Norma I Cruz - Breast Cancer Fund
Donation protected
Hi most people know me as Odie. Norma and I have been the best of friends since our freshman year at Bodine H.S. in Philadelphia, PA since 1986. We've experienced a lot in life since then, including education, careers, marriage / divorce, children, family and now Breast Cancer.
I've always admired her for her courage, faith and no nonsense attitude towards life. When she sets her mind on something she is determined to see it through. She migrated to Jacksonville, FL over 10 years ago and followed her calling as a Spanish teacher. Since then she has been praised by both her students and their parents for her dedication.
Ultimately her greatest blessing and accomplishment, above all else, has been her 3 beautiful children... Jesus 11 yrs, Carolina 8 yrs and Eva 7 yrs. If you ever met them then you know that their love for their mother is the purest and her love for them is beyond measure.
In saying all this I am conveying how devasting it felt to know that she was diagnosed with Breast Cancer at the mere age of 43. Between October 2015 and present she has had to undergo countless tests, medical appointments, chemotherapy and will soon be scheduled for a double mastectomy in April 2016. None of this is easy on it's own, but when you're a single mom living miles away from your closest family it's exhausting. It takes time away from her children, work and her life.
At this point her biggest fears and concerns are for the care of her babies and their financial stability when she goes in for surgery. The recovery for the surgery is about 4 weeks, but the psychological recovery can take years. Regrettably she cannot complete teaching for the rest of the school year, the School District will not pay her for the summer.
Without a paycheck she won't be able to manage her rent, medical and household bills as well as summer care for her children.
Her recovery will be long and hard both physically and emotionally. For this reason I would like to lessen her burden in any way I can. She has always been there for me and I know that there are plenty of people out there who can empathize.
Any donations received will assist her beginning May 1, 2016. I kindly ask that anyone wishing to contribute submit it by this date. Thank You.
I've always admired her for her courage, faith and no nonsense attitude towards life. When she sets her mind on something she is determined to see it through. She migrated to Jacksonville, FL over 10 years ago and followed her calling as a Spanish teacher. Since then she has been praised by both her students and their parents for her dedication.
Ultimately her greatest blessing and accomplishment, above all else, has been her 3 beautiful children... Jesus 11 yrs, Carolina 8 yrs and Eva 7 yrs. If you ever met them then you know that their love for their mother is the purest and her love for them is beyond measure.
In saying all this I am conveying how devasting it felt to know that she was diagnosed with Breast Cancer at the mere age of 43. Between October 2015 and present she has had to undergo countless tests, medical appointments, chemotherapy and will soon be scheduled for a double mastectomy in April 2016. None of this is easy on it's own, but when you're a single mom living miles away from your closest family it's exhausting. It takes time away from her children, work and her life.
At this point her biggest fears and concerns are for the care of her babies and their financial stability when she goes in for surgery. The recovery for the surgery is about 4 weeks, but the psychological recovery can take years. Regrettably she cannot complete teaching for the rest of the school year, the School District will not pay her for the summer.
Without a paycheck she won't be able to manage her rent, medical and household bills as well as summer care for her children.
Her recovery will be long and hard both physically and emotionally. For this reason I would like to lessen her burden in any way I can. She has always been there for me and I know that there are plenty of people out there who can empathize.
Any donations received will assist her beginning May 1, 2016. I kindly ask that anyone wishing to contribute submit it by this date. Thank You.
Organizer and beneficiary
Othed Pagan-Adams
Organizer
Philadelphia, PA
Norma Cruz
Beneficiary