Kurstin, a mom of 3, was recently diagnosed with a rare autoimmune disorder, Relapsing Polychondritis(RP). Only 3-5 people, per million are diagnosed with RP, so there is a lot unknown about this complicated disease & there is currently no cure. It is a progressive illness & comes with extremely painful & at times debilitating symptoms. In addition, they have more recently added to that diagnosis Systemic Vasculitis. Over the last two years, Kurstin has been hospitalized multiple times, for extended periods for various illness related to RP. During her most recent extended stay in November of last year, a spot was found on her right Kidney that has since been growing rapidly, from month to month. After many tests & specialist visits over the past several months, on September 30th a urological surgeon evaluated her most recent scans & feels this is a tumor that is potentially Renal Cell Carcinoma (malignant) & has suggested a partial Nephrectomy (removal of the tumor & partial removal of her kidney). This is a major surgery that will leave her down & out of work for 4 weeks minimum. It will be one week from surgery to confirm if it is infact cancerous or not. This is tricky, because while cancer is scary, that looks to be the safest outcome. If it is in fact cancer at the stage they suspect, removal gives a 95% likelihood of cure, meaning she won't need chemo or radiation after removal. If it is not cancer, though, this would indicate that her RP has progressed to major organs, and will make things much more difficult to treat. Once she is recovered from surgery & has more definitive answers, she will then move forward with seeing a specialist to formulate a plan for treatment for the RP, to help her thrive.

She has three beautiful kiddos that we want to be sure have everything they need while she is down, so we are fundraising to help cover the financial needs that will be more difficult to meet with her out of work for several weeks. Between loss of income, and the costs needed for getting her to and from Asheville for surgery and follow up appointments, and potential loss of EBT with the shutdown, there will be a significant need to be met.

We greatly appreciate anything and everything you can contribute, and pray you are blessed in return for your kindness and support! We also greatly appreciate prayers for her surgical team, and the medical professionals responsible for caring for her while she is in the hospital.

Surgery is always an intimidating thing. There is a good portion for anxiety and fear with surgery coming up in just a few days. She goes in on November 5th, before the sun comes up, and will hopefully be able to come home the day after. She will need to physically be down and minimal in effort to help her healing process and not exacerbate her pain levels. This surgery is considered one of the most painful abdominal surgeries you can have, according to her surgeon, and keeping her stress levels down will help her have a better chance to tolerate that pain better while recovering.

From the bottom of my heart as her soul sister, I appreciate you all. If you can't donate, please share as often as you can.