Tilli's Cancer Care Fund
Donation protected
My little Matilda, "Tilli," was diagnosed with a mass in the cerebellum on April 9, 2015 and airlifted that night to Valley Children's Hospital in Madera, CA. Since that night our lives have never been the same. She had two brain surgeries to remove the tumor about a week apart. The diagnosis came back as a grade four medulloblastoma-- a fast-growing cancer in the cerebellum.
She has been hospitalized mutliple times for surgery, chemotherapy treatments, and infections resulting from a compromised immune system due to those treatments. Since April, Tilli has spent significantly more time in the hospital than she has at home. We live in Bakersfield, CA and must travel two hours to the north to Madera to receive treatment, and because of her chemotherapy protocol she will require six chemotherapy treatments split between Valley Children's Hospital and Children's Hospital Los Angeles to the south. The drive to Los Angeles, though less in total distance, takes longer due to traffic issues etc. resulting in longer time in the car.
During these final three rounds of chemo in Los Angeles, she will be hospitalized for almost an entire three months, going home for a only a week or so between cycles. I initially began this campaign asking for help in paying for the expenses incurred for Tilli's care for gasoline, food, and lodging. I was working part-time after Tilli's first hospital stay, but due the stress of dealing with Tilli's illness and treatment, with the added stress of what has become a messy divorce which began only weeks before her diagnosis, I was put off work by my doctor at the end of June. I have since quit my job, realizing that Tilli's treatment and my very part-time work schedule determined by my soon-to-be-ex-husband's work schedule were impossible to reconcile with one another. We split hospital duty with one another while our oldest daughter, Cordelia or "Cordi," has been cared for by other family members when necessary. I also had to borrow money from my parents in order to hire an attorney, as it became clear that a reasonable divorce outcome would be unattainable without one.
Child support has become an issue, in addition to my inability to work at this time. As such, currently my only real source of "income" is this campaign.
I would greatly appreciate any help that anyone out there can offer to help alleviate some of the financial and emotional strain we are experiencing. My family is doing all they can to help me, but their resources are also limited.
None of us know what the future holds. Never in a million years did any of us think we would have to face this, especially not my beautiful little girl, Tilli.
She has been hospitalized mutliple times for surgery, chemotherapy treatments, and infections resulting from a compromised immune system due to those treatments. Since April, Tilli has spent significantly more time in the hospital than she has at home. We live in Bakersfield, CA and must travel two hours to the north to Madera to receive treatment, and because of her chemotherapy protocol she will require six chemotherapy treatments split between Valley Children's Hospital and Children's Hospital Los Angeles to the south. The drive to Los Angeles, though less in total distance, takes longer due to traffic issues etc. resulting in longer time in the car.
During these final three rounds of chemo in Los Angeles, she will be hospitalized for almost an entire three months, going home for a only a week or so between cycles. I initially began this campaign asking for help in paying for the expenses incurred for Tilli's care for gasoline, food, and lodging. I was working part-time after Tilli's first hospital stay, but due the stress of dealing with Tilli's illness and treatment, with the added stress of what has become a messy divorce which began only weeks before her diagnosis, I was put off work by my doctor at the end of June. I have since quit my job, realizing that Tilli's treatment and my very part-time work schedule determined by my soon-to-be-ex-husband's work schedule were impossible to reconcile with one another. We split hospital duty with one another while our oldest daughter, Cordelia or "Cordi," has been cared for by other family members when necessary. I also had to borrow money from my parents in order to hire an attorney, as it became clear that a reasonable divorce outcome would be unattainable without one.
Child support has become an issue, in addition to my inability to work at this time. As such, currently my only real source of "income" is this campaign.
I would greatly appreciate any help that anyone out there can offer to help alleviate some of the financial and emotional strain we are experiencing. My family is doing all they can to help me, but their resources are also limited.
None of us know what the future holds. Never in a million years did any of us think we would have to face this, especially not my beautiful little girl, Tilli.
Organizer
Caitlin Sutton
Organizer
Bakersfield, CA