Renata Williams - Save Her Vision - Save Her Home

Tumor grows. Anxiety increases. Hope diminishes.

After 20 years of being cancer-free, Renata’s life took a turn. In March of 2022, she had a fall and ended up with a concussion. An MRI was taken. What they found would change Renata’s life. It was a tumor. Renata was sent to the Retina Institute. Since then, she has been sent to specialist after specialist, many could not do a surgery. A surgery that would help her vision. Many specialists do not take her insurance (Medicare/aid). Imagine hearing “There is option A but that won’t work for you.”

Any normal person might not be able to find the strength to continue to fight. The frustration. The fear. So many things were out of her control. But Renata is not just a normal person…she is a fighter.

A year before her fall, Renata’s world was shattered by the unexpected death of her son Danny at the age of 42. You might be overwhelmed hearing about Renata’s journey, but it is important to continue to read on.

Because of her insurance, Renata would be sent to a new specialist but the waitlist would be 6-8 weeks. Tumor grows. Anxiety increases. Hope diminishes. A normal part of her life has been hurrying to get the appointment, but then must wait for the actual appointment. Tumor continues to grow. Anxiety continues to increase.

As week by week passed, the vision in her right eye weakened.

Presently, Renata is barely able to see anything but shadows in her one eye. Her sight and abilities in the world are changing.

Renata received early news that there was a treatment with proton beam, but by the time this was an option, it was no longer an option …the tumor was too big. So, the game continues… rush to get an appointment and then wait for it.

At this point, the only option now is to remove the eye immediately, but once again surgeons… insurance…. appointments … won’t happen until mid-February at the earliest. Tumor grows. Anxiety increases. Hope diminishes.

Because of her current physical state, and the constant changing from specialist to specialist…getting last-minute changes in appointments, she has been unable to work for 4 months.

Because of impaired vision, Renata’s balance is off and tends to fall, which makes doing any side jobs impossible. It is now to the point that she needs to use a walker to move around.

The rent is past due. Any money Renata has been able to get has been used for appointments, travel, and food. There is a concern that the bank will repo the car. Many of the appointments are over an hour away from her home, which makes taking an uber impossible. Once again, Renata has had to decide to either pay a bill or pay to get to these life-changing appointments with the hope that she maintains the vision she has.

Imagine surviving cancer and then 2 decades later, losing your son, falling and finding a tumor. A mass that is taking your vision a little more each day. Renata is keeping her hopes up high, but the truth of the matter remains, money is needed for her to get her appointments, to get her surgery, to get food and to get back to some sort of normalcy.

I ask you to please contribute what you can, at any point any of us could be going through any of these terrible hurdles, but I know there is a community out there. You may not know Renata, but you know a Renata. A woman who would be there for you, if the power was out, she would bring you batteries, if you scraped your knee she’d be there with a bandage if you had a broken heart she’d be there with a hug. The Renata’s of the world have made all our lives so much brighter, happier, and filled with music. Let’s help this Renata.

We are raising funds to help support Renata while she waits for this life-changing surgery, funds will be used to pay for rent, transportation, food and her medical bills.