Debra S. Boring, my mother, was the strongest woman I know. Anyone close to her knew that for the past year, she had been dealing with a number of health issues. She had pain in her kidneys, lots of nausea and vomiting, severe swelling in her legs. She had finally switched doctors and the day after seeing the new doctor for bloodwork, she was told to go to the emergency room immediately. At this point, her kidneys and thyroid were bad and she was anemic. She had started calling into work, which she never did in the 25 years there. She had no energy and was having a hard time with mobility.

I took her to the emergency room on June 26th and sat with her while they did all their tests to see what her doctor saw. Once they had answers, they admitted her. Her kidneys were not functioning as they should and she was anemic, but they had no idea why this was the case. They did an x-ray of her kidneys and decided that shunts were the way to go to help the fluid exit her body. During the surgery, the doctor found what he thought was cervical cancer. After the surgery, they also gave her iron transfusions to help with the anemia. Everything was looking up and her color was returning and her energy. She was still having pain in her lower back and kidneys. They finally said she could go home on July 5th. She was doing great her first few days back home except for being so tired. It started to go downhill from there. She was back to severe pain, no energy, vomiting, and she was beyond exhausted.

July 29th was her first appointment with a cancer doctor. He immediately confirmed it was cervical cancer and told her she had options for treatment. He also confirmed that was the reason her kidneys stopped working properly. We were expecting her to fight it. They were trying to schedule a PET scan for her to see how far it may have spread. No one expected her to pass away just one week later. She was a hard worker, but was living paycheck to paycheck. She had not been back to work since the 26th of June. She did not have a life insurance policy as this was all so sudden.

I dislike asking others for help, but I would move mountains for Momma. We need assistance with her funeral costs and other expenses she had. She is the most amazing woman and I know she would do anything she had to for others, I ask we do the same for her.

May you rest in peace watching over Jay and I as we try and navigate a world without your light in it.