Leigh's Beating Cancer Fund

Many of you may already know that Leigh Ann Poole was recently diagnosed with a rare form of ovarian cancer. It is extremely aggressive and has rapidly advanced spreading to almost all her pelvic organs, to her colon, greater omentum, small and large intestines, and abdominal wall. She was scheduled to undergo three treatments of chemotherapy followed by surgery to remove as much of the cancer as possible. The oncologist would then assess the effectiveness of the treatment and decide how to move forward.

This was the treatment plan until an unforeseen complication arose last week. The cancer had caused her to develop a bowel obstruction that landed her in the ER and forced the doctors to an alternative course of action. They then wanted to rush her to Chicago and perform an emergency surgery to remove the obstruction and to conduct a full hysterectomy.

Fortunately, the obstruction has partially passed and she is now temporarily home so that she can spend some time with her family. Although she hasn't been able to eat solid foods for 5 days we are feeling extremely blessed to have this limited, quality time with her.

Those of you who have spent even a short time with my mother know that she is an exceptional person. It has always been said that you won't likely remember what people said to you, you may remember what they did to you, but you will always remember how they made you feel. My mother has the unique ability to make us feel like we are the single most important person in the room when she is talking to us. At some point in all our lives she has brought out the best in each and every one of us and she has helped guide so many of us through difficult times.

To me she's always been a mother, but to many of you she's been a friend, a mentor, a teacher, a colleague, a neighbor, and so much more. The one thing we can all say that she has done for us is to have loved. This woman has been through so much but has never stopped loving everyone and everything in her life whole-heartedly. Much of her life was spent serving others in her many roles. Among others, she was a youth crisis interventionist, an aid to children with disabilities, an activity coordinator at the nursing home, and an in-home care specialist. She owned her own scrapbook store through which she gave back to the community through teaching classes and after-school crafts for students. She co-founded and ran the local Polo Pioneers 4-H club which is still active today. Nothing gives her more joy than to see the happiness of others around her.

My mother has faced adversity her entire life. She raised me as a single mother for the first 8 years of my life and has always put me first, especially before herself. She was adopted when she was an infant and never had the opportunity to meet her biological parents. They passed before she was able to find and meet them.

My mother is the only person alive who has been there for me my entire life. The only thing worse than the thought of losing her is knowing that there is little I can do to control what is happening.  She's not the type of person to ask for help and this is not easy for me to do. I am setting up this fund to help with medical, living, and travel expenses during this extremely difficult time. Anything that you can donate to help give my mother a fighting chance at survival will be deeply appreciated and in return we will keep you posted on her progress throughout this unfortunate journey.