Help Rachel Bernardi beat the odds

Hello, I’d like to introduce you to my friend Rachel. The first word that comes to mind when I think of her is exuberant, closely followed by tenacious and hilarious. Let me tell you how these characteristics have served her through the crap hand she has been dealt.

At 10 she was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma stage 2A. In an 8 month period she underwent 6 rounds of chemo and 10 days of radiation to her upper chest and neck area. She was declared cancer free for 1 blissful year. Then the day after her 12th birthday she was diagnosed with Acute Myloblastic Leukemia which was caused by 1 of the chemo drugs used to treat Hodgkin’s. She underwent 6 days of high dose chemo, then was admitted to hospital to undergo a bone marrow transplant. To prepare for transplant she had 4 days of even higher dose chemo, the day of she had 2 rounds of full body radiation. Then for 2 weeks post transplant she had 4 lower doses of chemo to ensure the cancer was gone. 1 year later, at 13, she was told her reproductive system didn’t work, she was still a child when she found out she would never be a biological Mother. 

Phew, okay, that’s a lot to digest but stay with me here, we are coming to some fun years. 2009 was a busy year for Rachel, she graduated high school, met her future husband and applied to university, oh and met her future BFF, me. She enjoyed some exciting summers, 1 spent in Spain, 2 spent in Lethbridge on student placements that saw her feed her love for geology. 2013 found her celebrating a huge milestone, 10 years post transplant, she marked the occasion with a photo shoot to immortalize the moment.

Zach and Rachel got engaged in 2014 when she popped the question, told you, tenacious.

Wedding planning was in full swing May of 2016 when everything came to a full stop. Rachel was diagnosed with Stage 4 Invasive Ductile Cancer ER/PR Receptor Positive HER2 Negative. It was in her breasts, lymph nodes, bones and lungs, the 5 year survival rate for this cancer is 22%. She was started on hormone therapy, which induced menopause, this worked for approximately 2 years. In that 2 year span Zach and Rachel got married, August 20 2017 was a day of unfettered happiness, cancer didn’t succeed in stealing their joy. November 2017 saw her have radiation on her hips to aid in pain relief. February 2018 she had gamma knife radiation to attack the cancer that had spread to her brain, it was successful. She also graduated with her bachelor of science degree in June of 2018, she used her tenacity to achieve her goal, despite her circumstances. Next up was another hormone therapy which worked for approximately 1.5 years, then the cancer spread to her liver. Next up hormone therapy/immunotherapy for 3 months, this was unsuccessful and actually ended up causing high cholesterol, diabetes, lung inflammation among other things. January 2021 saw her getting 5 days of radiation to her spine for pain relief, 2 weeks later another round of gamma knife for more brain tumours. She also found out her liver was causing problems and has been placed on oral chemo that we are praying works for awhile so she can catch her breath for a minute. Further treatment will become more invasive and require her to quit her job, losing that source of income. 

Alright, if you’re still with me, thank you, that was the condensed version. Throughout this cancer journey Rachel has rarely complained, kept her sense of humour and hunger to pursue all life has to offer. She refuses to be defined by her 20+ year cancer battle, to be a victim or to become just another tragic statistic. Rachel’s laugh is contagious and fills any room she is in, she finds humour even in the darkest circumstances. She is loving and kindhearted to the extreme, I mean at 28 she was planning/paying for her funeral so her family won’t have to while they’re grieving her passing. She is selfless, fierce, and the most resilient person I know. 

I made this gofundme because it is time for Rachel to be taken care of. May 2021 will mark 5 years since her terminal diagnosis, she is beating the odds but she is slowing down. June 25th she turns 30 and I want her to be able to step back from the 9-5 grind, which can be exhausting at the best of times. She deserves to spend the remainder of her time pursuing things that bring  her fulfillment, soaking in things that bring her joy and speak peace into her soul. I want her to spend time indulging in things she loves, time in the mountains that inspire awe in her, time at the beach where she can relax and soak up the sun, time spent bird watching where a piece of her feels like she soars away with the birds and treating herself to Pandora, her not so secret addiction. A time where she can spend her energy on being wholly present with loved ones, a time where after 5+ years of working 2 jobs Zach will be able to drop down to1 so they can spend some quality time together. A time where she doesn’t have to expend energy on the financial what ifs but can conserve it for what really matters.

Can you help me gift her with quality of life when we can’t gift her with quantity? 

Humbly yours, 

Miranda 

*** Go fund me wants me to add the disclaimer that the donations received are going into my bank account and I will be passing the money along to Rachel and Zach. They are aware and in agreement that the funds should be deposited into my account first as they come in increments. As stated in the above essay, the funds will be spent on ensuring Rachel has a great quality of life, the details of which are up to her discretion.