The Ostrowski Family, organized by Tiffany Volze

Hi, my name is Tiffany Volze and my beautiful friend and co-worker Kharleen has faced the most difficult past year. She found out she had breast cancer a month before delivering her son and has spent his 1st yr of life undergoing treatments. Kharleen and her husband are struggling and asked me to share her story in hopes that help is available. She is my coworker and friend and if you are in a position to help please consider it. Please take a moment to read her story. NO one should have to go through this. Thank you in advance.

Here is her story:

My name is Kharleen Ostrowski. I am a wife and Mom to twin 9-year-old little boys and a 9-month-old baby boy. I am also a Special Education Teacher for grades K-2.

Anyone who knows me knows that I am a very private person. The last thing I would ever want to do is ask for help, especially financially. However, life changed for me last February when I was 32 weeks pregnant and diagnosed with Invasive and Focal Ductal Carcinoma Breast Cancer. Although it was caught early, the biopsy showed it was very aggressive. Within a week I was forced to stop working as a Special Education teacher, which I had been doing for the past 15 years. My team of Doctors (Oncologist, Breast Surgeon, Maternal Fetal Medicine/Gynecologist) advised me to begin an aggressive Chemotherapy treatment regimen ASAP while pregnant. This meant I had to come to terms with the devastating fact that I had to complete 2 rounds of Chemotherapy while still pregnant, and then deliver my baby prematurely. Thank God, my son was born a perfectly healthy and happy baby. Within one week, life as I knew it went from being a full-time working Mom to a full-time Cancer patient at the hospital. Needless to say, this has not been the wonderful maternity leave I thought it would be.

My treatment plan: Chemotherapy, Surgery (completed), Radiation (completed) and more Chemotherapy until the end of April. After radiation, I will need some recovery time from the fatigue and will also continue to work on gaining weight before beginning an intensive Cancer Rehabilitation at The Kessler Institute, as recommended by my Oncologist and Neurologist.

My 9-year-old twins have been affected emotionally and academically. Emotionally, my sons went from having 2 parents who were always actively involved in their lives to 2 parents who have been out of commission for months. To deal with the emotional part, they will be getting counseling/therapy for coping with these recent life changes (my Cancer, my husband's life-threatening illness, and the birth of a new baby). For the academic part, I am asking for financial help as they have fallen behind in school and I would like to get tutoring for them to help them get back on track.

As I continue to spend many days either at the hospital for treatments, Dr appointments and will be starting Cancer Rehabilitation in the next month, I am asking for help which would go toward childcare/babysitting, tutoring costs, meals, house cleaning, general living expenses, and medical/dental expenses until I am able to return to work. Please take a moment to read my story below.

My Oncologist told me it would get worse before it got better, and it did.

I had difficulty keeping food in and lost a significant amount of weight which slowed down my recovery tremendously. I became immunocompromised, got Covid twice and was hospitalized in May in the Covid unit while being monitored by surveillance cameras. After 1 long week in the hospital, my wonderful Doctors got me strong enough to go back home to my family.

In July, as if my cancer was not enough, while I was receiving Chemotherapy at the hospital, my husband went for a stress test and in the middle of it the cardiologist shut it down and called 911. The Doctor said he could die any second. The paramedics came, administered medications and rushed him to the hospital. We were faced with making a quick, difficult and scary decision, knowing that there was a chance it may not go well. He underwent major surgery, a very complicated Quadruple Coronary Artery Bypass Graft Surgery. It was 5 long hours of torture as I waited to hear that he made it. Once again, thank God.

However, this left both of us not working and in poor health and long recovery to care for our 3 sons. He is slowly healing but will require several months of cardiac and physical rehabilitation due to all the muscle and nerve damage from the surgery. My parents have been our rock and have been helping tremendously to care for my baby while we are both healing as we spend many of our days between the hospital for treatments and doctor appointments.

While I continue to undergo Chemotherapy treatments, the side effects I experience are fatigue, chronic muscle and joint pain. My significant weight loss also caused muscle loss and weakness. I will be getting Cancer Rehabilitation at Kessler Institute in addition to physical therapy to help me rebuild my muscles and regain strength. In the meantime, my baby is getting heavier and I cannot hold him for long stretches of time without getting tired and achy quickly. My husband can't hold him for a long time either because he has extreme chest and nerve pain. Also, as mentioned before, many of my days are spent at the hospital for treatments and doctor appointments. My dad helps to watch my baby, but that leaves me having to drive an extra hour and a half each day back and forth to his house to drop off and pick up our baby. This again puts a physical strain on my body and makes my achiness and fatigue even worse. I still need every bit of energy I have to help my twin 9-year-old boys with homework after they get home from school.

I am in need of your help with expenses and costs while I continue to recover from cancer until I return to work. I want to heal properly and get healthy so that I can go back to being the best Mom to my 3 sons. My 9-year-old twin boys have not only suffered emotionally, but also academically while I have been sick and unable to help them in ways I did before. My 9-month-old baby deserves to have his Mom cuddle him, which I cannot wait to do more once the burning from my radiation becomes tolerable and I become stronger, but for now I am kindly asking your help by donating any amount. Even small contributions add up.

If you cannot help financially, you can help by passing along my Go Fund Me link to anyone who might be interested in donating.

Most important, for my sons who have been affected emotionally and academically and my 9-month-old baby I have not been able to care for as I should, please keep us all in your prayers.

Thanking you in advance to everyone rooting for us.