
Lets Rally for Elliana!!!!!!
Donation protected
Hello there, my name is Angela Stevens. Gina and I are basically sisters along with our other partner in crime, Sharleen. We all grew up together in Memphis, TN. Although we all live in different states we remain the best of friends. In fact all of our children call us "Aunt" Aunt Sharleen, Aunt Gina, and Aunt Angela. Living so far away from Gina, especially now has been so difficult. I want to be there with her and help her navigate through all of this. Which brings me to why we are here.
Gina has 3 children. After having her middle child she "thought" she was done having kids and she got a Tubal ligation. At the end of 2020, much to Gina's surprise she was in fact, pregnant again! This time she is a little older and in her 40s. The doctors ran all kinds of tests and one of the tests came back that the baby she was carrying would have Down syndrome. Of course, Gina was sad and had a lot of questions but she had a lot of encouragement and support. The pregnancy was super hard on Gina's body and she had to have the baby a little early. Good thing too because that precious angel came in weighting a hearty 9 pounds. Gina and Mike named her Elliana Cecilla Masters and she is beautiful! Not too long after giving birth Gina was admitted to the hospital once again. This time she has heart issues from the pregnancy being so hard on her body. Gina was then diagnosed with CHF (congestive heart failure).
The next three months bring lots and lots of doctor appointments lots of testing and lots of speculation, research, and big scary words. But, at the end of that time, Elliana was diagnosed with AML (Acute Myeloid Leukemia) exactly what we feared. WHAT!!!! We were all heartbroken. Why? Why did God do this, I was furious and confused. Against all odds Gina first gets pregnant, second, she finds out about Downs Syndrome, and now she has CANCER!!! Gina has to take her complete miracle baby to the hospital once a month and have her admitted and hooked up to poison. Can you imagine? I cannot fathom this. Chemo is necessary but it is evil. Chemo medicine can get into the caregiver's system. If they are not careful with all of Elliana's bodily fluids they can soak in their skin and then make the caregiver sick. Chemo makes Elliana have the worst rashes. Like break-your-heart rashes on her whole bottom area, it makes her cry and this baby does not normally cry, it makes her vomit so much, it does so much havoc on her tiny body it takes her way longer to heal in between treatments, and almost always landing right back in the hospital for transfusions or from fevers. I hear the fevers are super hard on her, they spike super high and super fast.
Gina had to quit work to take care of Elliana and because of her CHF. But mostly because Elliana needs a full-time caregiver. Gabriella, Gina's middle child, had to stop going to daycare. When they are at the hospital receiving chemo they are there for at minimum one week. Gabriella goes to her Grandparent's house during those weeks. So the cost of daycare just got overwhelming, especially with her having to miss so much from being gone. Gina's in-law's live over an hour away. Elliana's hospital is over an hour away. She has to take Elliana to the hospital to have her labs checked so many times in between treatments. They spend so much time on the road running to and from babysitters and to the hospital. Gabriella does get to sometimes go to the hospital with her Sissy, which she loves. She also loves playing at the Cancer Foundation and they have been so great to include her in a lot of stuff. THEN their landlord informs Gina and Mike he is selling their home. On top of all of this, they are forced to find a new home, which we all know moving is very costly. If there is any way you feel like you could donate any amount into helping this family. It would be so much appreciated. They could use help with the cost of moving and all of Elliana's medical supplies, diapers, formula, gas, food, supplies, and medicine, just all the things they need. Gina has always been such a hard worker, not working is hard on her mental health, as well as the worry of losing the income she brought in. If you at all can even donate five or ten dollars nothing is too small and every donation will be used in helping take care of Elliana.
If I still have you with me. I would like to say Thank you for reading and I ask that you at minimum pray for this family. Pray for health, strength, no fevers, healing, and safety while traveling so much. I also ask that you share this page on your social media pages or email it to your contacts. I may have been sad and confused about the diagnosis but my faith is in a much higher power than myself, and I do have TRUST in GOD! I trust God to take care of Elliana and Gina and although I do not understand, it is just simply not for me to understand.
"carry each other's burdens and so you will fulfill the law of Christ." -Galatians 6:2
"My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you." -John 15:12
Love, Angela
Co-organizers (3)
Angela Stevens
Organizer
Judsonia, AR
Gina Masters
Beneficiary
Corey Stevens
Co-organizer