Honoring Celena Vitalo: A Service of Love

On July 31st, we took Celena to North Shore University Hospital for lower back  and pelvic pain with the inability to urinate. She was walking and talking perfectly fine but the pain was the main concern. After a multitude of diagnostic testing, doctors came to the conclusion that she has cancer of the uterus that has metastasized to the liver and spleen as well as a nodule on her lung. If that wasn’t enough, there was an underlying Urinary Tract Infection that was partially causing her this excruciating pain.She was home for a week and the pain only intensified. It was clear that at that moment we needed a pain management plan. At this point, Celena was still able to walk and talk. On August 16th, we had an appointment with the medical oncologist to go over treatment plans and because of that intensified pain, the doctor called an ambulance to go to the emergency room. During that ER visit, they repeated diagnostic testing and discovered the aggressive spread of this cancer and how it now covered her lungs in under a week. She was admitted and during her first night she was sent to the Medical Intensive Care Unit because her kidneys and liver failing. Doctors tried emergency dialysis and antibiotics to improve her condition but unfortunately the cancer was growing faster than treatment. With all of this going on, she was not a candidate for treatment and it would be best and her wish to be comfortable. At this time, she is nonverbal and has lost her ability to walk.On August 20th, we started inpatient hospice to prepare her for her journey to heaven. 

Celena Vitalo was the most caring and selfless woman we all know and love. Always went above and beyond for everyone she knew and never failed to brighten all our lives just by being her. Celena, throughout her life worked in sales, being the employee that leadership roles dreamed of hiring.She was a huge workaholic, always prioritized her job and took pride in what she did. She has not taken a vacation in over twenty years, this just showed her dedication to her job. Despite of all this, Celena had a loving family. She was the daughter of Nancy and Michael Vitalo, a sister to Marianne Vitalo, and an aunt to Melissa, a great aunt to Olivia and also the love of her life, Emily and lastly Scotty who she considered the son that she never had along with his girlfriend, Michelle Travers. She was also surrounded by loving family members daily including Jimmy DiNome and Gary Nerko. Many people have that one person that they would call their everything, Celena was that person for all of us. She was the glue to the family; always made sure we were all okay and together, that’s just how Celena was. The word “no” was just not part of her vocabulary, if you needed something whatever that maybe even just a hug and kiss she was always there.Although, she also enjoyed seeing her friends no matter the distance. Ones that she became close to, knew how much she cared about them and held them very tight in her heart. Additionally, Celena adored all animals most of the time more than people.Through her life and all the furry animals that came in and out of the family, she always gave them the genuine love that no one could compete with. The dogs that entered both 1515 and 1511 would be given luxurious accommodations including filet mignon. Celena cared about animals more than anyone else in this world, that is one of the things that made her so special. As we prepare, we want to make sure that Celena gets the services that she deserves because of all the love that we have for her and how much she meant to so many. We are asking for donations to cover funeral expenses when the time comes for her to cross over into heaven. The remaining funds will be given to the ASPCA and to cancer research. Please find it in your heart to contribute as little or as much as you can, every dollar counts and is truly appreciated.

Love, 

The Family of Celena Vitalo