Theresa's Medical Expenses

For those of you that do not know her, I want to tell you about the most incredible woman I know, who just happens to be my mother! Theresa Rothberg is my mother, my best friend, my mentor and my heart. She is an incredible woman, mother, friend,  role model, and wife to my father, who happens to be blind . She is kind and generous and filled with strength, grace, humility and spunk! She has taught me what it is to be a woman and a lady. Theresa has been battling Cancer most of her adult life.  At the young age of 26 she was diagnosed with Ovarian and Uterine Cancer, she underwent a full hysterectomy.  About 10yrs ago she was diagnosed with bi-lateral Breast Cancer and underwent a Lumpectomy and a Mastectomy as well as the removal of 14 Lymph Nodes. Two years ago she underwent surgery for a bile duct blockage and at that time discovered her Cancer was Stage IV and had metastasized to various parts of her body.
After each surgery, she recovered and healed like the fighter she is, determined to kick Cancer! Two years ago she lost her appetite, lost her energy, her body broke out into sores, she was losing her eye sight and had turned yellow ( jaundice) …..she had a bile duct blockage and had to undergo emergency surgery and get a stent inserted. The surgery usually lasts 30 mins, hers took nearly four hours, most patients do not live more than a year. She was in the hospital fighting for almost two weeks. After that surgery, her abdomen began to fill with a fluid called ascites and we learned that her Cancer had spread to her lungs, spine, sacrum, pelvis, and bones. Every week she had to get drained of the fluid, hospice was on their way to our home …. Theresa had to see many doctors and specialists, she was placed on medical marijuana to help with her appetite and pain, water pills to alleviate the fluid buildup, pain medicine for the crippling pain in her legs and abdomen, estrogen blockers to halt the metastasized Cancer as well as numerous protocols, blood work and tests that have to be performed on a regular basis. Her team of Doctors are split between CT and UPENN.
Most recently, Theresa has lost her appetite and can’t digest solid foods, she is on a raw juice diet and not many calories, solid foods she can’t digest. She has a cane for walking because a few steps are just too exhausting, she can’t get her weight over 100 pounds, she has zero body fat and the extreme weight loss has made her skeletal and her face is sunken in, she is still stunning in my eyes! The weight loss causes  her to get the chills, so even on a hot summer day you will find her in a sweater. Her legs and hands cramp up , causing pain that makes her cry, sometimes it last 10 mins and sometimes it is 30 mins .  Her immune system is not very strong and exposure to germs can be dangerous for her. She has severe edema in her legs and feet and her bones ache and her liver has pain that causes her entire abdomen to hurt and she cries out in pain. The bone cancer has caused some of her teeth to deteriorate and will need to be pulled.
It has come time to bring in help , to assist with the basic household duties and errands that just exhaust her, as her day is filled with routines to keep her comfortable, pain free and relaxing, rest is so important when one is sick , so, she retreats to her “healing cave” a room in our home filled with a comfy chair, her laptop so she can watch silly shows on Netfilx and email her daughter a 100 times a day, her cats, essential oils, cozy blankets and peace. She spends her days resting in her home or on her front porch. Once a week she musters the energy to go to the grocery store. An easy task for most of us ,an all-day task that zaps her of her energy for days. The things we take for granted she would love to be able to do , she can’t take her dogs for their walk anymore, she can’t go to the movies because sitting on the chairs hurts her spine, she can even vacuum and she loves to vacuum!
As you can imagine, medical bills are expensive, various tests, prescriptions, doctors’ appointments, home help and the items needed to keep her comfortable and pain free cost a small fortune, insurance does not cover it all , and funds get quickly exhausted in ones fight for their life. At this time, I am sharing my story of her and her story, because this incredible woman will not give up the fight! We are reaching out to our community, friends, neighbors, and strangers to help offset the expenses.
I thank you , we thank you and know that the most amazing woman I know thanks you!