Help Kathy Urschel with medical and funeral costs

I am Marie Czarnecki and I am currently trying to raise money to help support a dear friend and her husband.Kathleen Urschel has been a friend of mine since I was 15 years old, more like family. She was raised in Waterford and was well known to the community. She worked for S&J Bus Company for years with her current husband, until she moved to Missouri, where her daughter was going to college. If you knew Kathy, she was a friend that would give and has a heart of gold. She would try her hardest to help any person or pet in need!

In 2012, Kathy was diagnosed with choroidal ocular melanoma and it metastasized to the liver in 2020 and is now stage 4. She gets monthly immunotherapy, specifically liver-directed therapy at Barnes. Chemotherapy and radiation aren't effective and surgery was never an option. She is still battling this awful cancer.Medical bills, travel costs, lost work, and other living expenses are taking a toll.

On top of all this, her husband, Frank Urschel, was battling his own battle with stage 2 esophageal cancer. He was diagnosed in June of 2024. He completed 28 rounds of radiation and chemotherapy, rang the bell, and was supposed to have surgery to remove part of the esophagus on December 5th. A routine PET scan was done before the scheduled surgery, the week of November 18th, and took a turn for the worse. It showed that the cancer had metastasized to the liver and was now stage 4.

Frank did 2 chemotherapy treatments and after that, everything went downhill very quickly. On November 27th, Frank was admitted to the hospital. He wasn't able to get the surgery; he was very sick and in a lot of pain. On December 4th, they had to make some choices that were very difficult for the family to do. They made the decision to take him off of everything and do just comfort care. Frank's liver enzymes kept rising and the doctors said he had less than two weeks but that things could move faster now since everything was stopped. It was a heartbreaking decision made and agreed upon by all, but it was what was best for him.

On the morning of December 5th, Frank had passed away. He had made his way to gain his wings, but his dear wife and my friend was not only left with her own medical expenses, travel expenses, and other home expenses but now with funeral costs as well. Kathy is unable to work because the cancer she has caused blindness. She can no longer see things the way she used to and still has to get to her appointments at Barnes.

This time of year is hard for everyone but I just ask if it's $10,$20 or whatever a family can afford please consider helping my dear friend Kathy out! Anything is appreciated!