I Love Lisa/ I Hate Cancer

I LOVE LISA / I HATE BREAST CANCER GO FUND ME

With great urgency I pray that my faith in God and the loving kindness that dwells within the hearts of all who read this letter will usher in help and seeds of love for my sister, Lisa Campbell.

Lisa is the youngest of seven girls. She was born with a congenital cataract and uncontrolled glaucoma in her right eye and spent her childhood undergoing unsuccessful medical attempts to relieve her of the excruciating pain from her eye disease. Even as a child, despite all the pain she endured, Lisa always managed to bring joy to others with her infectious smile and sense of humor and has always been unselfishly focused on what she could do for others rather than what they could do for her; that still  holds true today.

In 2013 the disease of Lisa’s right eye progressed and began to threaten the vision of her left eye so she underwent a major surgery to have her right eye removed. With a 7 month recovery period, Lisa was on unpaid leave, and accumulated thousands of dollars of uncovered medical expenses, including the $5000 out of pocket expense for a prosthetic eye, which has to be replaced this year. As an occupational therapist in a nursing home facility, Lisa works under extremely stressful conditions (long hours/double shifts, underpaid, short staffed, heavy lifting, caring for patients with challenging mental and physical illnesses, etc.) all with the added burden of countless hours of reading medical charts and computer screens which puts an enormous strain on her left and only eye. Lisa’s commitment to her patients and to her colleagues prompted her to persevere; pressing through stress, fatigue and pain for the good of others.

Although the loss of Lisa’s eye was a tornadic event which left miles of astronomical financial debris in its path, Lisa would receive a more devastating blow in December 2017……BREAST CANCER.   The panic, isolation and devastation of her diagnosis left her in a whirlwind of uncertainties, overwhelming uncertainties as she read her doctor’s recommendation for a BI-LATERAL MASTECTOMY.  First her right eye, now BOTH her breasts….gone. Couple this with questions like: How will I afford my medical expenses, how will I pay my mortgage, how will I afford heat, and food and medication????  Lisa’s home is in need of repair to keep the unsympathetic homeowner’s insurance company at bay,  who although aware of her health challenge, still  threaten to cancel her insurance if their mandated repair list is not satisfied. To feel just an inkling of her anxiety and urgent need for help is shattering, therefore, I pray this letter will touch and move your heart to help Lisa reap the blessings she has spent years pouring out on so many others.

Scripture says in 1 Thessalonian 5:11, “Therefore encourage one another, and let each one help to strengthen his friend .” It’s heart wrenching to see such a beautiful, loving and giving person go through so much, yet so inspiring to see her walk in such grace and unyielding faith in God through it all. Therefore, I  beseech every reader of my “I Love Lisa Go Fund Me” letter to sow a seed of kindness through prayer, deed and monetary gift to help my sister and our friend, Lisa Campbell.  God is faithful to produce a harvest for every seed planted on her behalf. 

I thank you in advance for your generosity and your effort to make Lisa’s road to recovery less stressful. Please share this campaign of charity with others so that all may have an opportunity to bless Lisa.  Love truly does bring forth healing. “And now three things remain: faith, hope and love. And the greatest of these is love.” (Corinthians 13:13).  I love Lisa and I know you do too; together, let's show her how much.  God bless.