UPDATE 12/28/25

After a recent hospital admission, it was discovered that Peggy has a mass on her brain and will need several tests to see if this mass needs an operation to remove it, or if she’s safe to just leave it alone and monitor for now. She has had a very challenging and disheartening year of bad news and more bad news.

we are still not any closer to knowing when/if mom will be able to return to work. And we are lost somewhere in the many people who have applied for relief funding and disability in the state of Alabama.

anything helps, and we are still hopeful that this is just a brief low point in this cancer journey that mom is on, and she’s not alone in it! Thank you to everyone who has supported us, prayed with us, cooked us a meal, and continued to show up to help. It doesn’t go unnoticed nor unappreciated at the highest level.

On September 6th, we received news that was completely unexpected. What we thought would be a workup for a kidney stone turned into the words “mass” and “referral” and “I’m so sorry to tell you this.”

One month later, on September 30th, a trip to the ER confirmed our worst fears and more. What was once labeled a small mass, now was a large tumor, and even more was staged as Stage IV renal cell carcinoma with metastasis to mom's bones.

We are rocked as a family and are doing our best to piece plans together and come up with solutions for everyone involved. Mom is an excellent worker; she’s been with Waffle House for over a decade and almost everyone who’s in Grandbay has either seen her, worked with her, been trained by her, or heard of her from friends and family. Unfortunately, the treatment plan is not one that is a quick fix. The tumor has grown into her vena cava and requires delicate surgery to repair her primary vein to her heart. It also requires the complete removal of her right kidney, as well as aggressive chemo treatments as soon as she is healed from surgery.

My mom does not qualify for insurance through Waffle House, they do not offer short-term disability, and she does not qualify for emergency Medicaid. We have applied to several programs that the hospital recommended to try for hospital bills for the future; however, it will take weeks to see if we are approved. In addition, we already have a $27,000 medical bill fee for all the scans and tests needed for her surgery, as well as constant pain medicine and copays for follow-ups and for her pain management until she’s able to be cancer-free.

Mom’s surgery is scheduled for October 22nd and will require myself (Carly) and my sister (Kelsi) to be out of work for at least a week each to care for mom during the recovery period of two weeks post-op before it’s safe to leave her alone. We are asking for any help that you are able to provide, even if it’s just sharing this post for prayers and positive thoughts on this journey to recovery. Mom is the best grandma, the best mom, and the best Waffle House trainer there ever was, and we can’t wait until she’s back in good health and back to her normal self.

Thank you all for taking the time to read her story.

-Carly