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Yvonne's Funeral following her battle with Breast Cancer
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$644 raised of
9 donations
My Mom discovered a lump in her breast in late of year 2024, it was causing some discomfort and shoulder pain. At the time she was helping to take care of my grandpa, her father, as his health was declining since the passing of his wife, my mom's step-mom the year prior. My grandpa was falling and having dementia and so he needed to be monitored closely and my mom did that for him until he passed in Nov. At this time she scheduled herself to go into a clinic and get examined so she had a mammogram done asap following and the results were suspect. My mom had imaging done before Christmas but enjoyed the holidays while trying to put her mind at ease, Dec. 27th she had a biopsy done that did confirm malignancy of the tumor in her breast. She received her results at the start of the new year. The next 6 months I would spend with her at every appointment and step of the way. She was referred out to an oncologist were I worked so it was easy to be with her and help her to understand this new process. She would have multiple tests done, a bone scan, ekg, cariogram, blood drawn in the first month and an additional ct scan. She was being prepared for a mediport placement to start treatment and was diagnosed officially with having Stage 2 breast cancer that was HER2 positive by March. Three weeks later shed have her first round of chemo. In April her potassium levels were lowering. She had 5 rounds of chemo and potassium infusions until July 1st. With each one would bring an onset of symptoms, this last one was really rough for her to recover from the extreme nausea and vomiting. She spent her 57th and last birthday sick in bed. I visited her hoping to make her feel better and as soon as her taste and appetite returned id take her out for food & a day outing. Instead she grew weaker and more sick and my sister called the ambulance for her to go to the hospital. She was dehydrated, malnourished, and very weak. I spent time with her again in the hospital and after some TLC she was able to go back home with scripts for nausea and potassium supplement. Unfortunately it didn't help for much longer before seeing her physically the worst I ever have. She lost a lot of weight and muscle from not being able to eat, and what little she tried made her sick which hurt to throw up since she was so weak, it hurt to go to the bathroom, it hurt to get up, so she avoided it all. I wanted to get her help from a rehab to get her strength back up but helping her up and out of bed she passed out cold. We called 911 again and this time she was in the ICU. After a few days she was recovering well, especially after receiving a blood transfusion, replenishing fluids again and she had good progress with being able to sit, and stand a bit. All we needed was for her relentless nausea to go away so she could eat, though her loss of taste and sensitivity to smell was another factor. After a few weeks of close monitoring instead of going home they helped me to get her into a rehab. The last times I visited with her in Sept. she was so hungry. Her stomach would grumble loud and she told me she was finally wanting to eat again. I gave her all of her requests and we tried anything we could think of for her nausea. She would still throw up, but she was able to hold it down and find some relief to eat. I was so happy for her. Her oncologist said her tumor was not felt by touch any longer which was great meaning the tumor was reactive to the chemo and all this was behind us. The next steps were getting strong enough to go into surgery for a mastectomy and that she would be able to heal with little complications. Her oxygen, heart, lungs all sounded good. She was able to drink water and take her medications more regularly. But something else was happening under the surface of the progress we could see. After another few weeks, the rehab called me to let me know she was having an altered mental status and they sent for her to go to the hospital again. She returned to the ICU but this time she was septic. They suspected meningitis but it could not be safely confirmed. She now went through a plethora of infusions to replenish her blood and levels. Her kidney function was low and it was suspected of her having a UTI. She had multiple antibiotics coming her way, blood and platelet donations. While she was stabilizing, none of the tests were bringing back any clear answers. She wasn't just suffering from not eating, but from having not been moving her body as well. She had blood clots in her legs, one traveled to her lung, a pulmonary embolism. A vena cava filter was placed to catch any further from going to her lugs or brain. Despite what they were putting in, her levels were dropping fast. to control her blood pressure and heart rate she was on blood thinners. For her safety she was intubated and sedated momentarily and her heart and pressure was maintained. She was briefly able to wake and respond to stimulus. We knew her body was in pain, we knew she was weak and hungry and we knew having had chemo wrecked her immune system but it was disheartening that the doctor's and nurses couldn't conclude a true source of her infection, her body being in shock and kidneys on the brink of shutting down. Even though one day she spent almost entirely alert but unable to speak, she was breathing well again on her own and she was able to eat! She seemed so eager to have something to eat even if it was vanilla pudding and graham crackers. Her last solid meal. But by the next day they were concerned for seizing activity and that it wasn't safe again to swallow. She was intubated again. This time she would be fed with a tube while she was also given oxygen to breathe. This part was even harder to understand. Even after these 3 different hospital stays by Sept., we came to a point of progress again. The ICU nurses were beaming of how well she was when she was able to leave to a step down recovery room. A Neurologist came and examined her and ordered an MRI be done. This result showed bleeding in her brain, above her brain stem. a stroke. we were told that if she awoke the sedation that we wouldn't know the extent of her cognition until further assessments. In 6 hours she would go for another, and this only showed further bleeding. She had at least two different kinds of strokes. the EKG showed inconclusive brain waves. She didn't wake again. She was very minimally responsive to pain. This time she would have to be reliant on the oxygen, on a feeding tube, on a way to get all the supplements and pain medication she needed because we didn't know if she would be able to talk, eat, or walk again. We decided that after all she had been through, her risks were too high. She was not a candidate for operation, or a spinal tap. Her body was swollen and bruises from the contestant pokes and checks. Her body was in pain and she was already uncomfortable being intubated. We believe she was aware she was in the hospital and that things weren't well for her. Dialysis would be harsh, staying with a trach and NG tube would bring its own risk as well as not knowing at any moment she would be continuing to have strokes in the future, her heart was sporadic and the low potassium and anemic levels meant a high risk to a heart attack. She had already had a few moments of scary cardiac episodes. What was dignifying for her was that we made a decision out of love to only help her to be comfortable and not suffer anymore. We decided to transition her into hospice care. On the morning of October 9th my mom drifted into heaven. My family and I are humbly asking of assistance to give my mom a memorial service and celebration of her 57 years of life. She was a widowed mom of 5 children, a a daughter, a sister, a cousin, a friend, really not a stranger to anyone because she would introduce and talk to anyone who would listen. More importantly she was a believer of Jesus Christ and she proclaimed her love of God and held onto her faith through her walk of life and into her walk through the valley. On the other side, she was met with pearly gates and golden streets. Thank you from the bottom of my heart from me and all of her family, friends and spiritual supporters for reading her story and donating to give her a deserving hurrah. Please takeaway the importance of health and advocating for women's breast exams for early detection. Please help to give forward for the cure to cancer, all cancer. Please know your family history for your own risks and prevention. My mom was always a light shining in a room with a burst of laughter and a voice for those who needed it. We love you momma, and we'll miss you always.