Help Cherish Wendy's Life

After being “mis-diagnosed” in September of 2016, our Mom, Wendy, knew something was wrong and continued to follow her gut instinct and pursue the issue until she had answers. On November 14th, 2016, our mom, Wendy, was diagnosed with Stage III “Her2 positive” Breast Cancer. After the devastating news of the cancer diagnosis, she immediately started Herceptin treatment and underwent a single mastectomy on December 27th, 2016. Our mom was out of work until July 2017. During this time, she had to endure another “emergency” surgery to have the mastectomy incision repaired as it completely opened up. She was also beginning to go through “reconstruction,” which was delayed due to the second surgery. On top of all of this, she was rear-ended in her vehicle and had to go through extensive back pain and injections in her back. She was unable to do physical therapy due to the recent surgery she had. After much healing, spiritually and physically, she was finally able to return to work and begin her new journey in life.

In July of 2019, she was diagnosed with Stage IV Metastatic Breast Cancer because her cancer spread to her kidney and bones. She had to have a stent put in her kidney to help the kidney continue to work. She will need to have the stent exchanged every 2-3 months for the rest of her life or go another route (which is not a favorable one). She began a more intense treatment that targeted the cancer along with treating her bones in hopes that it would help her bones remain as strong as possible and fight the metastatic cancer.

In September of 2019, our family decided that it was best to throw a benefit in our mom's honor to raise money since our mom was out of work for such a prolonged period. Many friends, family members, and even strangers came together for a chicken BBQ to raise funds for our family. It was a huge success with the help of a lot of people whom we are truly thankful for.

When Covid hit in March of 2020, our mom was taken out of work due to her immune system. During this time, she got very sick and started throwing up numerous times a day for no apparent reason. She was extremely dehydrated and unable to keep any food down. After one hospital stay and a second biopsy, it was determined that our mom's cancer had spread to her stomach, ultimately blocking her stomach from digesting and passing food correctly. She underwent a major life-saving surgery to reroute her intestines and after a second hospital stay in May (that lasted approximately 14 days), she finally came home to heal, but unfortunately with a feeding tube. We thought that she wouldn't be able to eat real food for the rest of her life. But lo and behold, the feeding tube was removed 3 months later. Our mom continued to heal and was able to slowly reintroduce food back into her body. She was able to return to work again after being out for seven months.

Not even a full year later, our mom had yet another fight to battle. In January of 2021, the cancer spread further in her left arm and caused her bones from her shoulder to her elbow to become extremely fragile, risking fracture. She additionally had a full rotator cuff tear, causing extreme pain. The doctor ordered an urgent immediate surgery to put a rod in our mom's left arm and repair the rotator cuff tear, forcing her to leave work yet again for an indefinite time period. She underwent surgery on Wednesday, January 20th and remained in the hospital for 23 hours before she returned home once again to heal.

Now, as we reach the 8 year anniversary of our mom's Stage IV Breast Cancer diagnosis, it is apparent that this beast has truly ran its wicked course. Our mom's Stage IV Breast Cancer metastasized to her liver, causing a wide range of symptoms, from 30 pounds of fluid on her body, to swelling of her arms, legs, feet, and stomach. Per our mom's Oncologist's recommendation, our mom was admitted to the hospital on Thursday, October 17th, 2024 due to the excessive amount of fluid on her body. After being provided Lasix medication, the fluid significantly decreased, but our mom's body was too weak to continue chemotherapy treatment. After extensive conversations with the Oncologist, hospital provider, nurses, etc., it was determined by our mom's care provider team that she will not continue chemotherapy treatment. As a result, it is evident that the cancer slowly deteriorated our mom's body, resulting in her losing her life on November 1st, 2024.

Our mom, Wendy's, fight was complex, challenging, financially draining, and almost unbearable. But, she never stopped fighting nonetheless. She persevered and fought as hard as she possibly could. We put together this GoFundMe in hopes that our family would have the financial means for medical issues, food, bills, and rent. But, we now have to use this GoFundMe as a means for funds towards funeral services and a celebration of life to honor our Mom. Our Mom fought her entire life and even more so the last 8 years. Now, we want to cherish our Mom's life and all of our positive, everlasting memories that we hold of our Mom. Please consider giving to this GoFundMe in hopes of fulfilling our wishes to honor our Mom and her all encompassing fierce spirit.

Our family is not one to ask for help, but as they say, "desperate times call for desperate measures." We are calling for support from our loved ones, near and far. We have created this GoFundMe in order to raise funds for our mom's cremation, as well as her funeral home calling hours, a celebration of life, and any unforeseen needs that come our way. Please consider making a donation towards our mom's GoFundMe page. Any amount will be appreciated beyond words. And if you're unable to contribute, please send prayers, hugs, and words of love, encouragement, and positivity. Our mom, Wendy, was a warrior. Let's come together to remind her up above that her life was precious and worth remembering.

Love,

Summer, Savannah, & Donald

P.S. For the Wendy's Warriors Benefit that was held in October of 2019, we created custom t-shirts, koozies, and stickers. If you are interested in buying any of these products to further support Wendy and our family, please contact Summer Markajani on Facebook for more information.