#Myelodysplastic - Mom's Flight Home

Our mother has been battling Myelodysplastic Syndrome (a blood cancer) for the past year and needs to return home to Belize. Help us get her home as soon as possible.

On April 6, 2022, our mom was admitted to Natividad Medical Center (Natividad) in Salinas, CA. She walked in on her own to inquire about abdominal pain, and she had to be transported out on her back when she left 27 days later. After several tests showed her platelets, and white blood cell counts to be severely lower than normal, she was moved to ICU. A bone marrow biopsy and aspirations test was done; however, by their account the tests proved inconclusive. That said, after the test was performed, she has been unable to walk or get out of bed on her own due to severe pain.

When I visited with her between April 22-24, it was shocking, and unbearable to see our mother struggle to get out of bed (even with assistance) or to walk. She called me after I had traveled back to San Diego, to let me know that they were discharging her on May 3—I was in disbelief; she was unable to do anything on her own. Nonetheless, she was discharged, and that proved to be quite disastrous. She was at home for 3 days on her own, in excruciating pain, unable to move get out of bed, unable to prepare herself a meal; she was unable to get to the pharmacy to pick up her pain medication. Fortunately, on May 6, a call with her In-Home Service Support (IHSS) case manager prompted a welfare check, and she was taken to Salinas Valley Memorial Hospital. From there she was transferred to Pacific Grove Healthcare Center, and on May 12, she was rushed to the Community Hospital of Monterey Peninsula.

In May 2022 our mother was diagnosed with Myelodysplastic Syndrome (MDS) and was given an indeterminable amount of time to live. MDS is a form of cancer of the bone marrow and blood cells, that kills the blood cells while they are still in the bone marrow, or just after they enter the bloodstream. As a result, our mother lost her ability to walk on her own, she is experiencing excruciating pain, and has been in and out of the hospital battling against the debilitating effects of this disease—deterioration in healthy red blood cells, (makes her anemic), significant reduction of white blood cells count (unable to fight off infections) and a continuous fluctuation in her blood-clotting platelets. Even the chemotherapy treatment—which we hoped would slow the progression of this disease seems to have worsened the situation, and this is further exacerbated by other chronic health conditions.

Between March and June, I traveled back and forth between San Diego and Monterey while our mother was in between home, hospital, and nursing facilities; I spent 3 months (June – August) providing 24/7 in-home care, providing palliative support, and get her to and from her doctor’s appointments, and cancer treatment. Then my brother--Cameron spent the month of September providing similar at-home care and support. However, during that period, she had to be rushed to ER several times.

On 7/4/22 – she was rushed to the Community Hospital of Monterey Peninsula (CHOMP) ER, due to her temperature being above 100.4•F (was at 103•F). It turns out that her body was trying to fight multiple infections, and she appeared to be septic. She was administered antibiotics for 5 days to help her body fight off the infections including pneumonia, and she spent another 14 days in recovery. The doctors prepared us for the worse, but God had a different plan.

Again, on 11/12/22 – my brother—Sheldon, had her rushed to CHOMP ER from Pacific Grove Nursing home—since she had become unresponsive to our calls. She had been in the nursing home since mid-October 2022, and her health had deteriorated significantly. This time her body had gone into septic shock and some of her organs were beginning to fail. She was admitted to ICU for about 5 days and then spent another 18 days recovering. She was discharged to home hospice on 12/6/22; rushed to Salinas Valley Memorial Hospital (SVMH) ER on 12/11/22, and again discharged to home hospice on 12/20/22. Because she is not able to tolerate the chemotherapy, she has asked her doctors to discontinue the treatment. As far as we know, save a miracle, this disease is incurable, and her doctors’ prognosis is that she is terminal.

In the past 9 months, we have seen our mother’s health deteriorate dramatically. Our mother was an elementary school teacher for over 20 years in Belize, Central America; then worked as a CNA / LVN in the US for 25 years—where she provided the same type of in-home care for others, as she now needs. Now she is at home, on hospice care and needs our help. However, we need professional in-home care. This service is usually provided by home health agencies that only accept private pay or long-term care insurance (which our mother doesn’t have). To support her care in the comfort of her home we need to cover the cost of 2 to 3 in-home caregivers working 6 to 12-hour shifts. This is about $450 - $750 per day (or $20 - $30 per hour). So, we need your help. Our goal is to support our mother's care at home for at least 6- 12 months. Any contribution towards this effort would go a long way to help us provide the care and support she needs until the next phase of her life. Thanks in advance for your donation, appreciate the support.

God bless.

-Ward