The last three years have been hard on us all. They’ve been particularly brutal for our friend Heather Malin. Heather is a single mom with a full-time job who has had 9 surgeries (soon to be 10 and 11) since the fall of 2020. Medical issues have plagued her one after another—and she has just been diagnosed with serious bladder cancer.

No matter what, her son Noah is always her top priority and most joyous part of her life. Like any human being, Noah has had his struggles along the way, as would any 6 or 7-year-old would. But he is Heather’s biggest cheerleader and comfort.

Living through repeated health scares has been debilitating physically, emotionally, and spiritually. It has also been disastrous financially. Deductibles, co-pays, having to use out-of-network doctors in some cases, and the mountain of unreimbursable costs of living with mobility issues, along with supporting the household, have added up.

A brief history:

In the fall of 2021, Heather was diagnosed with breast cancer, and found out she is a gene mutation carrier. Between February 2022 and March 2023 she underwent a double mastectomy and three reconstruction surgeries. One of those surgeries was nine hours long.

Heather became the sole earner for her family in 2022. During 2022 and 2023 Heather had three other operations related to existing issues, and she was admitted to the hospital twice for severe diverticulitis.

Over the summer of 2023 Heather found out she had a serious problem with her left ear; in short, her brain had fallen into her middle ear and she needed surgery urgently.

Then, from mid-July through mid- August she was admitted to the hospital three times, each for a week or more, with complicated diverticulitis. This led to an emergency colon surgery and several hospitalizations. The operation was major abdominal surgery to remove part of her colon.

Heather will soon have another abdominal surgery to reverse her colostomy, which will take many weeks to recover from.

It gets worse:

On October 9th, Heather was diagnosed with bladder cancer. On the 25th, she had surgery to remove the malignant tumor. The good news is that the cancer is likely non-invasive (to be confirmed with yet another surgical procedure). The bad news is that it is high-grade bladder cancer, which is more aggressive and requires chemotherapy and possibly radiation on an ongoing basis for some time.

How can I help?

To date, Heather’s out-of-pocket payments for medical expenses, childcare, transportation, and food exceed $30,000, and she has a long road—and many more expenses—ahead of her.

Another complication is the very real possibility she will need to take unpaid leave from work. Her savings are depleted and she’s in a scary position, as is Noah.

Heather and Noah need your help today to raise $100,000. Your generosity will ensure Heather and Noah have the food, medical care, housing, and other essentials they need during this incredibly challenging time.