Help Linda James Recover and Stay Afloat

My name is Linda James, a veteran, mother of two, a grandmother of two, and I am in need of financial help. I am battling cancer and I am unable to work due to treatments at this time. For the past few months, I have been dealing with an enlarged thyroid that has caused emotional stress, anxiety, and depression. There was an enormous lump that looked like an egg sitting on my thyroid, and the doctors suggested it to be cancerous. After a month-long series of tests and observations, the biopsy confirmed it was cancerous. I can't begin to share the shocking moment when I received the news. My heart was broken, and I had a hard time telling my family. I know cancer exists, but when you are diagnosed with it, everything changes. In October, the doctors removed the right side of my thyroid, including the large mass. I had to stay out of work for 8 weeks with no available sick/vacation days to cover my absence. After the results came back, I was told that I had to do the surgery again to remove the left side due to some enlarged lymph nodes, tissue deep in the neck, and a lot of scar tissue from the removal of the right side. My thoughts and emotions were all over the place because I couldn't understand why the doctors couldn't do it all at once, and it bothered me to know that they had to do the incision all over again. Prior to the first surgery, I got a second opinion, and that doctor warned that if they had to go in a second time, the surgery was going to be tricky and dangerous. I was so stressed because I wasn’t sure if I was going to make it through the second surgery. After considering the risks and thinking about my health, I decided to go ahead and have the second surgery.

Now that it has been done, the downtime from the surgery has added additional stress for me, and I am struggling with my finances. The doctors are requiring me to be out of work an additional 8 weeks or longer. I have to take a pill for the rest of my life, and in 3 months, I will undergo radiation to clear out any other cancer cells that they may have missed during the original two surgeries. I am unsure how long I will be out during radiation nor if I will have a job to go back to. I am requesting help so that I can keep up with my monthly bills while I am out of work. Any donation, no matter how big or how small, will make a huge difference as I recover and return to work. If you aren’t able to contribute financially, sharing this fundraiser with your network and saying a prayer for me and my family would be just as valuable.

We appreciate your generosity, love, and support during this incredibly difficult time.