Help Our Friend As She Fights Again

My name is Nikki (Sunshine to some) and this is the story of my longtime friend. Stacy has the kindest heart and treasures her family.

In 2021, Stacy was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. This is a rare cancer, affecting fewer than 200,000 people a year with a 7% survival rate. Stacy was now in for the fight of her life. As if the misery of chemo wasn’t enough, Stacy contracted an infection after surgery and, during her almost 70 days in the hospital, she suffered blood clots, sepsis, a collapsed lung, and a weight loss of over 80 lbs. All of this was during the height of Covid and Stacy begged to let her children see her, as she truly thought this was the end of her life.

It took Stacy eight months to recover, but her amazing strength, love of her children, grandchildren, mother, and Chris, gave her the strength to get through what would have killed most. For those unfamiliar with cancer follow-up, there are scans, typically every three months. Even in remission, these scans come with debilitating anxiety, uncertainty, and thoughts of sheer hopelessness. Imagine… Living life with your breath held for three months at a time.

We are now three years later and the cancer has returned. The stomach is the new victim of this evil disease. Stacy is looking at more chemo, with the possibility of surgery and radiation. Stacy endures four hours of treatment every other week. This does not include the medication pump that has to be taken home with her for 48 hrs at a time.

We take lots of things for granted in our lives, and one of those things is the ability to rest while recuperating. Stacy does not get that luxury. She has continued to work to pay for mounting medical expenses, leaving her in a mountain of debt and a canceled vacation that she wanted so desperately to take her family on. Please… Let’s rally for our songbird and her family. Let’s pull together and ease some of this financial burden so that Stacy can put her energy into getting better and planning a well-deserved family vacation. Life is made of moments with the people who hold the keys to our hearts. Let’s give Stacy some moments that are breathtakingly beautiful.