January 2020 Gabe and Maranda were expecting their first child together… a boy they had already named James. After several visits to the emergency room due to heavy unexplained bleeding… Maranda refused to leave until the found the problem. Twenty four hours later she was being transferred to Vassar but not told why. As she sat across the room from her Mother and her husband the Doctor came in and told her that “Oncology would be down to speak to her soon.” All the blood drained from their faces. No one thought this was a possibility. In June, all of her tests came back perfectly normal. 

The Doctors came in and she was told she had stage 2b Cervical Cancer. The tumor was 4.4cm and could be seen with the naked eye. They wanted her to start treatments immediately. The baby was only 32 weeks gestation and she refused the chemo and radiation they wanted her to take. Oncology did not care about this precious little being she had protected for 7 months. She was told she was irresponsible and patronized but stuck to her decision. They kept her in Vassar hospital for 21 days until they felt it was safe to deliver. He was born at 36 weeks old and the most beautiful little face she had ever seen. Immediately after the birth a biopsy was done 

When Little James was 3 weeks old she started treatments. 36 radiation treatments, Chemo and Internal radiation. The Internal Radiation left her insides burned and have caused many health issues. In May 2020 she was told she was in remission. 

She tried to move on with her life but was haunted by her illness. Depressed that her son didn’t really know her due to how sick she was. Some days she didn’t even see him or hold him. He wasn’t the first person he smiled at. He didn’t look to her for comfort for many months. She went back to work and struggled for months despite really wanting her life to be normal again. One day her boss walked her down to the ER and she has not been back since due to debilitating pain.

Lingering issues from the treatments have been progressively getting worse. She has had 3 hospital stays in just a few months. The last one was 9 days and she left without a definitive answer of what was going on. After seeing a specialist it was finally diagnosed that she had an infection in her uterus… all the retention was swelling and pressing in on her bladder which was the cause of severe pain. A team of Doctors decided it was best that she have another surgery. The risks with this surgery are high and could lead to even more health issues and more surgeries but due to all the pain everyone has agreed its a risk worth taking. 

Between ambulance rides and specialists and surgeries even with insurance the bills have mounted out of control. Maranda always tries to help others in need whenever she can. We are hoping people will help her so she can enjoy her time with her children. Her biggest fear is leaving her husband in huge debt due to her illness. 

****A message from Maranda****

Please please please ladies go for your annual exams. I went to mine and I still ended up with cancer. Cervical cancer is a very slow growing cancer. The earlier you catch it… the better your survival is. This was the most horrible experience of my life. You don’t want this. If one yearly visit can lower your odds then you do it. I want to thank all my friends for showing me true goodness and humanity. I will never forget all the late night talks and encouragement. I also want to thank my Mother who took care of me. A Mother should never ever have to go through the panic and worry that she did. When I had chemo she would wait outside for 7 hours just so I knew someone was close by. Thank you for Gabe for loving me no matter how awful I was and always being positive and brave when I could’t be. Most of all… I want to thank my beautiful Son James (Jimmy)… who probably saved my life. Every day with you is the best day. Your smile and personality kept me going when I could not even sit upright. And to Jaxon and Zach… you boys are the loves of my life and I am so glad that I have you.