Help Laura Fight for her Life

On September 7, my mom, Laura, went to the ER due to signs of jaundice. She’s been unable to eat for months, has lost a lot of weight rapidly, and has been dealing with several other unexplained health issues.

This week, we learned that she has a rare tumor in her hepatic bile duct that doctors believe to be a Klatskin tumor — commonly found in patients with cholangiocarcinoma. On September 11, doctors completed an ERCP procedure to place a stent in her bile duct to allow for drainage and to get a tissue sample of the tumor. Today, the doctors informed us that the stents did not reach the pool of bile it needed to reach, and that the reason for the blockage is also due to mom having Primary Sclerosing Cholangitis (PSC). This is a chronic liver disease with no cure and causes scar tissue and inflammation of the bile ducts, causing blockage. All of these things are very serious and mom is fighting for her life.

We are still waiting on several things right now: pathology report, if mom is eligible for a liver transplant, and a second procedure to get her bile ducts drained to relieve her jaundice, PET-CT scan, among other things.

Laura is a mother to 13 children and Nona to 34 grandchildren with two more on the way. She and her husband Vic have been married for 40 years. She does not have health insurance and is the primary financial provider at home. My hope is that this fund can help with medical bills, prescriptions, loss of income, travel costs for family to get here to be with mom, and medical equipment we will need for at-home care.

Thank you for all of your prayers and support.