Update on Vicki Castronova's journey
Hello Friends,
We are a group of ladies (we call ourselves S.I.S.T.E.R.S.) who have remained friends after a church renewal. One of our members is in need of a stem cell transplant and we are asking for your help. Her name is Vicki Castronova.
She has been a resident of Youngstown, Ohio her whole life. She is happily married, has 2 grown sons, a daughter in law and 3 grandchildren who are her whole world. At 4 years old, she was diagnosed with Celiac Disease (a genetically inherited disease of the small intestine that can cause multiple problems, including T-Cell Lymphoma). There is no cure for Celiac, only a strict non-gluten diet.
Vicki became very sick in September, 2020 and thought that maybe she had Covid. That was not the case. As the months passed and many doctor appointments and tests were done, she just got sicker and sicker, losing so much weight to her already petite stature. Finally, on December 28, 2020 while at the Cleveland Clinic, she was diagnosed with T-Cell Lymphoma; a rare form of blood cancer. The doctor said she was already at stage 5, which is the worst you can be.
From January through May, she underwent 6 chemotherapy treatments at the Cleveland Clinic which were 4-5 hours long for each treatment. Afterwards, she was very sick; losing her hair, eyebrows, eye lashes, and had even more weight loss. On July 2, she started the stem cell transplant process. She gave herself a shot every day to help increase her body’s stem cell production. Next she will start the stem cell process where they remove the stem cells from her blood and freeze them. After they have enough of her stem cells (7 million), she will undergo 8 straight days of chemotherapy (which will totally destroy her immune system). After giving her body a break, the transplant will start. It’s kind of like a blood transfusion. She will be at the clinic until at least August 2, when she hopes to be discharged.
For the first month when she gets back home, she will not be allowed to do anything. No exertion at all. She also cannot be exposed to germs or dirt which means she cannot pet her animals or touch dirty laundry, etc. After 6 months she will have to get re-vaccinated with all her childhood vaccines as well as any other vaccinations she had already before getting cancer.
Most of us know people who have had cancer and have gone through chemotherapy. The physical, emotional and mental stress is unimaginable for those of us who haven’t gone through it. She still faces the stem cell transplant. There are many costs she has already incurred and still much more ahead that fall outside of health insurance. There are various hotel costs, gas costs, loss of work, prescriptions, co-pays, deductibles, etc. for her and her family. We are asking for your prayers and monetary help. We pray you will find it in your heart to help her get back to the life she once had with her husband, children and grandchildren. Vicki is a great inspiration as she never doubts her faith and knows without a doubt that God will see her through. She would do anything for anyone, and we want to help her in any way that we can. We sincerely thank you from the bottom of our hearts for any contribution you are able to make. May God bless you for your kindness and generosity!