Update 1: Liza is scheduled for her PET scan 6/6/24. Please continue to pray for Liza.

Hello Aspen Family. My name is Kelly Shrubs and I am the office manager at the Wichita Falls office. I am creating this on behalf of my good friend and coworker, Liza Wood. Liza is battling a very rare type of breast cancer and my hope is that we can help with the burden of her medical expenses as well as any time she will need off from work. Liza is truly a special person and has dedicated 8 years of her life to patient care, training new assistants, and going above and beyond for numerous specialists and dentists here at Aspen Dental.

In her own words, here is Liza's story:

My name is Liza Wood and I have been an Aspen dental assistant since 2016. I remember when the doors first opened to my home office, Wichita Falls. I remember the smell of the fresh paint in the new office and the butterflies in my stomach as I began on my new journey with Aspen Dental. Eight years later and I still feel that excitement about my office. My favorite thing about working for Aspen is training new assistants. I firmly believe in the phrase, "each one, teach one". When I am able to teach new assistants, it gives me a great sense of pride to not only watch them grow, but to know that what I have learned over the years will carry on through our patients.

I have been blessed to have met many patients, through all walks of life, but there is one particular patient that I will never forget. Suzie came to our office very disgruntled, in pain, and very negative. She gave us the challenge of fabricating a new denture with a full mouth extraction within a week. After taking some time with Suzie and getting to know her, I learned that Suzie had a son who she had not seen in years because he had been stationed overseas. Suzie's only child would be returning to the states, and it was her one wish to greet him with her new smile. I was able to coordinate with the dentist, the lab technician, and my office manager and we were able to give Suzie this wish. The day we delivered her dentures was a very emotional day in the office. Suzie has returned with a new look on life, and it gives me great joy to know that our team has had a hand in that.

When you are able to help someone, it creates an effect that can impact the world.

Recently, I have been diagnosed with a very rare type of breast cancer. I have a wonderful team of specialists, but they are not sure if this cancer is stage three of four. If we find this to be triple negative her2 (stage 3), I have a 50-60% chance of survival with chemotherapy. If the cancer is sarcoma (stage 4), I have 1-2 years survival rate with chemotherapy. A pet scan would help me get the proper diagnosis I need, but my medical insurance is not authorizing this at the moment. We are working on that. I am humbly asking for financial assistance for my treatment so that I can get back to my life and return to giving my patients the care that they need. I can and will beat this, but I cannot do it alone. If you are able to give, I will be forever grateful.

Together we can,

Liza Wood