Roman Strzeciwilk fighting cancer
Donation protected
From Magdalena Strzeciwilk, Roman’s daughter.
The year is 2016: I was graduating high school--- my worries so minimal--- from choosing a college, wondering if I would get a car, and once having chosen a college, what I would do with my semester off. Life was going well. My mom had a promotion, my grandma who had lived with my brother and me for our entire lives was still caring for us, and my dad was being the hard-working man that he had always been, still himself, making every repair in our house. My brother was at Stony Brook University doing pre-med.
Then my dad had to have ankle surgery, which would allow him to walk better. During screening for the surgery, a lump in his lung was found, and we were told to get it checked out just in case. Well, that’s when life started to change. This turned out to be stage three-lung cancer; we were shocked and immediately turned to Memorial Sloan Kettering for help. As I entered my freshman year at Boston University in spring, 2017, my dad was at home in NYC getting radiation and chemotherapy, fighting for his life, in order to be there for us all. We were sure that with the help of my mom, grandma, my brother and me, my dad, who is a fighter, would come out of this. Luckily he was able to have surgery, which removed half his lung, in April 2017, to get rid of the cancer. Once, my dad told me that after the surgery his nurse said that he was lucky, that someone was looking out for him on the other side, because the surgery was extremely successful. After recovering from this surgery, he had radiation to kill off any other cancer cells and would have regular screening to make sure the cancer would not return.
I was able to resume college my sophomore year 2017, and my brother graduated college without the worry of my father’s illness. But then tragedy struck again in my family, this time with my grandma. The person who raised my brother and me, the person who was like a second mother, who took us to and from school those early mornings of elementary school, made sure we had warm dinners and were never alone, was diagnosed with stage 4-pancreatic cancer. She too fought for her life with chemotherapy; as we watched helplessly, this person we loved unconditionally, suffered. Eventually on November 5, 2017 she succumbed to her illness and passed in the early morning. We thought the year of 2017 was one of the worst years and prayed for 2018 to be better: no more hospitals and thank the lord that my father was miraculously able to beat the lung cancer.
Then again things started looking up after the darkest of times: my brother was attending classes to get certified as an EMT and my dad, after a long period of waiting, was called for one of his dream jobs. He would be a carpenter for the NYPD; we were ecstatic because he loved carpentering and this job was stable, providing amazing benefits. He started his job, got a new car, we got two adorable dogs (that were attached at the hip to my dad), and things looked good. I was starting my second semester of sophomore year at Boston University, when my dad had strange terrible migraines and became unable to drive himself to work because of these headaches, with his vision playing tricks on him (as lanes would contour and turn into one, he wasn’t able to drive safely). I was busy running back and forth from Boston to NYC to help my family who were still dealing with the loss of my grandmother, and now with my dad’s problems. One night his headaches were so bad he begged my mom to drive him to the Emergency Room. After going to the hospital and undergoing scans we got answers: he had a huge tumor in his brain. Luckily, again back at Memorial Sloan Kettering, the doctors were able to remove the cancer and he was presumed to be ok. A month after his surgery I came back from school and was able to drive with my dad every day to radiation and MRI scans to ensure his cancer was gone. My brother and I knew my dad was the strongest man; he would fight and get through this, he would not give up.
After treatment he was doing ok, but in three weeks he had headaches once again. Not taking any chances we rushed to Memorial Sloan Kettering, where they did an MRI and this time had the worst possible news: there were 5-6 locations in his brain affected by cancer. He was placed on steroids, chemotherapy, and immunotherapy, as surgery was no longer an option.
