Lorrie's Journey

The Goodman Family is organizing this fundraiser on behalf of Lorrie Goodman.

Created May 29, 2020

"Great things are done by a series of small things brought together." -Vincent van Gogh


For the last three months, as my sister Lorrie was loving on her newborn baby girl, she began having headaches and occasional dizziness. With so much going on around her, she didn't really stop to think about it until the worst episode on May 19th, when these symptoms started getting more frequent and more serious. She knew something was wrong and told her husband Steven that she believed it was a brain aneurysm. She told me about all of this, and I thought, maybe you have a pinched nerve? Maybe you need more iron, or you had an issue with the epidural? But after taking more iron and eating more regularly did nothing to make her better, she decided to go to the doctor.

 

Her doctor told her it could be tinnitus and some pain from birth, sent her home with a list of exercises to do at home in order to hopefully get things back to normal. She did the exercises religiously, but they didn't work. Meanwhile, the list of symptoms started getting longer... blurry vision, seeing stars, light sensitivity, insomnia, incoordination, etc. Without answers, Lorrie tried to push through all the symptoms and get on with her daily life. As a mother of three and a Dental Hygiene student this became nearly impossible. How can someone who uses their eyes to make a living do so with all these eye/head related symptoms?

 

The day of May 19th was the worst day of my sister’s life and she awoke that morning with no vision in her right eye and blurry vision in her left eye, with a severe migraine. She called Steven begging him to come home and be with the children as her and our grandmother were going to Memorial Hermann Hospital in Sugar Land, Tx. “What if it is an aneurysm?” She asked our grandmother. They soon arrived and was rushed to a room in the back asking a ton of question they decided a CT scan was her best bet in finding out what was actually going on in her head, a couple labs to rule out an infection or birth related problems. An hour later the doctor returned and gave Lorrie the devastating news. The Radiologist report showed that of a mass on the right frontal part of her brain into the right temple. He then informed her that right away she would be transferred to the downtown medical center to speak with a neurologist and have an MRI and most importantly surgery.

Lorrie’s life had been completely turned upside down. Her babies and husband felt just as much pain. The next 24 hours only got worse; Lorrie’s MRI results did not show that of a grape size mass (abscess) as previously discussed but that of an orange size brain tumor deep in the brain mass of the right frontal/temple. The neurologist team moved her to ICU and informed her that the next step would be a 95% removal of the right side of her brain on June 1, 2020.

Steroids and an anti-seizure medicines were given to Lorrie in which she has had some bad side effects to. She can no longer breastfeed her newborn daughter or pick up her energetic toddler. Crying has become an every other hour must to try and cope with the immense amount of pain and uncertainty of what is to come.

For those that know our Lorrie they know she is a strong, crafty, spit fire type of person, who would do anything to make someone laugh or smile. This side of the brain is in control of art awareness, written language, spoken language, logic, and reason, her Neurology team however is very optimistic in her recovery, but as a small request we are asking in help for her husband and babies as she prepares for surgery and the long road of recovery that is to come.

 

Primary cost:

*$3,000  out of pocket for the surgery/doctors/hospital costs that needs to be paid in full by 06/01

Secondary costs:

*$701.36 for individual deductible to keep Lorrie under the coverage of Steven's insurance (which will give her better coverage)

*$500 for lodging in Houston for Steven during the time she is there

*$200+ for prescriptions

*$2,000 to supplement the income they will miss during the surgery and recovery

*$2,030 to cover gofundme fees

 

This tumor in her brain must come out, whether any of us can afford it or not. If it doesn't, her symptoms could get worse. We can't let her live with these and potentially worse symptoms for the rest of her life. It's a lot of money. And none of us can pay for it by ourselves, but together we can make this happen. Please, help my sister.