Help Kristyn and Gianna with expenses

Hi, I’m Jamie and I’ve started this page to assist my cousin with medical expenses, lost wages and whatever may come up for her and her family during this difficult time.

My cousin, Kristyn is a teacher and a mother of 4. She has recently taken a leave of absence from her job to care for her oldest daughter, Gianna is 15 and undergoing treatment for Hodgkins Lymphoma. She is fierce and strong and is going to pull thru, but in the mean time this is a financial hardship on the family.

I’ve attached a statement from Kristyn regarding the timeline of Gianna’s story and just how strong she is.

Around the end of September, Gianna woke up in the morning feeling like she had a stiff neck. She put her hand on the left side of her neck to rub it and noticed a small golf ball size lymph node on her neck. We thought maybe she was coming down with something. She said she didn’t feel sick, but she was worried. We told her we would keep an eye on it and that swollen lymph nodes are normal. She went a few weeks, not wanting to miss school or dance, however she was concerned and asked to go to the walk in clinic that Sunday. After many tests and all negative results, we got a quick prick positive result for mono. That made sense to me but not to Gianna.

“How can I have mono, mom? I don’t have a sore throat and I am not tired. I dance 30-40 hours a week, plus honors course load and I babysit. There is no way.”

I reassured her that she would be ok (little did I know) and she went on another two weeks. Right after thanksgiving she said she was still super concerned and she vocalized that she thought she had Hodgkins Lymphoma. I teared up and asked her what she wanted to do. She expressed getting blood work. I called her pediatrician the very next day. She ordered blood work which confirmed Gianna was correct she did NOT have mono.

From there Gianna was brought in for an exam, which lead to going straight to oncology, which lead to being admitted to the hospital. All happening in one day, Wednesday, Dec. 14th.

The rest has been a huge blur. After a biopsy it was confirmed, on Dec 16th 2022, Gianna was diagnosed with Hodgkins Lymphoma and the following Wednesday it was confirmed that it is was Stage 3a.

How could my healthy, active, full of life, dedicated and extremely committed 15 year old girl have cancer. She has endured so much since that day, from cat scans, to X-rays, ultra sounds, biopsy, port placement, and two rounds of intense Chemotherapy. She has an 8 day cycle over a 21 day period. This repeats a total of four times and to date we are unsure if she will need radiation.

Gianna is one of four kids and they are extremely close. I have taken a leave from work to care for her and we have just been following her motto “one day at a time”. She is a warrior and has used her passion of dance as her therapy. She inspires us everyday and we know this will soon be in her rear view mirror.

So I would like to thank you for taking the time to read my cousins story and can only hope that we can help in any way we can. every dollar counts.