Her Fight Is Our Fight- Anna’s Cancer Battle

Hey everyone! Thank you to all who have donated and supported Anna along this journey so far. Anna has completed her first 6 rounds of chemo, finished radiation, and now she has 8 more rounds of chemo to complete before she has finished her treatment regimen. She has been so strong through all of this, even though being away from home has been hard. She returns to Houston this week to start her treatments back up again. Initially, we thought Anna would get to come home around November after doing the first few rounds of chemo out of the 8 she has left. After speaking with her provider and other facilities, her and her family have decided the best thing for her is to stay at MD Anderson so she is receiving the best care. We know she will beat this, and staying at MD Anderson will make that possible. We just want our girl healthy and strong again. Since she will be staying at MD Anderson until she finishes treatment in February, we wanted to re-share this go fund me. Our initial goal was based off Anna staying in Texas until November. If you can donate & share, please do! We just want to help relieve some of the financial stress that comes along with staying in Texas and fighting cancer. Thank you all.

On April 1st of this year, our best friend, Anna Richard’s life was turned upside down. At just 22-years-old and few months after starting her first job as a teacher at Scottsboro Junior High, she suddenly lost all ability to walk or move her legs, while experiencing excruciating back pain. After receiving an MRI at the Huntsville Hospital ER, a tumor was discovered in her spine which broke her T-10 vertebrae. The tumor was wrapped around her spinal cord. She was then rushed into an emergency surgery to remove the tumor from her spine, and ultimately received a cancer diagnosis. On April 6th, she received the shocking and life-altering cancer diagnosis of Ewing’s Sarcoma, a very rare and aggressive childhood bone cancer.

 

Throughout this diagnosis, Anna has maintained her beautiful sunshine ambiance and has shown pure grit, determination, strength, and courage. Anna is a best friend to many, a sister to wonderful siblings, a daughter to two amazing parents, and a beloved teacher to many. At only 22-years-old, she has been faced with a number of tragedies that seemingly would be too much to handle. Just two years ago, she lost her sweet dad, Roald, to a driver under the influence. Shortly after, she lost her dog child, Crew. And now, an alarming Ewing’s Sarcoma cancer diagnosis. But, Anna has taken each one with an amount of grace many could not.

 

Much to her Physical Therapists surprise, she has amazingly gained back much of her mobility due to her evident grit and determination, and she is DETERMINED to survive Ewing’s Sarcoma! Anna has no doubt that she will survive this disease, and we know she will do it with absolute love and grace!

 

To get the best treatment available for such a rare disease, her oncologist recommended that she receive treatment from the MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, TX, where she will be thoroughly and aggressively cared for. Anna and her family will be traveling to Houston to undergo the fight of her life against this awful cancer. Cancer sucks, but cancer is also very EXPENSIVE: housing, treatment, co-pays, insurance costs, deductibles, transportation, wigs, nursing care, follow-ups, physical therapy, recovery, MRIs, ultrasounds, specialists, referrals, prescriptions — the list goes on and on.

 

A group of Anna’s best friends have decided to start this GoFundMe to hopefully alleviate she and her family’s financial burden that will come with an aggressive cancer battle. Anna has the ability to bring a smile to anyone’s face, no matter the circumstance. She has impacted our community with pure light and love.

 

Now, it’s our time to bring some light and love to the Richard family. Any donations would be immensely appreciated and used graciously. If you are unable to donate, prayers will be just as appreciated, as we understand God is the ultimate Healer!