My name is Sue, and I am a NICU (neonatal intensive care unit) nurse at Hoag Hospital. I met this family at the hospital, and their story has touched my heart. I hope you will read about them below, and consider donating to them, or sharing their story with your friends and family on Facebook. I truly believe in the power of our community to help each other when one of us is down. This family can really use our help...

When Audrey was just 11 weeks pregnant with her now newborn son, she was diagnosed with stage IV ampullary cancer.  (It’s a rare cancer that forms in the area of your digestive system near the small intestine). In her second trimester of the pregnancy, she had a radical surgery called a Whipple procedure to try and remove as much of the cancer as possible.  Doctors successfully removed her gallbladder, two lymph nodes and part of her small intestine. She successfully carried her son for 32 weeks before delivering at Hoag. He was premature, but is now healthy, and is a thriving 3-month-old baby.

The focus for this family has now turned to caring for Audrey during her chemotherapy—12 treatments, and a minimum of 5 months duration.  She has completed two of the 12 rounds, but the side effects have left her severely weak, and ill.  John has become the full-time caregiver for both Audrey, and their son Bodhi, and he is unable to work...but as we all know, bills don’t stop when someone is sick.

This fundraiser will help support the family’s ongoing living expenses during this time when both of the adults in the household cannot work. Anything you can contribute would be tremendously appreciated by this family. Thank you.

Below is a picture of Bodhi when I first met him the NICU... he has now put on 5 lbs and is a healthy baby boy.  :)  I will continue to post updates on Audrey’s condition. Thank you again, for anything you can contribute. This local Huntington Beach family needs all the help they can get!