In Memory of Mom

My mother, Wanda Lorene Eighner, passed away on June 12,2004. In 2003, we learned that she had lung cancer and prepared for a long battle. The first thing that went wrong is her insurance company cancelled her insurance claiming she had missed a payment which had been made during the grace period clearly stated in writing on her insurance policy. We did not have the money to fight and we were more concerned with what to do next. 

Fortunately, my mother also had Medicare and Medicaid so that we could move forward with treatments. She endured months of chemo therapy and we were told that this had been a success. She was happy to think she had beaten cancer twice now in her life having survived breast cancer in the 1990's. 

Within three days after this diagnosis, she began experiencing swelling of her head. For two weeks, her doctors were mystified about what was causing it. Then, an orderly notice a dark spot on an x-ray of my mothers chest. For some reason, her doctors had taken for granted that her cancer was gone and were not even looking at her chest. Instead of being gone, my mother was horrified to learn that the chemo had failed and the tumor in her chest had actually grown.

She began radiation soon after and her doctors paid close attention to her x-rays showing that the cancer had begun to grow smaller. She was actually coughing up pieces of the cancer and could see it physically. That might sound unsavory but when you have gone through such an ordeal, this for her was proof she was winning the battle. Things were going well when her doctor decided to use radiation on her head where he had located what might have been a benign tumor.

Ordering radiation on my mothers head because the tumor in her chest was now the size of a grape, my mother was prepared for what might happen. On the second day, something went horribly wrong and I could see her radiologist and attendants running around and making phone calls before one of them frantically raced out to get me. 

I was informed that my mother had experienced an overdose of radiation and that, even though there was a great hospital across the street, I had to rush her to where her doctor was located 30 miles away because Alabama was requiring all patients be attended by the doctors in her HMO program. By the time I got her there, she was in a coma. Her doctor came to me stating that I needed to be prepared because she was not going to survive. Well, she did survive for another thirty days with in home Hospice care because she was a fighter and had emerged from the coma.

Unfortunately, her battle would eventually come to an end and she passed away in her sleep.

This had ravaged us financially and all we could afford was the basic casket and a small stone with her name on it. She was not deserving of what happened and every lawyer I tried to get to take my case told me it would require at least $30,000.00 up front for their services. While my mother died as a clear case of neglect, the doctors would have endless appeals and I would have to want revenge because that's all we would get out of it.

All I wanted was a monument. Something to say that my mothers life had meaning and for people to recognize her for what she endured in life. 

I had a dream of my mother as a little girl holding the hand of Jesus in one hand and balloons in the other. I wanted to add a simple question my mother might ask... Is It Really Happy Where We Are Going.

My mother didn't deserve what happened to her... no one does. To have victory over cancer so close and then see such a tragic turn of events ruined her. She fell into a depression and felt that she had been abandoned. She even wandered away one night and I was looking all over for her before a cousin called to inform me she was there because she was feeling completely lost and just wanted life to leave her body without me being there to find her. 

I am not a beggar nor am I trying to make you feel sorry for me. I am asking that anyone my story might touch, if you could, would you donate to a worthy cause? I would like to get a fitting monument for my mother with laser etching that has the image of my mother with Jesus as I described above. I have many character references online from many reputable people. If there is any money remaining after we hopefully reach our goal, we will try to help someone else who might need help for a monument to someone they loved... and lost.

I ask only for your consideration to please help in this cause.