This campaign is to help support my amazing mom fight brain cancer. On April 30, 2019 my dad took my mom to the emergency room due to having severe headaches, nausea along with “brain fogginess” and not being able to see things that were directly in front of her. The doctors immediately ordered an MRI and a CT Scan, the results came back showing a very large mass on her brain. Our world was turned upside down. They scheduled surgery (a craniotomy) for the following day. What the doctors found was a Grade 4 Glioblastoma Multiforme (GBM) brain tumor. GBM is a very aggressive cancer, which means that it will always have the possibility of growing back.

This was going to be a long journey for mom, but I had no doubt that she would get through this. Her treatment plan after surgery was to be complete rounds of chemotherapy and radiation therapy together. She would also start wearing an Optune cap, which is a wearable, portable device used to treat this type of cancer. She would have to wear this for 18 hours a day indefinitely. My beautiful mom did lose her hair during radiation, but of course she looks great with or without hair. She’s had her ups and downs while completing those treatments, but she has tried to remain positive.  She is so sweet and caring about other people, and she is the strongest person I know.  My mom is only 58 years old and has so much more living to do.
 
At the end of November, she started having the same symptoms as when she was first diagnosed. My dad once again took her to the ER. A new MRI was ordered which showed what the doctors thought was the tumor growing again. They scheduled her for another surgery the following week. So on December 13th she underwent surgery. The good news was what they thought was the tumor growing was actually scar tissue from the radiation treatments. She remained in the hospital this time until December 30, starting physical, occupational and speech therapy to try and regain her strength. She is back to wearing the Optune cap and will be starting chemo therapy again.

She is still very weak and her vision has not fully recovered in her left eye. But she is taking it day by day and taking things slow. My mom has been unable to work because of this. Due to this, the medical bills are starting to pile up. Any money raised will go directly to helping pay for her treatments and care. She is such an amazingly strong woman. She will not give up and we will not give up on her.