I sent Boston University my dad’s medical records and begged them for more financial aid, because with my dad’s medical bills and his not being able to work, there was no way I could afford this school. Unfortunately, Boston University did not help us in this time of need. With my mom now the sole provider, with medical bills, my brother’s college debts, and now my college, she would not be able to do this. I took a leave of absence in order to work, save money, and be there for my dad. While other students were involved in their fall 2018 semester, I was caring for my dad: going to chemotherapy with him, to every doctor’s appointment, as well as giving him 4 insulin shots daily. As the days went by, my dad became worse. A few weeks ago we learned that the cancer had moved to his spine, making his balance very bad and diminishing him. The cancer pushed on his optic nerve to the point where his eye was swollen shut. Then, in the beginning of August my dad lost his balance so badly that every time he got up he fell; he became bed ridden, though still trying to be the independent man he was. My dad was driven and admitted to the hospital with a high fever in September and treated for a virus. Thus, my brother, mom and I resorted to sleeping on the floor next to him to ensure that if he tried to get up at night we were there.
He had an appointment Tuesday October 9th for a consultation for a VP shunt, but as we were leaving the house my father fell on the basement tiles causing a head abrasion. Then at the doctors’ his blood pressure was extremely low, 49/30, and he was immediately admitted. They found a new tumor on the back of his head that was inoperable and radiation wouldn’t help. With this new tumor, statistically they gave him days to live. He had been in the hospital for two weeks and was released October 24. Since being released he has gotten increasingly worse unable to breathe without oxygen, cannot stand up and in constant pain. He has all round care, and cannot be left alone. To my family this is the worst possible thing to endure. For the past 2 years my dad has been battling this terrible illness; his condition gets worse and worse while medical bills pile up.
So, if you are able, please donate for us; for my dad’s medical bills and a full time caregiver at home, keeping him from hurting himself even more. Anything counts. My mom’s friend, Jolanta, created this page. We greatly appreciate her doing this. Thank you.
Magdalena
Roman’s family has been fighting a terrible disease- cancer. Last year they lost one family member, beautiful soul, Janina’s mother. Janina’s husband has been fighting cancer for two years. It went from lungs to brain and spine. Roman survived two dangerous surgeries. He cannot work and he needs constant medical attention. Unfortunately the medical bills are very high and any bit of help will be greatly appreciated.
The year is 2016: I was graduating high school--- my worries so minimal--- from choosing a college, wondering if I would get a car, and once having chosen a college, what I would do with my semester off. Life was going well. My mom had a promotion, my grandma who had lived with my brother and me for our entire lives was still caring for us, and my dad was being the hard-working man that he had always been, still himself, making every repair in our house. My brother was at Stony Brook University doing pre-med.
Then my dad had to have ankle surgery, which would allow him to walk better. During screening for the surgery, a lump in his lung was found, and we were told to get it checked out just in case. Well, that’s when life started to change. This turned out to be stage three-lung cancer; we were shocked and immediately turned to Memorial Sloan Kettering for help. As I entered my freshman year at Boston University in spring, 2017, my dad was at home in NYC getting radiation and chemotherapy, fighting for his life, in order to be there for us all. We were sure that with the help of my mom, grandma, my brother and me, my dad, who is a fighter, would come out of this. Luckily he was able to have surgery, which removed half his lung, in April 2017, to get rid of the cancer. Once, my dad told me that after the surgery his nurse said that he was lucky, that someone was looking out for him on the other side, because the surgery was extremely successful. After recovering from this surgery, he had radiation to kill off any other cancer cells and would have regular screening to make sure the cancer would not return.
I was able to resume college my sophomore year 2017, and my brother graduated college without the worry of my father’s illness. But then tragedy struck again in my family, this time with my grandma. The person who raised my brother and me, the person who was like a second mother, who took us to and from school those early mornings of elementary school, made sure we had warm dinners and were never alone, was diagnosed with stage 4-pancreatic cancer. She too fought for her life with chemotherapy; as we watched helplessly, this person we loved unconditionally, suffered. Eventually on November 5, 2017 she succumbed to her illness and passed in the early morning. We thought the year of 2017 was one of the worst years and prayed for 2018 to be better: no more hospitals and thank the lord that my father was miraculously able to beat the lung cancer.
