JoAnn Gutierrez Medical and Recovery Fund

At the start of May, my mom went to the doctor for her yearly checkup, and

was informed she had a tumor in her peritoneal region. After going through multiple doctors, doctors have suspected it to be a liposarcoma resulting in my mother needing a biopsy, radiation, and surgery to remove it. The doctors have informed her that her surgery will be all day, and since it is almost a foot in size and surrounds many organs, they will most likely need to take one of her kidneys out in the removal process. These procedures alone and her recovery time spent in the hospital will be very costly. While my sister and I have tried to use some of our college money to help contribute to her medical bills, it will not be enough. This whole process has not been easy for my family, especially my mom. She is a pre-k teacher assistant loved by all her students and is supposed to return to work starting in early August. With everything happening, she is not sure if she will be able to be back on time and is afraid she will not receive enough money to pay upcoming utility bills. These funds will help cover her medical bills and the time she will need to be out of work to recover after her radiation therapy and surgery.

My mom has always been there for my sister and me every step of our life, and I hope we will be able to give back to her in any way possible. She is such a caring, thoughtful, supportive, and strong mother; even with having to go through this challenging time, she has put our needs above hers no matter what.