Simon Wolff Love
Donation protected
Dearest Beloved Community,
It's with a courageous heart that I'm reaching out to you, my chosen family, with an update about my mother, Carole Simon, and to ask for your thoughts, prayers, and any other form of support you are able to offer at this time. I wish I could have this conversation with each of you face-to-face, but alas this mode of communication will have to suffice in order to convey this update in a timely fashion.
You may or may not know that a little over two years ago my mom was diagnosed with a rare uterine sarcoma and swiftly had a hysterectomy. She recovered from surgery and resumed her normal functioning until she began experiencing pain on the left side of her groin this past July. After having it checked out, her doctors informed her that the cancer had spread to two of her lymph nodes and that the tumors had grown large enough to cause the pain she was experiencing.
After thorough research of her options, she opted to undergo five weeks of palliative targeted radiation to shrink the tumors enough to relieve her of the severe pain. She went through this treatment and was pain-free from September through January. Over the last month or so she has started to slow down, feel deep fatigue, and experience pain again, which is an indication that the tumors are starting to grow back. Unfortunately, the type of cancer she has is not responsive to conventional treatment. In October, her oncologist gave her a one year prognosis.
What this all means, is that my mom has a terminal diagnosis and we simply don't know how long she'll be here on this plane with us. It could be seven months, it could be three months, and of course, she could out-live the doctor's prediction. Thankfully, she is in good spirits, all things considered. She is working with Nancy Gallagher who has graciously offered to be her death doula, and has found a mindfulness-informed counselor who resonates with her at the cancer center. She is also finding great joy (and sometimes frustration) from my sister's puppy, Misha. :)
I have set up this GoFundMe to help support me and my family during this challenging time. As many of you know, I had to step away from non-profit social justice work at the end of 2017 after a 15 year run. I have been slowly building a body-based trauma healing and somatic coaching practice over the past year. I had an encouraging first six months starting last July, however, my ability to work has waned since my mom's health has started to decline. I feel very torn between showing up fully for my new business and my clients, and spending what feels increasingly like fleeting time with my mom. This is taking a toll on my finances as you might imagine. Any monetary help will be used to offset the cost of my travel and time off with my mom over the coming months.
Please keep my family in your thoughts and prayers and feel free to reach out to me directly to stay in touch. Thank you so much for being in this with me. I know it's going to be (and already is) a deeply joyful and sorrowful time. Finally, I have sent this email to my closest friends and family rather than posting anything on social media, per my mom's request. Please join me in honoring her request and don't share any of this (including the link) on social media. Thank you. <3
With so much love and gratitude,
Lillie
231-392-2528 (cell)
It's with a courageous heart that I'm reaching out to you, my chosen family, with an update about my mother, Carole Simon, and to ask for your thoughts, prayers, and any other form of support you are able to offer at this time. I wish I could have this conversation with each of you face-to-face, but alas this mode of communication will have to suffice in order to convey this update in a timely fashion.
You may or may not know that a little over two years ago my mom was diagnosed with a rare uterine sarcoma and swiftly had a hysterectomy. She recovered from surgery and resumed her normal functioning until she began experiencing pain on the left side of her groin this past July. After having it checked out, her doctors informed her that the cancer had spread to two of her lymph nodes and that the tumors had grown large enough to cause the pain she was experiencing.
After thorough research of her options, she opted to undergo five weeks of palliative targeted radiation to shrink the tumors enough to relieve her of the severe pain. She went through this treatment and was pain-free from September through January. Over the last month or so she has started to slow down, feel deep fatigue, and experience pain again, which is an indication that the tumors are starting to grow back. Unfortunately, the type of cancer she has is not responsive to conventional treatment. In October, her oncologist gave her a one year prognosis.
What this all means, is that my mom has a terminal diagnosis and we simply don't know how long she'll be here on this plane with us. It could be seven months, it could be three months, and of course, she could out-live the doctor's prediction. Thankfully, she is in good spirits, all things considered. She is working with Nancy Gallagher who has graciously offered to be her death doula, and has found a mindfulness-informed counselor who resonates with her at the cancer center. She is also finding great joy (and sometimes frustration) from my sister's puppy, Misha. :)
I have set up this GoFundMe to help support me and my family during this challenging time. As many of you know, I had to step away from non-profit social justice work at the end of 2017 after a 15 year run. I have been slowly building a body-based trauma healing and somatic coaching practice over the past year. I had an encouraging first six months starting last July, however, my ability to work has waned since my mom's health has started to decline. I feel very torn between showing up fully for my new business and my clients, and spending what feels increasingly like fleeting time with my mom. This is taking a toll on my finances as you might imagine. Any monetary help will be used to offset the cost of my travel and time off with my mom over the coming months.
Please keep my family in your thoughts and prayers and feel free to reach out to me directly to stay in touch. Thank you so much for being in this with me. I know it's going to be (and already is) a deeply joyful and sorrowful time. Finally, I have sent this email to my closest friends and family rather than posting anything on social media, per my mom's request. Please join me in honoring her request and don't share any of this (including the link) on social media. Thank you. <3
With so much love and gratitude,
Lillie
231-392-2528 (cell)
Organizer
Lillie Wolff
Organizer
Kalamazoo, MI