Support Aunt Sandy's Battle Against Cancer

A few weeks ago, our beloved Aunt Sandy went to the hospital due to chronic right shoulder pain. Given that she has been working very hard and has been the main provider for her family for over a year now, we assumed she had just overworked herself.

While in the hospital, Aunt Sandy had gotten a CT scan which showed a herniated disc between C6 and C7 in her spine, dark shadows on her lung, and a tumor in her right shoulder.

After further consultations with multiple doctors at the hospital, it was determined she would need surgery on her spine in order to correct the herniation that was causing the pain in her shoulder and numbness in her arm. However, they could not proceed with the surgery until they got the biopsy results back from the tumor found in her shoulder.

Doctors were very hopeful and maintained confidence the biopsy would come back as a malignant tumor. Unfortunately, after 7 very long days, the biopsy results came back and Aunt Sandy was officially diagnosed with stage 3 Small-Cell Lung Cancer.

As you can imagine, we were all devastated by this news as Small-Cell Lung Cancer is an extremely aggressive cancer that can spread rapidly in a matter of weeks. The Doctors suggested the surgery be on hold and Aunt Sandy save all her energy to begin chemotherapy as soon as possible.

However, the bad news kept coming. It was believed she would have to hold off on chemotherapy due to financial issues. Her new insurance did not kick in until July 1st and Florida's Emergency Medicaid often takes around 45 days to be approved.

Thankfully, after a lot of applying for resources and some amazing doctors on our side, Aunt Sandy was able to start her first of 6 rounds of chemotherapy the following week at Orlando Regional Medical Center. She will continue to do chemotherapy every three weeks until her 6 rounds are met and then doctors will reassess.

Unfortunately, during this time Aunt Sandy will be unable to work and she, Uncle Jim, and their two children have been struggling to stay afloat as rent, utilities, and other bills continue to mount. Uncle Jim is already working beyond his means by finding work even with multiple medical disabilities that limit his physical capabilities.

We are asking at this time for everyone to keep our family in your prayers, send good vibes, and donate if it is within your means. The smallest amount helps as we continue to work hard to support Aunt Sandy and her family while undergoing treatment.