Mother and Daughter Support Needed For Medical Crisis

My name is Bethany, and this is my youngest daughter Charlie. I'm 34 and she is just 8 years old. In November of 2024, my oldest daughter Mitaya had to have extensive surgery at Boston Children's Hospital to remove a Tenosynovial Giant Cell Tumor. Luckily, it was benign; however, several appointments, biopsy, and surgery for her set us back as we were both out of work. I remained out of work to care for her during her 4-month healing journey as the tumor had eaten away at bone and tissue between her cuneiform bones in her left foot.

Just as we financially started to bounce back and catch up since my husband and I were both out of work a lot, my middle child Miri ended up hospitalized for 3 weeks due to severe mental illness. Again, I am still out of work at this point, and my husband had to take even more time off to help me be there for her as much as I was able to.

We never fully financially recovered from either of these events, and we certainly aren't a family that ever asks for help, but we need help.

My baby girl, my sweet bouncy 8-year-old daughter, has a confirmed tumor in her chest. My heart broke when they confirmed it via ultrasound. My husband and I are shattered that we have to go through this again, and even more so how terrified our baby is, and there's nothing we can do to make it go away. This means more time off work on my husband's part, meaning the hole we are already in is about to get bigger. Though this news crushed us, we kept pushing, and on 6/2, I have to call pediatric surgery at Elliot to schedule a consultation. We've been told because of her age and the location, it has to be removed... no matter what.

Just when we started to try and come up with a plan of survival during the coming months of dealing with a second tumor in one of our babies, I got slapped with bad news myself.

In February and October of 2023, I had LEEP procedures because I was very close to having cervical cancer. I had an IUD removed and a new one placed during the first LEEP. The second one, I was told they would put the strings up inside my cervix, do the procedure, and gently pull them down afterward. However, the first LEEP caused so much scar tissue the strings didn't fit. So, as a medical professional having to make an on-the-spot choice, instead of removing it, the strings were cut. I have had to have regular paps due to the severity and how close I came to having cancer. Now, with all the scar tissue, the IUD is causing a great deal of discomfort. I went to the doctors on 5/31 for an attempted IUD removal with no strings. The scar tissue was so intense she had to cut into the scar tissue with an 11 blade. I could feel the aggressive pushing as she tried to get tools through my cervix to retrieve my IUD. In the end, the procedure failed, and I was told I now need surgery myself because the IUD is embedded in scar tissue. So, they have to surgically remove it and remove some of the scar tissue as it's so severe there's barely a hole where there should be one.

I am less concerned about myself, but it adds to the time the other parent will have to be home to help with the kids. He's a truck driver, so even one day missed financially can cripple us. We are looking to raise $10,000 to help cover our personal living expenses [Rent, Electric, Cars, etc.] during this time. The money will also go towards the medical expenses needed for both of us to have the surgery we both need.

My daughter doesn't deserve this; she's a sweetie with a heart of gold. She's friendly, kind, nonjudgmental, an animal lover, a gamer, and a brilliant wildflower that is made up of the best parts of both me and her dad.

The last thing we want is to worry about losing our apartment or not being able to afford our cars and food. Basically, all the necessities we have to continue having and paying for. Anything will help, and my family and I are very grateful for any help we are able to obtain for this financial crisis.

Thank you for taking the time to read this.

- Bethany and Charlie