Kathy Nicolas - A Loving Farewell
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Our beloved baby sister, Kathy Nicolas, passed away unexpectedly on May 22. She had been hospitalized with severe pneumonia since the previous Wednesday, but her condition had started to improve, so her sudden passing left our family completely stunned and heartbroken. She had just turned 49 years old.
Some of you know that years ago, Kathy had been diagnosed with chronic connective tissue disorder – first battling Raynaud's, which tightened her skin, then ultimately Scleroderma, a rare disease which causes the connective tissue around her organs to harden. She suffered daily with rheumatoid arthritis, pulmonary hypertension, and other painful symptoms, but she rarely showed you how much pain she was in. She always chose to be happy and grateful for the life God gave her, greeting people with a big smile and engaging everyone with lively conversation and her great sense of humor. She may have been tiny in stature, but she was a fighter and much, much stronger than anyone knew. She took great pride in being independent, so she worked as a hairstylist years after her symptoms became severe.
What many of you don't know is Kathy recently battled lung cancer. For years her doctors at Stanford kept a watchful eye on nodules in her lungs. (Nodules are common in patients with Scleroderma.) When one nodule slightly increased in size, a biopsy revealed it was cancerous. With her already weakened state, Kathy endured radiation and chemotherapy. She was fiercely private about her cancer battle. Ever the optimist, she said she would tell people AFTER she defeated it. She planned to schedule her follow-up PET scan at Stanford before she got sick last week.
When Kathy was admitted to Lodi Memorial Hospital on May 15, the doctors originally thought she suffered a heart attack, so we were thankful when an echocardiogram ruled that out. She was given heavy-duty antibiotics and steroids, and respirators assisted her breathing. After a few days, her platelet counts, oxygen level, and white blood cell counts were all improving, but on May 21, she was transferred to the ICU because she was having trouble breathing. She was sedated and intubated. We all had faith she would be okay, but that evening, while she slept, Kathy suffered a brain aneurism, and tests revealed she no longer had any brain activity. Knowing Kathy's independent spirit, our family knew she wouldn't want to live hooked up to machines, so we made the heart-wrenching decision to let her go with dignity and peace.
As we deal with overwhelming grief, our family is making her funeral plans and trying to get her affairs in order. We just learned that Kathy did not have any life insurance. Her disease prevented her from finding an affordable policy, and her federal disability benefits barely covered her daily expenses.
It was agonizing for us to start this campaign. Many of you have asked how you can help, and we've politely declined, but we're humbly asking for help now.
Kathy was a bright light in so many people's lives. We want to keep the focus on Kathy – not the money it'll cost to say goodbye. Please donate what you can and share this post with others. Our family will be forever grateful.
Ben Jr., Chris, Karen, and Julie
Some of you know that years ago, Kathy had been diagnosed with chronic connective tissue disorder – first battling Raynaud's, which tightened her skin, then ultimately Scleroderma, a rare disease which causes the connective tissue around her organs to harden. She suffered daily with rheumatoid arthritis, pulmonary hypertension, and other painful symptoms, but she rarely showed you how much pain she was in. She always chose to be happy and grateful for the life God gave her, greeting people with a big smile and engaging everyone with lively conversation and her great sense of humor. She may have been tiny in stature, but she was a fighter and much, much stronger than anyone knew. She took great pride in being independent, so she worked as a hairstylist years after her symptoms became severe.
What many of you don't know is Kathy recently battled lung cancer. For years her doctors at Stanford kept a watchful eye on nodules in her lungs. (Nodules are common in patients with Scleroderma.) When one nodule slightly increased in size, a biopsy revealed it was cancerous. With her already weakened state, Kathy endured radiation and chemotherapy. She was fiercely private about her cancer battle. Ever the optimist, she said she would tell people AFTER she defeated it. She planned to schedule her follow-up PET scan at Stanford before she got sick last week.
When Kathy was admitted to Lodi Memorial Hospital on May 15, the doctors originally thought she suffered a heart attack, so we were thankful when an echocardiogram ruled that out. She was given heavy-duty antibiotics and steroids, and respirators assisted her breathing. After a few days, her platelet counts, oxygen level, and white blood cell counts were all improving, but on May 21, she was transferred to the ICU because she was having trouble breathing. She was sedated and intubated. We all had faith she would be okay, but that evening, while she slept, Kathy suffered a brain aneurism, and tests revealed she no longer had any brain activity. Knowing Kathy's independent spirit, our family knew she wouldn't want to live hooked up to machines, so we made the heart-wrenching decision to let her go with dignity and peace.
As we deal with overwhelming grief, our family is making her funeral plans and trying to get her affairs in order. We just learned that Kathy did not have any life insurance. Her disease prevented her from finding an affordable policy, and her federal disability benefits barely covered her daily expenses.
It was agonizing for us to start this campaign. Many of you have asked how you can help, and we've politely declined, but we're humbly asking for help now.
Kathy was a bright light in so many people's lives. We want to keep the focus on Kathy – not the money it'll cost to say goodbye. Please donate what you can and share this post with others. Our family will be forever grateful.
Ben Jr., Chris, Karen, and Julie
Co-organizers (3)
Karen Nicolas
Organizer
Thousand Oaks, CA
Benjamin Nicolas Jr.
Beneficiary
Christopher Nicolas
Co-organizer
Julie Strehlow
Co-organizer