Sometimes Our Heroes Also Need Heroes! PART 2

I unfortunately have bad news with this update…Rocio finished radiation earlier this month and in Rocio-style went right back home to Rhode Island to get back to work, only to be bed ridden by extreme dizziness and nausea. A few scans later the doctors had an answer… unfortunately she has developed a 3.5cm mass on her brain. I won’t go into what I feel about PET Scans not being covered by most insurances and not being part of the ongoing “standard of care”. On the good side, the doctors think it is an “easy operation” (quotations because it is indeed still brain surgery) and are confident that they can remove it easily. We will hope and pray for them to do so and for her to come out of it better than how she is going in. Surgery is scheduled for 6/30 @ 7:30 am EST, we ask that you please send healing thoughts and keep her in your prayers. Please share this update and new fundraiser link with everyone you know.

-Thank you!

Hi, my name is Karina and I am fundraising for THE BRAVEST WOMAN I KNOW, my SISTER! Her name is Rocio Mondragon but a lot of you may know her as Rosie. Some of you may know her as the great phlebotomist that she was/is when she started her carrier in the medical field. Some of you may know her from when she used to help treat trauma patients at Houston's Ben Taub Hospital; if you have ever needed to be cared for there, a Level 1 trauma center and the busiest in Houston, you may have been saved by her and her team. Maybe you met her while she saved you or helped you save someone while she was a paramedic at Cypress Creek EMS, now ESD 11 Mobile Healthcare I believe. Or, if you are lucky, you have gotten to work alongside her at Casey Industrial or Total Safety! Why do I mention all of those places, you may ask? Well, those are only some of the places that I can remember where she literally put and continues to put her life on the line to make sure people are safe and people get help when they need it the most. I am not sure she could count the lives she has saved but I hope she gets to count how many of us are willing to help HER this time around. Those of you who know her personally know that she is not one to ask for help, EVER! In her mind and heart, she believes that she is here to help and not to need help.

She is the true definition of a warrior, a teenage mother who raised a little boy into a man and soldier and a mother to a beautiful and witty girl (just like her), about to graduate high school; she has never stopped providing for both of her kids, even when she could have. I don't think I have ever seen her be afraid, not when her firstborn came to the world at 26 weeks and not even when she was diagnosed with Triple Negative Stage 2 Breast Cancer. She hasn't stopped working since her diagnosis, but it IS starting to get harder for her to find the energy. She finished her first round of chemo with flying colors but now that she is entering the second phase of her treatment; and the chemo is a LOT stronger, she finally admitted to being afraid. Not to my surprise, she didn't admit to being afraid for her life, she only showed fear of the idea of not being able to work... that is my Sister for ya! We know this won't stop her, she has much more life to live, and places to see, people to save. Our goal is to help raise that amount of her annual insurance deductible and some of the prescriptions that are not covered. I hope you can help with as much or little as you can, IT ALL HELPS!

I will keep updating this section as she goes through this temporary nightmare, please also send all the good thoughts, positive vibes, and prayers too! I know, I know, I want soooo much, but, SHE DESERVES IT!

Thank you from the bottom of my/our heart!

The Mondragon Family.