Tracy’s Fight

For those of you who don’t have the pleasure of knowing Tracy, she is a friend of mine and has been my coworker for the past 3 years. We both work together on Advocate Children’s Transport Team which is a very specialized team transporting critically ill pediatric and neonatal patients via ground and air. Tracy is one of our paramedics and Primary dispatchers. She works in our call center; taking all transport requests and triages patients based on the intake provided by referring physicians. She dispatches us on calls gathering all necessary information we need in order to care for these critical patients. She calls the shots on ground, air, lets us know pertinent information as to what equipment we need to care for these children, etc. she brings 26 years of medic experience and has dedicated her career to helping others.

Just before I left for maternity leave, Tracy was at work (I was with her in the office that day) and she received a call that nobody ever wants to receive. Her doctor had called to let her know results of some recent images taken due to constant severe back pain and terrible hip pain - they had suspected Tracy had a cancer diagnosis, was instructed to leave work and head to the emergency room. Watching her receive this news was heartbreaking.

Tracy’s additional work up revealed a large abdominal mass compressing right kidney, and another mass on the left side.

She underwent surgery on 10/6 revealing cancerous masses in each ovary, appendix and omentum. She total hysterectomy, appendectomy, and omentectomy.

On 10/7 she was diagnosed with Ovarian Cancer, stage 3c. She is now undergoing 6 rounds of chemotherapy.

Tracy is a single mom of two; Erin and Jeremy and works two nearly full time

jobs to make ends meet for her family. She has no other financial support system and is barely able to make her mortgage payment with the disability benefits offered.

Tracy has helped sick people for 26 years. It’s time for us to help her; and her kids.

Please, if you are able - help Tracy alleviate the horrible financial stress on top of the stress of fighting for her life. Tracy is a good person, caring, an excellent single and hardworking Mom and amazing advocate for some of the sickest children in the Chicagoland and surrounding states. She deserves every bit of help she can get.

Thank you for taking the time to read this, and for donating to Tracy if you are financially able. It will truly change her life right now.

-Jenna