Hi everyone! This is Vania, an actual angel and the biggest ray of sunshine. She’s known for her bright smile and infectious laugh, her creativity and passion, her drive, strength and making every day count more than the last. She wears her huge and generous heart on her sleeve, and never leaves anyone wondering how much unending love and appreciation she has for her family, friends, her furbaby Bouj, and her amazing husband, Ben. Vania has never met a stranger, and is always the first one to lend a helping hand, lift anyone up when they’re down, and would be by your side in a heartbeat without question. Well, now it’s our turn to help her.

 Life was normal for Vania until June. But after experiencing a persistent cough, shortness of breath and fatigue, she visited with her doctor and was diagnosed with pneumonia. However, her symptoms continued to progress so her doctor decided to admit Vania to the hospital where she spent a week undergoing rounds of testing while they searched for answers. Doctors discovered multiple blood clots in both her lungs as well as tumors. Further testing on those tumors provided some answers, and on June 28th Vania was diagnosed with advanced non-small cell lung cancer…ALK to be exact. Anaplastic lymphoma kinase(ALK) are tumors caused by a genetic mutation that occurs in the womb. The ALK gene is in your body when you are an embryo, and helps in the development of the gut and nervous system. It usually gets turned off while you are still in the womb, but for some people, it gets turned back on and fuses with another gene. This gene change is called an ALK fusion and can cause cancer. Patients who are ALK-positive tend to be younger than the average lung cancer patient, and they also tend to not have any smoking history. This is the case for Vania.

 Since her diagnosis, nothing has been the same. Vania is on oxygen 24/7, taking multiple medications and receiving injections throughout the day. Her mobility has suffered greatly and simple tasks taken for granted by most are no longer simple. She can’t bend over, and walking more than a dozen steps requires more breath and energy than her body and lungs are able to provide. Vania struggles with chronic coughing, insomnia, exhaustion, labored breathing and fatigue - all of which take a toll on her already fragile system. She’s endured procedures, MRIs, scopes, PET scans, injections and so much more. The path to healing is going to be a long one.

Some good news is there’s a specific medication, generally referred to as an ALK-inhibitor, recommended to treat her cancer. While this medicine will be a much needed tool on her journey to health, it is not a cure, and Vania still has a long road ahead of her. Hospital stays, co-pays, medicines, testing, treatments, therapy, scans, scopes and frequent travel to and from her lung cancer specialist at Northwestern in Chicago are all in her future. Living and fighting daily with cancer is stressful enough, but adding the immense financial burden and continuously growing piles of medical bills is more than overwhelming, and not where what little energy she does have should be placed. 

 So what we’re asking for is help. If you’re able to donate, please do. Every single dollar, every single penny adds up and provides Vania the opportunity to keep fighting every day to live the future and life she so greatly deserves. If you’re not able to donate, we would love if you could help by sharing her story and keeping her and Ben in your thoughts and prayers as they navigate this hand in hand.

Through all of these challenges, Vania has remained positive, upbeat and so strong. She is determined to do whatever it takes to heal and get healthy. She has so much in her incredibly bright future days to look forward to, and in any way you can help keep that smile on her face and show her the love and support she so selflessly shows everyone else is forever gratefully appreciated.

 Thank you♥️