Please Donate to Help Raynna Hiatt Battle Cancer

In June of 2023, my niece-in-law Raynna began experiencing pain in her back. Initially diagnosed as a UTI, she was given antibiotics. They did nothing, and the pain increased. A visit to urgent care the next month as the pain increased, again diagnosed as a UTI with another round of antibiotics. Then a third round, then a fourth. Advil & Tylenol to manage the pain became the new norm, along with an increasing number of symptoms. At the end of September, she began experiencing a sharp pain in the side of her back that warranted a visit to the ER. CT scans and MRI did not reveal anything, so again: UTI, antibiotics, discharged. When she became incontinent the next day and had to revisit the ER they still didn’t see anything, and it became obvious the ER doctors were starting to just think she was a pain junkie trying to get a fix. This song and dance continued, all the while with her pain increasing to where she couldn’t sit and could only lay down on her back until late November, when a CT scan technician finally looked close enough to notice she had a fistula. This quickly led to doctors taking her seriously, realizing she had a blocked ureter which was causing the back pain, requiring a nephrostomy procedure. Finally, on December 26th, she received the final confirmation of what it had been the entire time: stage 4 cervical cancer.

The next stage will be getting a PET scan (scheduled for January 20th unless there’s an opening sooner) to determine how far the cancer has spread, which will determine the exact treatment & schedule (at the moment it sounds like it will be a combination of radiation & chemotherapy). But in all likelihood, this will be a battle her and my nephew James will be fighting, for at least the entirety of 2024, if not the rest of their lives.

The medical expenses and loss of income during all this has been tremendous. When faced with this type of situation, I would hope that money would be the last thing they would have to worry about. But the reality of it is that they do have to worry about it! James works as a freelance video editor and Raynna works in a chiropractor’s office. She remained working as long as she could, even when her pain was so bad she couldn’t sit down so she would work standing up the whole day! James is trying to work as much as possible but he is essentially now her 24/7 caretaker, so finding 2nd job or steady employment isn’t a possibility. And depending on her treatment schedule & future condition, his ability to work may become compromised as well.

So far, they have spent approximately $1000 on prescriptions and other medical supplies that weren’t provided by the hospital, and they need around $2500 per month in order to pay their bills, afford healthy groceries, afford more medical supplies, etc. She has already been out of work for a month and we really don’t have any clear answers yet for how long she’ll be undergoing treatment and how long the recovery time will be. At this point, they will not be able to pay their February rent, utilities or groceries and without help from all of you. Mind you, this is before even beginning treatment!

James and Raynna have a great positive attitude and continue to care for one another in so many precious ways. They are truly remarkable! My hope and prayer is that everyone will give generously so that James and Raynna can concentrate on healing and recovery during this time. The goal of $15,000 would give them about 6 months of relief from the financial burden of her not working. Even if you come across this and don’t know James and Raynna, please give! They are definitely worth investing in.