11/13/2024 UPDATE:

Celebration of Life this coming Saturday (11/16/2024), from 2-6 PM Eagle River VFW located at 10527 VFW Rd.

Please remeber, Sissy was very specific - no black, we’re not mourning her, we’re to celebrate her! We’ll have most of her faves- taco bar, jamin’ music, picture slide show with a bar for drinks (bring cash if you can). If you’d like, you can bring a dish to share - even better if it reminds you of Sissy!

Update:

I’m sorry I haven’t been able to share updates sooner. On October 22nd, we lost my beautiful sister. None of us expected this outcome; she was on the transplant list, but the doctors couldn’t clear her in time for surgery.

In the week leading up to her passing, she was in the ICU due to critically low blood pressure. The doctors sedated her to perform necessary tests, and during that time, she coded but was revived. Unfortunately, the heavy medications that kept her stable also contributed to her decline. She started bleeding internally, and there was nothing the doctors could do to stop it.

In just a day and a half, her condition deteriorated from semi-stable to critical. It all happened so quickly, which I know was what she wanted—she had seen our mother endure a long, painful decline and didn’t want that for herself. Yet, even though she wanted to go quickly, none of us were ready to say goodbye. She had so much more life and love to give, and it feels incredibly unfair to lose her so soon. We are working on closing up her assets & finances, we will be doing a Celebration of Life in the coming weeks - before the holidays hit. I'll update here, as well as Facebook for details once their available.

Original Post:

Hi there, my name is Laken Viotto. I am Stephanie Foote's little sister. Those who know us are aware that the past few years have been incredibly difficult. We experienced the heartbreaking loss of our mother, Eliria (Lydia), followed by the passing of Stephanie's husband, Mark, our brother Tony, and Stephanie's daughter, Sarah. Now it's my sister's life that is at risk. She recently underwent numerous tests to determine the cause of her illness, only to discover that she urgently needed a liver transplant.

On September 9, 2024, she was driving herself to the ER before having to phone a friend because she couldn't safely make it there on her own. She was admitted immediately. The cause was from a test she had completed the week prior that caused her body to retain too much fluid, compressing her organs. By mid-week, her blood pressure had dropped so low, it increased her number on the liver transplant list. So much that they wanted to move her to Washington for her consultation immediately, which was originally scheduled for mid-November. By Saturday, she was medevacked to Swedish First Hill, WA, where she's been since. There she had to go through the regimen of tests all over again, including the one that sent her to the ER to begin with. She has been poked, prodded, biopsied, transfused with blood, filled with vitamins and vaccinations - you name it. All of this was done to clear her for the liver transplant. She ended up having to be sedated in the ICU for three days when her blood pressure dropped too low once again. This incident pushed her higher up on the transplant list.

Fast forwarding to today, we were pending the results from a second biopsy from a mammogram. The last checkbox we were waiting for, in order to move forward with the transplant. The results came in and were exactly what we didn't want. Cancerous and stage 2, which unfortunately, removes her from the transplant list. While we're all in shock of this news, we know this is not the end and we're ready to fight. She's only 54 and full of life. We don't currently know all of our available options, but know that it'll be a long and rough road ahead. At this point, I know both the liver & the breast cancer have to be addressed. I'm no medical expert & we're waiting word from the doctors on the next steps to take & what options are available to her.

With that, my sister has used most of her saved vacation and still has bills to pay here in Alaska. So we're asking for donations to help relieve some of these high treatment costs already incurred, and the future costs on the horizon. Time is of the essence, as waiting could cause delays in future treatments. We also don't know for how much longer she'll be able to keep her medical coverage. There are a lot of unknowns at this point. I hope to update this post as updates progress - hoping for better news and outcomes than what we've been provided as of recent. My sister has impacted & touched alot of lives, trust me when I say she’s not ignoring your messages & calls- she sees & has heard them. She’s just got a lot to process & needs time to focus on herself right now.

Your help is crucial in spreading the word, prayer, positive vibes, and any monetary donations that may be given. My sister is a tough cookie, but she's been through some hell lately. I'm hoping with this request, she can just focus on herself and getting the treatment she needs to get better.