Hello, my name is Kathy Snider. Katina Snider is my sister in law. She is a wife to Carl, Mother to Bella, Tristan, Carly and Roman, a Grandma to Liam and Lily and a daughter to Connie.

 

 

Katina is a kind and loving person, that has given much to many over the years. She has worked hard to climb the corporate ladder and was very successful. Then COVID-19 happened. When the world was forced to shut down, she and her family were placed in a situation where they had to live off of their savings for a long while. Just when things started to reopen, Katina had a stiff neck an inability to swallow. After a while she felt a lump in her throat. She went to a series of doctor appointments to find that she would be diagnosed with Stage 3 Primary Thyroid Lymphoma. She would soon learn that her cancer was extremely rare (less than 2% of all Lymphomas) and aggressive and she would have to fight for her life to beat the Lymphoma. Katina had surgery on June 23, 2021 . The doctors were able to remove a large 3.75 pound mass from her throat. Unfortunately they were not able to remove all of the cancer and a considerable portion of the mass has wrapped around her vocal chords causing her voice to be so faint, that her once strong voice is barely a whisper. The force she has to use to be make her voice heard is exhausting and painful. It causes her to be out of breath and gasp for air as she speaks. Her next surgery was on July 17th to place a port in her body for her upcoming Chemotherapy. Katina’s chemotherapy treatments are so aggressive that one of them is actually called The Red Devil. She receives a combination of Chemotherapy called the RCHOP. She had her first treatment on July 25th. While the doctors prepared her for how her body would respond, none of us expected the chemotherapy to make her as ill as it did. Katina has fought to be strong but unfortunately, these treatments have taken a toll. She lost her hair almost immediately, she is sick to her stomach, her skin hurts to touch, her whole body aches. At times she is delirious and in so much pain she wishes to sleep and not wake up. Katina has had to spend many days and nights in the hospital to get her levels up so that she, simply doesn’t die from her body reacting to chemotherapy. She has to receive treatments every 21 days until November, 2021. At this point, the doctors will be doing a PET scan to determine how her body has responded to the chemotherapy.

 

Both Carl and Katina were off of work for 14 weeks without income when retail was shut down worldwide due to the COVID-19 pandemic. At this point she has been off work since June 2021, with no idea of when she may be able to return to work. While Carl is able to work, and he is doing his very best to support his family, finances are extremely strained right now. Most people cannot survive almost a year off of their savings. Katina and Carl have been frugal and careful with every penny. At this point, they need help. Katina’s treatments are extremely expensive. Their sweet son Roman has type 1 diabetes also known as juvenile diabetes. His life depends upon his treatment and medication. Katina carries the insurance for her family and their out of pocket deductible is extremely high. When they were both working, they could afford Romans medications. Now that she isn’t working Carl’s income is not what they need it to be to cover bills, food, and medical expenses. They are running dangerously low on funds to survive.

 

I can tell you that Katina is a very strong woman. Those of you that know her, I am sure you would agree. Through this entire experience, she hasn’t wanted to ask for help. Doing so has been very hard for her. She has taken great pride in how she has worked hard for her success, starting as a hairdresser for Regis Corporation , to climbing a corporate ladder to become a District Field Manager for Sephora. Even now, when she almost has nothing, she is working on a non profit to eventually help women diagnosed with cancer. She is calling it the Mermaid Guild. On days she has the strength, she spends time researching how to help others. She says that maybe this entire experience was what was needed to help her help others. I think that speaks to her heart.

 

She tells me often, to hold your loved ones close, to not hold hatred in your heart and to love with all of your heart, because we don’t know the future. We aren’t promised tomorrow. I pray that Katina has many tomorrow’s left. I pray that her scans next month deliver a good report. Her family needs her, we all need her. If you are able, please consider giving to Katina and Carl. They are are in a place of need. If you are unable to give financially, that is ok, prayer is free and God knows they can all use as many prayers as possible.

 

I have attached photos of Katina before cancer and after. I also attached photos of the mass removed and the scan of the mass while still in her throat. There is a short video Katina made when she still had strength for her non profit she hopes to someday get off the ground. If you have any questions please don’t hesitate to ask.

 

Thank you all, and please hold your loved ones a bit tighter and don’t take time for granted. Life is but a blink of the eye.