Rising From The Ashes: Breast Cancer Edition
Donation protected
Heya everybody!
So my family has been pretty resilient for most of our lives, and a large part of that has come from the support of my mother. From working literally 80+ hours a week for years on end to make sure we had a roof over our head, to fighting to get us back from relatives who tried to use the court system to their advantage to take us away from her and make us fear her, to a variety of other circumstances thereafter including a house fire where we lost a lot of what we owned, she has always been there and been our rock. She has always done what she needed to do and learned a lot from those experiences along the way.
And this time is no exception.
So as most of the stories of this nature begin, she found a lump in her breast in the fall, 2018. She monitored it for a bit but it kept growing and so she began to secretly deal with it by herself. She would always say that nothing was wrong when I asked her what was going on, but I never quite believed it. So on one night when I went over to visit, I began talking to my brother and he revealed that my mother had found a lump in her breast. As I was having my own scare at the time, my blood ran cold at the news that it could be cancer. Being worried, I pulled her aside and confirmed that she had found one and she just told us to not worry too much about it and that she had an appointment scheduled to get a mammogram and a biopsy. So I said ok, and told her to keep me appraised of it.
Over the next month and a half she had quite a few tests and procedures done to determine if it was cancer and, after some scheduling shenanigans, she finally got her final tests done. On January 16, 2019, she got back the news that her tests came back positive for Triple Positive Invasive Ductal Carcinoma (T+IDC).
To say this sucked as a diagnosis is an understatement. But she had insurance and a desk job (so she could keep working as much as possible during chemo,) so we were hoping for the best. And she was too; she kept telling us to be positive about it and that she’s gonna do what she’s gotta do.
Fast forward a few weeks and after some more delays, insurance issues, weathering the strong side effects from an equally strong chemo which left her bedridden for almost two weeks at a time (on a 3 week chemo cycle) nearly every time she’s done it so far, and her clutch going on her car at the same time Ernie’s (her partner) car had its fuel pump go out, she also lost her job, making an already tight money situation even worse.
She did get a tax refund and that was used to fix the car and catch up on bills but then, with only one income and a whole family to feed, clothe, and shelter, her and Ernie’s reserves are unfortunately running low. To make matters worse, ANOTHER part on her car has recently broken, which she needs in order to get to chemo in the first place.
SO...I am asking for your help to help her as we’re doing what we can as a family but I am unfortunately not myself in a position to help monetarily more than a little bit. I know she will get through this but ANY amount donated equals decreased stress which helps with the healing process and can seriously make the difference between eating and getting to her chemo treatments in a timely fashion and not being able to do both of those things very easily, which is important right now.
I’m not asking for everything; she just needs help to get her car back on the road, help paying the past due bills, and to try to put something towards the $2.5k surprise uncovered hospital bills that have been racked up SO far (she’s got another year of chemo, surgery, and targeted therapy left to do unfortunately; they’re gonna do everything possible to get this cancer though!)
So that’s where you guys come in. She’s a biiiiit too proud/embarrassed to ask for help willingly so I’m making this fundraiser as I can only give so much myself in the hopes that my friends, strangers, and her and Ernie’s friends will help my mom to continue getting better. The road is long and she will get through this either way but I’m very, very worried about her being able to afford the basic things she needs right now. So please donate anything that you can; whether it be $1, $10, $50, or $100, literally every little bit helps. Additionally, whether you donate or not, please share with your friends and spread this around. She’s a strong lady, my best friend, and an absolutely wonderful person, truly. She just needs a little bit of help right now like we all do sometimes.
Help me help my fabulous mother rise from the ashes once again and kick this cancer’s butt! With your help, I know we can do it!
————
And thanks in advance everyone, no matter your contribution, you’re quite literally a life saver in this difficult time right now! I can’t say thank you enough! So thanks a million!
————
So my family has been pretty resilient for most of our lives, and a large part of that has come from the support of my mother. From working literally 80+ hours a week for years on end to make sure we had a roof over our head, to fighting to get us back from relatives who tried to use the court system to their advantage to take us away from her and make us fear her, to a variety of other circumstances thereafter including a house fire where we lost a lot of what we owned, she has always been there and been our rock. She has always done what she needed to do and learned a lot from those experiences along the way.
And this time is no exception.
So as most of the stories of this nature begin, she found a lump in her breast in the fall, 2018. She monitored it for a bit but it kept growing and so she began to secretly deal with it by herself. She would always say that nothing was wrong when I asked her what was going on, but I never quite believed it. So on one night when I went over to visit, I began talking to my brother and he revealed that my mother had found a lump in her breast. As I was having my own scare at the time, my blood ran cold at the news that it could be cancer. Being worried, I pulled her aside and confirmed that she had found one and she just told us to not worry too much about it and that she had an appointment scheduled to get a mammogram and a biopsy. So I said ok, and told her to keep me appraised of it.
Over the next month and a half she had quite a few tests and procedures done to determine if it was cancer and, after some scheduling shenanigans, she finally got her final tests done. On January 16, 2019, she got back the news that her tests came back positive for Triple Positive Invasive Ductal Carcinoma (T+IDC).
To say this sucked as a diagnosis is an understatement. But she had insurance and a desk job (so she could keep working as much as possible during chemo,) so we were hoping for the best. And she was too; she kept telling us to be positive about it and that she’s gonna do what she’s gotta do.
Fast forward a few weeks and after some more delays, insurance issues, weathering the strong side effects from an equally strong chemo which left her bedridden for almost two weeks at a time (on a 3 week chemo cycle) nearly every time she’s done it so far, and her clutch going on her car at the same time Ernie’s (her partner) car had its fuel pump go out, she also lost her job, making an already tight money situation even worse.
She did get a tax refund and that was used to fix the car and catch up on bills but then, with only one income and a whole family to feed, clothe, and shelter, her and Ernie’s reserves are unfortunately running low. To make matters worse, ANOTHER part on her car has recently broken, which she needs in order to get to chemo in the first place.
SO...I am asking for your help to help her as we’re doing what we can as a family but I am unfortunately not myself in a position to help monetarily more than a little bit. I know she will get through this but ANY amount donated equals decreased stress which helps with the healing process and can seriously make the difference between eating and getting to her chemo treatments in a timely fashion and not being able to do both of those things very easily, which is important right now.
I’m not asking for everything; she just needs help to get her car back on the road, help paying the past due bills, and to try to put something towards the $2.5k surprise uncovered hospital bills that have been racked up SO far (she’s got another year of chemo, surgery, and targeted therapy left to do unfortunately; they’re gonna do everything possible to get this cancer though!)
So that’s where you guys come in. She’s a biiiiit too proud/embarrassed to ask for help willingly so I’m making this fundraiser as I can only give so much myself in the hopes that my friends, strangers, and her and Ernie’s friends will help my mom to continue getting better. The road is long and she will get through this either way but I’m very, very worried about her being able to afford the basic things she needs right now. So please donate anything that you can; whether it be $1, $10, $50, or $100, literally every little bit helps. Additionally, whether you donate or not, please share with your friends and spread this around. She’s a strong lady, my best friend, and an absolutely wonderful person, truly. She just needs a little bit of help right now like we all do sometimes.
Help me help my fabulous mother rise from the ashes once again and kick this cancer’s butt! With your help, I know we can do it!
————
And thanks in advance everyone, no matter your contribution, you’re quite literally a life saver in this difficult time right now! I can’t say thank you enough! So thanks a million!
————
Organizer
Cole Stãnley
Organizer
Kissimmee, FL
