Help my mom in her greatest time of need.
Donation protected
My mom came to visit us in Nashville, TN in December. She was having what she thought was a toothache. Upon arriving back home in Redding, CA she went to the dentist. After trying several different rounds of antibiotics, having the tooth extracted, then re-opened and packed with more antibiotics, the swelling increased rapidly. She knew something wasn’t right. They finally biopsied the area. She heard the words no one ever wants to hear: “stage four cancer.” The cancer began growing at a rapid pace, and soon was overtaking her face, chin and mouth. She began a clinical trial with UC Davis, but it continued to grow. They decided to bump up her surgery date because of its rapid growth.
THE SURGERY:
The surgery was INTENSE and full of risks, but my mom went through it anyway. They ended up taking out most of her bottom jaw bone. They replaced the missing bone with the fibula bone from the bottom of her leg. Her face was reconstructed with a skin graft from her thigh. They removed part of her tongue in the process as well. She came out of surgery unrecognizable. She had a tracheotomy to help her breathe, five drains, staples all the way up her calf and all the way up her thigh. She has a feeding tube because she wasn’t allowed to eat or drink while things healed. Her face was extremely swollen, and she was covered in stitches. She spent over 40 days in the hospital. (They projected 1-2 weeks.) She was released for a few days before beginning radiation. She’s still in Sacramento, staying in a hotel near the hospital since she’s there m-f for 6 weeks during her chemo/radiation treatments.
THE GOOD NEWS:
*The doctor was able to get the entire tumor out with clear margins, PRAISE THE LORD!!!! The cancer is gone! We are declaring healing in Jesus name.
*She can walk, even without that bone in her leg, and she has no limp.
*She can talk, swallow and taste liquids and soft foods. They were not sure she’d be able to do any of this. (She still has a feeding tube to make sure she’s getting adequate nutrition)
*She is in excellent spirits for all she has endured. She’s cooking for others at the place she’s staying (and she can’t even eat most of what she’s cooking.) She is creating beautiful art pieces of encouraging scripture and sharing it with others to uplift them as they also battle illness.
*She is pushing through the radiation even though the symptoms are still present. (Nausea, swelling, hair loss)
WHY WE NEED YOUR HELP:
My mom was anticipating taking a few weeks off work. Obviously it has been much longer than that, and she still has 3 weeks of radiation left. Then she’ll need to recover. Eventually she’ll go back for another reconstruction, so this will be a long road of recovery. She lost her job, and her insurance this month. On top of that, the doctor forgot to change her “back to work” date and she Also lost her disability. We’re working to correct all of that, and with it being an error, I have no doubt it will be corrected. But the medical bills are piling in, and she needs to be able to pay for her hotel. The last thing I want her to stress about is money. She needs to be focused 100% on healing. If you’re able, would you please consider blessing her financially to help with these expenses during this time? My mom is not the type to ask for help (which is why I’m setting this up for her). She is constantly caring for others. I’d love to see this burden lifted from her, and for her to see how many people are praying for her and loving her through this. Will you join me in helping her out? I sincerely thank you from the bottom of my heart, and I know she will too. Your unending support during these past few months will NEVER be forgotten!! Thank you friends for loving my mom Trude so well!
Jenn
THE SURGERY:
The surgery was INTENSE and full of risks, but my mom went through it anyway. They ended up taking out most of her bottom jaw bone. They replaced the missing bone with the fibula bone from the bottom of her leg. Her face was reconstructed with a skin graft from her thigh. They removed part of her tongue in the process as well. She came out of surgery unrecognizable. She had a tracheotomy to help her breathe, five drains, staples all the way up her calf and all the way up her thigh. She has a feeding tube because she wasn’t allowed to eat or drink while things healed. Her face was extremely swollen, and she was covered in stitches. She spent over 40 days in the hospital. (They projected 1-2 weeks.) She was released for a few days before beginning radiation. She’s still in Sacramento, staying in a hotel near the hospital since she’s there m-f for 6 weeks during her chemo/radiation treatments.
THE GOOD NEWS:
*The doctor was able to get the entire tumor out with clear margins, PRAISE THE LORD!!!! The cancer is gone! We are declaring healing in Jesus name.
*She can walk, even without that bone in her leg, and she has no limp.
*She can talk, swallow and taste liquids and soft foods. They were not sure she’d be able to do any of this. (She still has a feeding tube to make sure she’s getting adequate nutrition)
*She is in excellent spirits for all she has endured. She’s cooking for others at the place she’s staying (and she can’t even eat most of what she’s cooking.) She is creating beautiful art pieces of encouraging scripture and sharing it with others to uplift them as they also battle illness.
*She is pushing through the radiation even though the symptoms are still present. (Nausea, swelling, hair loss)
WHY WE NEED YOUR HELP:
My mom was anticipating taking a few weeks off work. Obviously it has been much longer than that, and she still has 3 weeks of radiation left. Then she’ll need to recover. Eventually she’ll go back for another reconstruction, so this will be a long road of recovery. She lost her job, and her insurance this month. On top of that, the doctor forgot to change her “back to work” date and she Also lost her disability. We’re working to correct all of that, and with it being an error, I have no doubt it will be corrected. But the medical bills are piling in, and she needs to be able to pay for her hotel. The last thing I want her to stress about is money. She needs to be focused 100% on healing. If you’re able, would you please consider blessing her financially to help with these expenses during this time? My mom is not the type to ask for help (which is why I’m setting this up for her). She is constantly caring for others. I’d love to see this burden lifted from her, and for her to see how many people are praying for her and loving her through this. Will you join me in helping her out? I sincerely thank you from the bottom of my heart, and I know she will too. Your unending support during these past few months will NEVER be forgotten!! Thank you friends for loving my mom Trude so well!
Jenn
Organizer and beneficiary
Jennifer Herman
Organizer
Nashville-Davidson, TN
Trude Cox
Beneficiary
