The family of Tami Leo Jelly are starting this gofundme to help with travel expenses and financial relief during her battle with an aggressive form of Stage IV Thyroid Cancer as she travels back and forth to the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota for appointments, surgery, and follow up radiation treatments.

Tami has only been able to work limited hours as a clerk at the post office and has been in and out of several hospitals since April 1st when her tumor was first discovered.

On April 1st, 2024 Tami visited the walk-in clinic with a sore throat after having a large pill get stuck in her throat. The clinic took an x-ray of her chest, which led them to finding a mass in her throat. The walk-in clinic suggested she go to the ER for further diagnosis. After more imaging and discussion they found there was nothing they could do for her in Sheridan so scheduled an appointment to see a specialist in Billings Montana later that week. After a consultation with the endocrinologist in Billings, she was immediately admitted to Intermountain Health where their team of specialists quickly realized they were not equipped to deal with the severity and location of the mass. It was wrapped around the trachea, esophagus, carotid artery and pressed up against the jugular vein.

So from Billings, Tami and her sister were life-flighted to UC Health in Aurora. After a week at UC Health a biopsy, MRI, a CT and several other tests, their team of specialists also decided that they weren't equipped to safely do surgery at that time. So, the team at UC Health decided to send her home and start on daily chemotherapy treatment. After adjusting some of her medications the chemo shot her blood pressure through the roof and eventually she was admitted back into Sheridan Hospital as they regulated her blood pressure meds.

Soon after, her sister got on the phone and got her an appointment at Mayo! Yay Deb!

June 2024. Tami and her son Paxton went to the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota and met with various doctors to come up with a game plan on fighting this. Upon meeting with the best of the best, they discovered that her cancer is rare and aggressive, and that one of her vocal cords had become permanently paralyzed. Further imaging showed the chemo had helped shrink the mass slightly, and they decided to continue with the daily chemo for 6 more weeks in hopes of more progress.

In the early part of August she is scheduled to return to the Mayo Clinic for an extensive surgery to remove as much of the cancer as possible. She will have one surgeon removing as much cancer as possible in her throat, inserting a tracheotomy, and an additional surgeon will crack open her chest to get the remaining mass away from her heart. It will be a dangerous 8 hour surgery. She is expected to stay several days in the ICU. After she is released, she will return home for 2 weeks only to come back for at least 5 weeks of radiation.

All funds raised will go towards travel expenses and financial relief when she is unable to work.

If you are unable to donate, a prayer, a hug, a call, positive thoughts, good juju or some funny memes would keep her spirits lifted! She has a large support system to help her emotionally through this battle and she, along with the rest of her family and friends thank you!

“In this Family, no one fights alone!”

“My Thyroid is a Hoe!”

#tamistrong, #cancersucks #cancer