
Homecoming Fund: Helping Mom Return Safely
Donation protected
Shelley (Pocha) Liu, a wife, mother, daughter, sister and friend. 8 years ago Shelley and Joseph were celebrating the arrival of their 4th child... A celebration that would only last 2 months before a painful lump on Shelley would be diagnosed with Stage 4 breast cancer. She endured months of chemotherapy, radiation therapy, and a double mastectomy. During those times she ran her home, taking care of her children and also working in her private daycare. She did this with strength and courage, never giving up.
A celebration of her final cancer treatments would abruptly come to a halt. A new diagnosis of polymyositis, an autoimmune disease that mimics the symptoms of multiple sclerosis. She could no longer climb the stairs to her room, or kids rooms, often using a can or walker depending on the day. Shelley is an avid reader but this disease affected her sight and what she once loved to do became a chore. But Shelley never gave up, she adapted, she crawled the stairs on her hands and knees...Soon finding comfort and ease setting in on the couch when the stairs became too overwhelming to bear. Her couch became her bed. Prednisone became the drug of choice in her treatment however expectations of remission never came, and she hasn't been able to move forward in chest/breast reconstruction. Despite this Shelley put on a brave face, remained positive and always smiles.
Fast forward to 2024... 8 weeks ago after finishing up her day care Shelley felt unwell. Alone in the house she called 911 and passed out. The next 4 weeks she lay in a comma unaware of the severity of her condition. A lung biopsy revealed Group Strep A in her lungs. She continued to decline and another diagnosis would rear it's ugly head in the name of meningitis... she required a vent, several blood transfusions and then... renal failure. Shelley was placed on dialysis. Several attempts at extubate had forced the doctors to do a tracheotomy...
Shelley has slowly improved, she remains in hospital awaiting rehabilitation. She will require weeks on end of rehab to learn to walk again. She is alert, she has learned of what's happened, including a tough decision by her husband to close her daycare permanently, with her autoimmune disease it is safest for her to protect herself.
When a person loses the ability to walk, loses their job and income, loses their autonomy, their dignity... Mental health declines. There is a void of promise... The future is still uncertain.
Here's where we as a loving community come in. Here's what we need. Money, Prayers. And more prayers... Her husband, Joseph doesn't want to ask for money. As it bruises his image as a provider. Shelley does not want to ask for money. As friends, we will do this part. We will stand up and pray, we will stand up and ask Shelley's friends, her community, her family...for monetary donation... To help with bills, to help modifying her home to give her a proper place to sleep, if enough money to replace a stove that no longer works, and hopefully a computer so in the coming months she could have an opportunity to find work from home online...So many needs to list. Think of your own situation... If you lost your health and your income what would you do? For me, I'm not sure...I'm not sure how I would make ends meet... Please help Shelley in anyway that you are able.
God Bless, from Danita and Heidi ❤️❤️❤️
Organizer
Danita Grovet
Organizer
Saskatoon, SK