Then again things started looking up after the darkest of times: my brother was attending classes to get certified as an EMT and my dad, after a long period of waiting, was called for one of his dream jobs. He would be a carpenter for the NYPD; we were ecstatic because he loved carpentering and this job was stable, providing amazing benefits. He started his job, got a new car, we got two adorable dogs (that were attached at the hip to my dad), and things looked good. I was starting my second semester of sophomore year at Boston University, when my dad had strange terrible migraines and became unable to drive himself to work because of these headaches, with his vision playing tricks on him (as lanes would contour and turn into one, he wasn’t able to drive safely). I was busy running back and forth from Boston to NYC to help my family who were still dealing with the loss of my grandmother, and now with my dad’s problems. One night his headaches were so bad he begged my mom to drive him to the Emergency Room. After going to the hospital and undergoing scans we got answers: he had a huge tumor in his brain. Luckily, again back at Memorial Sloan Kettering, the doctors were able to remove the cancer and he was presumed to be ok. A month after his surgery I came back from school and was able to drive with my dad every day to radiation and MRI scans to ensure his cancer was gone. My brother and I knew my dad was the strongest man; he would fight and get through this, he would not give up.
After treatment he was doing ok, but in three weeks he had headaches once again. Not taking any chances we rushed to Memorial Sloan Kettering, where they did an MRI and this time had the worst possible news: there were 5-6 locations in his brain affected by cancer. He was placed on steroids, chemotherapy, and immunotherapy, as surgery was no longer an option.
I sent Boston University my dad’s medical records and begged them for more financial aid, because with my dad’s medical bills and his not being able to work, there was no way I could afford this school. Unfortunately, Boston University did not help us in this time of need. With my mom now the sole provider, with medical bills, my brother’s college debts, and now my college, she would not be able to do this. I took a leave of absence in order to work, save money, and be there for my dad. While other students were involved in their fall 2018 semester, I was caring for my dad: going to chemotherapy with him, to every doctor’s appointment, as well as giving him 4 insulin shots daily. As the days went by, my dad became worse. A few weeks ago we learned that the cancer had moved to his spine, making his balance very bad and diminishing him. The cancer pushed on his optic nerve to the point where his eye was swollen shut. Then, in the beginning of August my dad lost his balance so badly that every time he got up he fell; he became bed ridden, though still trying to be the independent man he was. My dad was driven and admitted to the hospital with a high fever in September and treated for a virus. Thus, my brother, mom and I resorted to sleeping on the floor next to him to ensure that if he tried to get up at night we were there.
He had an appointment Tuesday October 9th for a consultation for a VP shunt, but as we were leaving the house my father fell on the basement tiles causing a head abrasion. Then at the doctors’ his blood pressure was extremely low, 49/30, and he was immediately admitted. They found a new tumor on the back of his head that was inoperable and radiation wouldn’t help. With this new tumor, statistically they gave him days to live. He had been in the hospital for two weeks and was released October 24. Since being released he has gotten increasingly worse unable to breathe without oxygen, cannot stand up and in constant pain. He has all round care, and cannot be left alone. To my family this is the worst possible thing to endure. For the past 2 years my dad has been battling this terrible illness; his condition gets worse and worse while medical bills pile up.
So, if you are able, please donate for us; for my dad’s medical bills and a full time caregiver at home, keeping him from hurting himself even more. Anything counts. My mom’s friend, Jolanta, created this page. We greatly appreciate her doing this. Thank you.
Magdalena
Roman’s family has been fighting a terrible disease- cancer. Last year they lost one family member, beautiful soul, Janina’s mother. Janina’s husband has been fighting cancer for two years. It went from lungs to brain and spine. Roman survived two dangerous surgeries. He cannot work and he needs constant medical attention. Unfortunately the medical bills are very high and any bit of help will be greatly appreciated.
Organizer and beneficiary
Jolanta Orzylowska
Organizer
Staten Island, NY
Magdalena Strzeciwilk
Beneficiary
