Richele's Fight Is Our Fight

Hi, my name is Sydney Ross. My brother, Hunter and I, are raising donations/support for our mom, Richele Slaughter Ross. Our mom was born and raised in Kirksville, Missouri, where she graduated high school in 1989. After high school, she went to college at what is now known as Missouri State. After graduating with a degree in business finance, she landed a job as an accountant with American Century for several years before her employment with Waddell and Reed at the time of illness. Our mom took on the role of a single mother when Hunter and I were at the young ages of 5 and 6. She gave us many amazing opportunities in sports, academics, and arts. She is the epidemy of hard work! It's one of the areas in which we look up to her most. During our high school years, she was a Bronco Booster rep at Lee's Summit North High School for multiple sports including wrestling, track and field, and softball. Her hobbies include singing in Woods Chapel Church choir, puzzles, traveling, board games and being the biggest and boldest fan during our games.

My mom's first symptoms of weakness and fatigue occurred in mid-March, which led to multiple tests and doctor's appointments trying to determine the cause. On April 21, a liver biopsy determined it was adrenocortical carcinoma or ACC, an extremely aggressive and very rare adrenal gland cancer, which metastasized to her liver and lung. There are 300 people diagnosed in the US every year - 0.7 in 1 million cases. Her initial prognosis is 3-12 months. On April 29, she started her first round of chemo, which lasted four days at St. Lukes's East Hospital in Lee's Summit. She was able to leave the hospital for three days before returning to the ER due to a septic infection, creating many critical health problems. On May 10, Tuesday morning, she became short of breath, was taken to ICU and placed on ventilation support. The doctors have asked us to specifically pray for her levels to improve (White Blood Cell counts, platelets and improved kidney function).

We, as her children, are asking for any prayers, donation, kind thoughts, or share, whatever direction your heart leads you to go in this challenging time. We thank you in advance for anything and everything!

Thank you!

Sydney and Hunter Ross