Help Mark Cover Bills During Mary's Battle

*Update* Mary passed away this afternoon. 9/15

My name is Nicole Johnson. About 2 months ago, my long-time friend, turned sister-in-law, Mary, was having some concerning symptoms which led her to find out she had melanoma in her lungs. Shortly after this diagnosis, she fell at home and was unable to get up. My brother is a truck driver and was gone, but by the grace of God, her mother was with her and was able to call an ambulance for help.

During that hospital stay, it was determined the cancer was not only in her lungs but also in her brain, bones, and liver as well. She also had a couple of brain bleeds. Doctors tried to come up with the best plan of action to give her a fighting chance. The cancer had eaten up her hip bone so badly that they decided the first step was to put a rod in her hip so that she would be able to move onto the radiation table without breaking her hip. The surgery was successful; however, her brain bleeds became worse, and she was no longer able to regain the strength and coherence needed to be able to do the brain radiation procedure. Unfortunately, she was never able to leave the hospital until going to Hospice House in KC a couple of days ago. We aren't sure how much longer she will be on earth with us.

During all this time, my brother has not been working as he is a truck driver and did not want to leave her side for that many days at a time. I’m doing this fundraiser to help him replace some of the income that he lost while staying with her so that he can pay his regular monthly bills. I imagine he will need some help with medical bills as well. He is also hoping at some point to adopt his dog back that he had to return to the shelter where they originally adopted it because Mary was too weak to care for the dog and my brother was gone on the road. Every little bit helps, and if you can’t donate, please pray for my brother Mark, my beautiful sister-in-law, Mary, and our families during this difficult time. Thank you so much!