Support Danielle “Pink” Pinkerton on Her Journey to Healing (Clinical Trial in Boston for Treatment Resistant Depression with Brain Tumor monitoring)

If you’ve ever met Danielle “Pink” Pinkerton, you know she has a heart for helping others. For as long as anyone can remember, she has dedicated her life to caring for those in need. From working one-on-one in behavioral health as a teenager, to earning her nursing degree from the University of Maine, to working in Southern Maine, to achieving her dream of working at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis, and eventually returning home to Maine to be closer to family, Danielle has always answered the call to serve.

Now, it’s our turn to help her.

Danielle will soon undergo a clinical study for her depression, which will include at least one brain surgery. She will be responsible for her own transportation as well as medication copays and twice weekly appointments in Maine. She will receive a small stipend for each trip to Boston, but there may be several hotel stays needed due to travel/timing of appointments. The schedulers are being as helpful as possible with appointment times to account for 8 hours of travel on visit days. She is not compensated for the study, but appointment costs and surgical procedures will be no charge. The study is 3 years long at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, with occasional visits in satellite clinics around the state. Visits will be frequent during the first year, and surgery will likely occur in approximately two months, which will include an inpatient stay which is covered, but hotel costs for her caregiver will not be.

As for the tumor, it is small and hopefully stable. It appears to be benign and will be monitored closely with MRIs and the neurosurgery team in Boston that will be following her on the study. Diagnosis on CT was made on 7/4 and confirmation was done with a baseline MRI on 7/11. It is located at the base of her skull in her right temple. She is dealing with headaches and vision changes in her right eye. Further testing is needed with ophthalmology but she does not have vision insurance.

Her primary focus right now needs to be on her health, healing, and recovery.

As we all know, life doesn’t stop when illness begins. The everyday “adulting” expenses continue to add up, along with the costs of frequent travel for medical care.

This fundraiser is to help ease that financial burden so Danielle can focus on what matters most—getting better. Every donation, no matter the size, will go toward her expenses, travel costs, and daily necessities while she navigates this difficult chapter.

Danielle would never be the one to ask for help. In fact, she’s always been the first person to step up when someone else was in need. That’s why we’re asking on her behalf.

If you’re unable to donate, your prayers, encouragement, and sharing this fundraiser with others are just as meaningful. Every act of kindness makes a difference.

Thank you for helping surround Danielle with the love and support she has so freely given to so many throughout her life. Together, we can help lift some of the weight from her shoulders so she can focus on healing.

And lastly, a personal message from Danielle “Above all else I have gratitude. I am thankful for an AMAZING care team in Maine and Boston who are flawlessly working together to set me up for long term success both mentally and physically. All while ensuring I am physically able to proceed with the study safely. I am absolutely blessed by the support of my family, friends, and obviously my best 4 legged girl who is by my side everyday. I want to say to my friends nationwide, I cannot possibly put into words how you are also family. My life growing up in New England has given me several lifelong sisters. A group so strong, we all have supported each other for 30+ years through many seasons of life, and this will be no different. My family in Memphis, colleagues AND patients alike, your love, support, and dark humor are just what the doctor ordered. We have supported each other through many difficult days, and I feel that support continuing from afar. St. Jude is a place like no other, if you know, you know. Lastly, I have seven nieces and nephews who are my entire world. They give me purpose and joy every single day. I have to be ok for me, but more importantly for them”

With heartfelt gratitude,

Family & Friends of Danielle “Pink” Pinkerton