From my heart to yours

In these troubled times I often consider that it can become difficult to bare the stresses that life brings. The unforeseeable realities that hit like a hammer and that seem to dismantle our world right before our eyes. We feel powerless, and at the will of something that carries unavoidably negative impact. On February 23rd 2015, Carol Hagan, age 49 from Salt Lake City, UT was diagnosed with stage 3C Ovarian Cancer. Before the diagnosis, cysts were identified on her ovaries that began to cause her pain and a buildup of fluid in her lower abdomen soon followed. Her doctor of internal medicine scheduled a surgery to remove her ovaries at the onset of the fluid buildup. What was expected to be a straight forward hysterectomy soon became much more during surgery when the cysts were identified as being cancerous. The cancer had spread to her spleen, her appendix and various parts of her abdomen. As a result, the surgeons at Utah Valley Medical Center performed a splenectomy, an appendectomy and removed as much of the cancer as possible from her abdomen. Carol awoke from surgery in the hospital not knowing of the cancer. She looked to her son and asked if everything during the surgery went well. His heart could barely muster the strength to tell his mother of the cancer that they had found. When he told her, she did not cry and she did not falter, for her heart is that of a lions. She then asked her son, so what’s next baby? Her son informed her that she would undergo Chemotherapy for the next six months of her life to which she replied okay, I’m ready. Shortly thereafter Carol developed an infection from the surgery that caused fluid to develop again in her abdomen and also at her back which began to compress her lung. The fluid had to be drained from her back and abdomen and Carol was then placed on an antibiotic regiment for the infection. Currently Carol awaits the onset of her chemotherapy treatment while she battles the infection as the antibiotic regiment must conclude before this begins. When told that she would lose her hair after the first chemotherapy treatment, she stated with a smile that she will simply have to invest in a new hat collection, her spirit is unwavering. Carol is a thoughtful and loving woman who has touched each and every person in her life. Her positivity and caring nature are her shining attributes and her love for her family and friends represents an unbreakable bond. Her son now often wonders how it is that she can maintain the same strength of character that he has always known although the times are darker now than they have ever been. But always, he is reminded that his mother does not know how to fail. She is the light when its dark, the warmth in his soul and the most amazing woman he has ever known. 

With Love & Support
-Nickolas Rose-
(I Love you Mom)

-Every contribution matters, and my mother greatly appreciates the love and support that each contribution represents which will help to lighten the financial load that this terrible situation has introduced-