Help Judy's battle with Lymphoma

Hello, my name is Rick Leitner. I am fundraising for my beloved mom Judy.

For those of you that know her well, you know how strong, stubborn, hardworking, and crazy fun she is. For those of you that don’t, allow me to introduce you to the best mom ever.

My mom is a generous, caring person. She thoroughly enjoys her work, providing families and the elderly with support and care – a career that has been fulfilling to her and allowed her to touch the hearts of so many. When she isn’t giving her all to others, you’ll find her tending her many gardens or spending time with her friends or family, who have remained a constant priority in her life. She’s always there for them – no matter what that looks like. Down of your luck? Need a place to stay? Alone during the holidays? My mom is always there for you – you’ll always have a place at her table. When gifts are being exchanged, don’t worry she’ll sneak something under the tree for you!

You see her shine during Halloween and Christmas. She thrives off the Children’s excitement and believes that no decoration is too much. During Halloween, she never misses an opportunity to dress up and go trick or treating with the kids. And during Christmas, she provides the idyllic Christmas filled with joy around the house. And on both occasions, she may or may not be sneaking herself some goodies. It’s only fair though, the amount of baking she shares with everyone; she deserves every sweet treat she can get her hands on. She has a huge heart, it's unexplainable to us all how anyone can be as giving and as kind as her.

For Judy, her independence is everything. Having that taken away from her this year has been so hard to watch. Earlier this year, Judy fell ill and was diagnosed with an autoimmune disease called Polymyositis. It was a long road to even find this diagnosis – test, after test, after test. And over the course of all the testing, she became extremely lethargic, and her quality of life quickly took a turn for the worst.

After finally finding a diagnosis the doctors began treatment, which at first included multiple prescription pills. The whole family breathed in optimism thinking “okay, we have a diagnosis, and we have a treatment plan, things are going to start to get better”. But unfortunately, that wasn’t the case.

She has continued to deteriorate at a steady, if not rapid pace. In and out of the hospital, blood tests, scans, X-Rays, biopsy’s… the list goes on and on. At this point, she has become fully dependable on others. This strong, healthy, giving, and independent woman can no longer cook, clean, dress herself… she can’t even stand by herself anymore. She has become totally dependent on others and needs someone to help her complete everyday tasks, ones of which she once did so with confidence and pride.

In addition to the polymyositis, after her most recent biopsy in the hospital they came back with High Grade T Cell Lymphoma. They have started her chemotherapy and have officially declared her case rare. However, the doctors recently learnt of a new treatment option.

Remember the fun-loving lady I explained at the beginning? My mom is fighting with everything in her to get back to that person. She is determined to get through this treatment and get back to enjoying the things that she loves to do.

Therefore, I am humbly reaching out for help. As she has become so dependent on others, the family is pitching in but most days my dad, Kelly is at home with her. This means he isn’t working, and the financial burden is adding to the stress. Anyone who knows Judy, knows she would never outright ask for help – so were doing it for her.

With that in mind, I decided to start a GoFundMe to help alleviate the financial burden they are already experiencing. By reducing some of their financial stress, Kelly can stay home, and support Judy by directing their energy on fighting and recovering. All donations will be used for medical bills, treatments, and lost income.

Thank you for anything you can give, including words of encouragement or even simply sharing this post. To help her stay positive, feel free to share a joke, meme, or words of encouragement with her through email. Anything helps keep a smile on her face during the harder days.

Thank you!