects. Then Gabby was faced with the surgical oncologist wanting to perform surgery to remove the remaining tumor, colon, rectum, reproductive organs, and possible bladder removal, along with closing the opening for her anus and vagina, a urostomy and her colostomy made permanent. So after finding out the surgery was still a go after treatments, she opted to seek a surgical second opinion. During the testing and consultations for the second opinion, there was a mass found in her belly that had not been previously reported, and there is an undeterminable amount of lesions in her lungs (one of which had doubled in size from a previous but recent image). The image report was written that along with the tumor in her pelvis, she now has probable metastatic colorectal cancer of the lungs. The surgeon also did not rule out the pelvic surgery but doesn’t want to put her body through that trauma without knowing if her lungs can be successfully treated. And the mass in her belly also needs to likely have a biopsy done to determine what it is.

As Gabby’s husband and caregiver, I am reaching out with Gabby's story in hopes that we can obtain some help in being able to continue with and follow through with Gabby's ongoing medical care and life expenses. This has all been substantially quality of life reducing for Gabby, in many ways. She hasn’t been able to work since April and is no longer receiving an income from her career, along with facing the challenge of trying to keep and maintain her medical insurance, as well as my income having been reduced due to taking the necessary time off work to care for and get Gabby to her appointments. Gabby is a kind, caring, fun-loving, compassionate, a dedicated woman. She is a 20-plus-year career post office mail carrier which she absolutely loves and is loved by her community. She enjoys riding her horse Booger, her off-road jeep and 4-wheeling, visiting, and having outings with friends and family. But due to the cancer, surgical complications, and side effects, she’s faced with possibly not being able to enjoy these things anymore, and she is also very scared that she won’t get to see her newborn Gran’baby in August 2024 grow up.