Lisa's Fight For Life
Donation protected
My sister (Madison Lee McAnelly) and I (Brogan Lee) have watched our mother struggle, battle, and deteriorate for as far back as we can remember. Hospitals, doctor’s offices, thousands of medications, new drugs, new machines, new wrenches thrown in gears every time we found a smooth patch to have some normal added to our daily coffee. We have always prided ourselves as a family to be private, to make do, to pack hospital bags in the middle of the night just to drive through feet of snow to get from Washington to Indianapolis. We missed work, we missed school, we missed life, but we made do because that’s just what we knew how to do.
Our Mom (Lisa Lannan Lee) has fought tooth and nail against a genetic lung disease called Cystic Fibrosis for her entire living life. In April of 2011 we thought we were finally getting another chance at normal. We got the call we packed the bags we set out for Indy. Double Lung Transplant, an all-day surgery, nine people in the waiting room, twice as many on the surgery floor, months in the hospital our Dad (Rory “Chop” Lee) staying there full time with mom. To think the December before we were taking pictures and saying our last Christmas to December 2011 Mom was cooking with two big winged scars across her shoulder blades. We were grossing everyone out with the pictures the surgeons took during the operation. We got to have normal. Well, our normal anyways.
Then Satan came back to town. Cancer was here and there wasn’t much we could do about it. Her non-existent immune system only proved to be weaker with all the anti-rejection meds for her new lungs which were supposed to be the new lease on life. It spread like the orange of the sky on an Indiana fall evening it touched everything you could see. She is currently fighting sarcoma in her breast and fibro xanthoma on the entire upper half of her body. Since she has gone through radiation and due to her lack of immune system she could not handle the chemo. Unlike a normal person with not having an immune system means her body doesn’t heal as quickly or at all and getting cancer removed is very painful and extraordinarily difficult. Coming up she has to have a mastectomy and has to continue getting cancer removed.
With having new lungs all doctor’s appointments have to be made in Indianapolis. The Oncologist must go through Transplant docs and vice versa. They have had to learn to become a team and plan in unison. Which also means longer hospital stays with someone staying with her. That means full day trips or sometimes weeklong trips with a driver and countless hours spent waiting for us and hours spent having tests from Mom.
Now, we have a new goal. To get to North Carolina to make it to Duke to see old doctors with new ideas and to fight for a couple more years with our Mom to slow down cancer. We all know it’s a long shot but we will make do because that’s after all what we do.
As handouts have never been easy for any of us to take we have found a voice to ask for help. Now expenses have piled up from medications, surgeries, time off of jobs, hospitalizations, trips to and from, and now a long risky haul to North Carolina. We need help to ease the financial burden that has been placed and to be able to enjoy the time we have left and be able to fight for more. Donations and prayers are so greatly appreciated. We thank you from the bottom of hearts.
Love,
Brogan & Madison
Our Mom (Lisa Lannan Lee) has fought tooth and nail against a genetic lung disease called Cystic Fibrosis for her entire living life. In April of 2011 we thought we were finally getting another chance at normal. We got the call we packed the bags we set out for Indy. Double Lung Transplant, an all-day surgery, nine people in the waiting room, twice as many on the surgery floor, months in the hospital our Dad (Rory “Chop” Lee) staying there full time with mom. To think the December before we were taking pictures and saying our last Christmas to December 2011 Mom was cooking with two big winged scars across her shoulder blades. We were grossing everyone out with the pictures the surgeons took during the operation. We got to have normal. Well, our normal anyways.
Then Satan came back to town. Cancer was here and there wasn’t much we could do about it. Her non-existent immune system only proved to be weaker with all the anti-rejection meds for her new lungs which were supposed to be the new lease on life. It spread like the orange of the sky on an Indiana fall evening it touched everything you could see. She is currently fighting sarcoma in her breast and fibro xanthoma on the entire upper half of her body. Since she has gone through radiation and due to her lack of immune system she could not handle the chemo. Unlike a normal person with not having an immune system means her body doesn’t heal as quickly or at all and getting cancer removed is very painful and extraordinarily difficult. Coming up she has to have a mastectomy and has to continue getting cancer removed.
With having new lungs all doctor’s appointments have to be made in Indianapolis. The Oncologist must go through Transplant docs and vice versa. They have had to learn to become a team and plan in unison. Which also means longer hospital stays with someone staying with her. That means full day trips or sometimes weeklong trips with a driver and countless hours spent waiting for us and hours spent having tests from Mom.
Now, we have a new goal. To get to North Carolina to make it to Duke to see old doctors with new ideas and to fight for a couple more years with our Mom to slow down cancer. We all know it’s a long shot but we will make do because that’s after all what we do.
As handouts have never been easy for any of us to take we have found a voice to ask for help. Now expenses have piled up from medications, surgeries, time off of jobs, hospitalizations, trips to and from, and now a long risky haul to North Carolina. We need help to ease the financial burden that has been placed and to be able to enjoy the time we have left and be able to fight for more. Donations and prayers are so greatly appreciated. We thank you from the bottom of hearts.
Love,
Brogan & Madison
Organizer and beneficiary
Madison McAnelly
Organizer
Washington, IN
Lisa Lannan Lee
Beneficiary