As some of you are aware, my mother Sandy Tovey was diagnosed with Esophageal Cancer in 2021. Since her diagnosis, she has completed chemo, radiation and surgery to remove the cancerous tissue. Thankfully, since her initial treatment, her cancer has been gone with no signs of reoccourance. However since her original surgery, she has dealt with complicaiton after complication over the past 2 years. Her procedures and surgeries are too many to count at this point. We exhausted all of our options for clinical support here in Maine, and are now under the care of doctors at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester Minnesota and have been hopeful that her pain and suffering will soon be over so we can put the past 2 years of hell, behind us.

There have been too many complications and unexpected changes in her treatment plan over these past 2 years. Most recently, she was hospitalized in July at Brigham and Womens for pneumonia caused by a hole in both her esophagus and trachea. At this time she was also severly malnutrished due to the inability to eat more than a bite of food here and there for months. She was placed back on a feeding tube and has been on this ever since. She hasnt had anything to eat or drink in 2 months. She has been working on getting herself as strong and healthy as she can in preperation for her next major surgery at the Mayo Clinic. Which leads us to today... Today she is on her way to the Mayo clinic. This time, by herself... Unfortunately, now my fathers health has taken a turn for the worse. He is currently awaiting a bed to become available and will be admitted into the hospital for ~1.5 weeks. Between his own health and being there for all of my moms appointments, he hasn't been able to work in over 2 months. Both of them will be in the hospital at the same time. Over 1,400 miles apart from one another. They are both devistated they cant be there for eachother, however neither of these hospitalizations can wait.

As you can imagine, the amount of traveling to get my mom the proper care she needs, is astronomical. Originally, she was traveling to and from Portland. When they weren't able to help her, she was then traveling to PenBay Medical center in Rockport, ME. My father and her were doing this 3x a week for 1.5 months this summer. Next came her hospitalization in Boston. And at the same time, they have had to fly out to the Mayo clinic ~5/6 times thus far, with more to come as she continues her care out there.

Theres no way to accurately describe the feeling of helplessness you have, when you watch your parents go through this. I'd do anything to take their pain away. Our focus is to get Memmere and Papa healthy so they can continue watching their two beautiful granddaughters grow. We appreciate all of the love, support, thoughts and prayers over the past 2 years. We ask you continue to keep us in your thoughts as we nagivate this next step!

Thank you