Life can throw the most unexpected thing your way and that is what happened to my mother, Rita. For those of you that know her can attest that she is the strongest woman you know! She has been there to help her family members and is always open to helping should they need it, but now she needs us. She had been dealing with pain in her upper back and right shoulder for the past couple of years and had been overlooked by pain management. On 08/27/2020, she was taken to the hospital due to so much pain it was paralyzing. After a couple of medical testing she had been told there was a tumor in her spine that could have ruptured her spine and result in her being permanently paralyzed. On 08/28/2020, she had a surgical procedure to remove the tumor that lasted 7 hours. Our family was so worried for hours wondering if she’s okay. We were blessed to hear that the surgery went well without any complications! The tumor was taken to be tested for cancer and it was the longest 6 days to finally get results. On 09/03/2020, my mom told me to video call her and I did IMMEDIATELY. She was crying so much and I can see how hurt she was feeling while telling me she had been diagnosed with cancer. At that moment I needed to keep myself together and be strong for her, but the tears started rolling down my cheeks. Now.. imagine being all alone in the hospital for 7 whole days and not have your family to comfort you while you’re undergoing medical testing to figure out what is harming your body, to comfort you before you’re about to go through major surgery, to comfort you when you come back from surgery, to keep you company while you’re away from home, and to comfort and support you when you get the news that you have cancer and that there are more areas on the spine with cancer development. Our family felt hopeless not being able to be there when it mattered the most and it was because of the regulations the hospitals have due to COVID-19. We were so happy and felt whole again when she returned home the evening of 09/04/2020. If only we could give her the snuggest hug ever, but she is healing from the surgery.. It’s a horrible feeling to be told for the second time in your life that one of your parents has been diagnosed with cancer. At the same time, I could only think that with treatment my father fought it off and so can my mother. I know she can! With the right doctors and right treatment plan we can all have hope! But with treatment comes financial hardship.. My mother has medical insurance that does not cover her treatments in their entirety. We want to make sure she is getting the best care she possibly can, but she will have to take time off of off work and travel far to see great doctors. Her expected treatment plan is to be a combination of medications, radiation, and chemotherapy. So far we have been given an estimated cost of $2,300 after the medical insurance coverage for 8 days of radiation treatment. My mother is expected to have weekly chemotherapy treatments and we can only imagine what the cost will be now that we know the cost of the radiation treatment. She will be having many follow-up appointments with the Oncologist and Neurosurgeon with each visit costing  $60+ depending on what labs/testing is needed. We ask that you all please join us in Rita’s Fight Against Multiple Myeloma. Anything will help and will be greatly appreciated!