Support Mary's Battle Against Stage 4 Pancreatic Cancer

On August 18th, my best friend, my other half...my mom was diagnosed with stage 4 adenocarcinoma pancreatic cancer that metastasized to the liver. This news was life-shattering and heart-breaking to hear, especially from 2.5 hours away and the day before starting my first day of college. My mom is the type of person that you meet only meet once in your life, and are lucky enough to have as a friend and someone to lean on. She's the most outgoing, genuine, bright, and sweetest soul I know, and most importantly, she's the strongest woman I have ever encountered in my 18 years of life. I have never met someone else who has inspired me more to go above and beyond in all that I do, and I believe that I wouldn't be who I am today if not for her. Throughout her life, she has continuously put others first and continues to reach out her hand, even when others don't...and even to this very exact day, she continues to help others while she battles one of the hardest diseases a human can have.

She's been my rock since day 1, and I'm forever grateful to have formed such an unbreakable bond. I've read love stories throughout my life--call me a romcom book lover--but I've never read about the love from a mother to a daughter that has even come close to the connection I have with my mom. I've encountered a rare number of people who have experienced true and undivided love from their mother, so I am so incredibly lucky to say that my mom was the first person to show me how deep one can love another. I may not have been lucky with love in the past, but I'm extremely lucky to have been loved so deeply and been taught how to love others to that same depth, if not greater. Mom, thank you for being my guiding light through my life; thank you for helping to form a foundation for my faith and inspiring me to grow closer to God through you; thank you for giving me warmth and hope when the cold world continued to beat me to the ground; thank you for always believing that I could succeed and for teaching me how to learn from my failures; thank you for always reminding me of how much I'm loved and cared for, and for teaching me and reminding me to love every soul I encounter.

To this day, she's been battling day and night with her pains, seeking possible treatment options, and continuously trying to keep a positive mindset. In saying that, doctors appointments, scans, lab testing, and outside medicine is expensive and at some points, unaffordable for us to attempt to place her into life-saving clinical trials or receive the treatment she needs. I'm making this GoFundMe in an attempt to help provide those opportunities to my mom without having her worry about the expenses. Coming from a daughter that too has a handful of medical conditions, I know how expensive the healthcare industry can be. Any amount is deeply appreciated, even if it's as little as a dollar. You can make a change in her life!

My mother is THE strongest woman I know, and I believe that God sent her to me to raise me the way she did, and I strongly believe that God's plan isn't to take her away. In saying that, I will go to any and all lengths to provide the best care for her to keep her here on earth. I want to thank you for reading this long message, and I hope that you join me in helping my mother beat this disease.