Maria Plancarte Funeral Fund
Thank you for taking time out of your day to view this page. I am seeking help to raise money for my mother's funeral services. As the oldest of five siblings, it has fallen on me to take care of services and with my very limited finances it is proven to be very difficult. My mother was a simple woman and when asked what she wanted me to do in case of her death she would just say "whatever you could afford." I had originally planned to just have a very basic cremation but now that she has passed I feel that my mother deserves more than that.
Maria Plancarte Ambriz was a simple woman, a loving mother/grandmother, and a trusting friend. Born in Mexico and being raised by her aunts and uncles due to her mother passing away while Maria was a young child, Maria started her early years fending for herself. Living in a tough part of Mexico, she lost most of her siblings and father while she was still a child. I was amazed she made it to adulthood. After having me in 1984 she made her way to the United States in 1985 when she got a call that my father had been attacked, assaulted, and stabbed in the back that left him paralyzed from the waist down. Having a disabled husband and a young child, my mother had to go out and find whatever jobs she could to provide for our family. Having no knowledge of the English language, that proved to be very difficult but she managed.
Five years and 3 children later, she was diagnosed in 1990 with leukemia while pregnant with my youngest brother and was not given high hopes of survival. There was a small glimmer of hope with some new medication, but the doctors were advising her to have an abortion or else my brother would be born with health defects. Not one to give up on her children she said "No". My youngest brother was born normal and healthy.
With myself being the oldest and able to translate for my mother I would accompany her to her doctor appointments. She went through rounds of chemotherapy treatments, changes to new medication over and over because they would stop working, and multiple hospital stays, during each hospital stay I thought her end was near. To the surprise of many, she lived for an additional 10 years before we were told in the early 2000’s that she needed a bone marrow transplant because her treatments were no longer working. If anybody knows the process of a bone marrow transplant, they know it is a long road to travel. She lived for another 10 years while battling graph vs. host disease, which is her body trying to reject the transplant. During that time, she was also diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, cataracts in both eyes, liver cirrhosis which lead to liver failure, and kidney failure.
At the end of May 2015, I took her to the ER because she was having severe stomach pain, severe enough to have her in tears. Even with all her past procedures I have never seen her in tears from physical pain until that day in May. Over the past year, her health was steadily declining and slowly she stopped eating because of her nausea. On Friday June 5th 2015, the doctors told me she was in very bad shape and that she had a 20% chance of passing away within the next 3 months. On Friday June 12th 2015, her doctors told me that despite all they were doing her body wasn’t healing itself and her health was still declining. I was then recommended to hospice care (comfort care) for the time she had left. I was informed she had a few days maybe weeks, at best, left.
On Sunday June 14th 2015, while I was with my two girls at the movies to get our minds off of what was happening, I received a call that my mother passed away. I will never forget her last words she said to me “Your bother isn’t feeling very well. Please take him to the hospital so he can get checked out” even in the face of death she was still concerned for our health. This is why I feel like I owe her at least a viewing before I do the cremation, for her friends and family that weren't able to say their good-byes but the price is something that is not easily feasible with all the medical expenses that have been piling up.
Thank you for viewing my page and for any support, even if it just a small prayer for our family.
Maria Plancarte Ambriz was a simple woman, a loving mother/grandmother, and a trusting friend. Born in Mexico and being raised by her aunts and uncles due to her mother passing away while Maria was a young child, Maria started her early years fending for herself. Living in a tough part of Mexico, she lost most of her siblings and father while she was still a child. I was amazed she made it to adulthood. After having me in 1984 she made her way to the United States in 1985 when she got a call that my father had been attacked, assaulted, and stabbed in the back that left him paralyzed from the waist down. Having a disabled husband and a young child, my mother had to go out and find whatever jobs she could to provide for our family. Having no knowledge of the English language, that proved to be very difficult but she managed.
Five years and 3 children later, she was diagnosed in 1990 with leukemia while pregnant with my youngest brother and was not given high hopes of survival. There was a small glimmer of hope with some new medication, but the doctors were advising her to have an abortion or else my brother would be born with health defects. Not one to give up on her children she said "No". My youngest brother was born normal and healthy.
With myself being the oldest and able to translate for my mother I would accompany her to her doctor appointments. She went through rounds of chemotherapy treatments, changes to new medication over and over because they would stop working, and multiple hospital stays, during each hospital stay I thought her end was near. To the surprise of many, she lived for an additional 10 years before we were told in the early 2000’s that she needed a bone marrow transplant because her treatments were no longer working. If anybody knows the process of a bone marrow transplant, they know it is a long road to travel. She lived for another 10 years while battling graph vs. host disease, which is her body trying to reject the transplant. During that time, she was also diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, cataracts in both eyes, liver cirrhosis which lead to liver failure, and kidney failure.
At the end of May 2015, I took her to the ER because she was having severe stomach pain, severe enough to have her in tears. Even with all her past procedures I have never seen her in tears from physical pain until that day in May. Over the past year, her health was steadily declining and slowly she stopped eating because of her nausea. On Friday June 5th 2015, the doctors told me she was in very bad shape and that she had a 20% chance of passing away within the next 3 months. On Friday June 12th 2015, her doctors told me that despite all they were doing her body wasn’t healing itself and her health was still declining. I was then recommended to hospice care (comfort care) for the time she had left. I was informed she had a few days maybe weeks, at best, left.
On Sunday June 14th 2015, while I was with my two girls at the movies to get our minds off of what was happening, I received a call that my mother passed away. I will never forget her last words she said to me “Your bother isn’t feeling very well. Please take him to the hospital so he can get checked out” even in the face of death she was still concerned for our health. This is why I feel like I owe her at least a viewing before I do the cremation, for her friends and family that weren't able to say their good-byes but the price is something that is not easily feasible with all the medical expenses that have been piling up.
Thank you for viewing my page and for any support, even if it just a small prayer for our family.
Organizer
Marco Santacruz
Organizer
Garden Grove, CA