Support for Theodora Rachel Pestana
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Theodora Rachel's Journey with Crohn's Disease (video by Theodora Rachel Pestana)
This campaign is for a dear friend, Theodora Rachel Pestana, a 33-year-old newlywed (married to Marcos July ’17) and mother of a blended family of 5, who’s been battling Crohn’s Disease since her teen years.
From 2010 – 2013, she spent more time in hospitals than at home enduring NG tubes for nutrition, “chemo for Crohn’s” immunosuppressive therapies, and ultimately the removal of her colon and rectum with placement of a permanent ileostomy when it was determined that her Crohn’s disease had contributed to pre-cancerous cell changes in her bowel.
In the years following, she continued to experience health complications including frequent vomiting/bloating, infections, and the need to self-catheterize daily to clear urine (due to inability to urinate from nerve damage from her surgery). But she was ever-present at church and school events for her daughter. In July ’17, Theodora Rachel married her God-sent husband Marcos and it was a joy to witness her Facebook feed fill with videos of them dancing Bachata, their shared passion.
In January 2018 – her health status took a nosedive. She was immobile/chair-bound and in excruciating pain for three months due to compression of spine associated with displacement of uterus (due to bowel resection) and hemorrhagic cyst that ruptured. Her GI complications continued to worsen with gastroparesis, gastritis, erosions of stomach and cyclic vomiting syndrome. Since this time, she’s been vomiting daily and when a flare hits she becomes severely dehydrated and fatigued, often resulting in trip to Emergency Department.
Since February 2018, she’s been fighting two gram-negative bacterial infections (resistant to most antibiotics) and has worked her way through the various classes of antibiotics likely to help - with no success yet. These infections leave her fatigued and risk the functioning of her kidneys. In past month, she has had a PICC line placed (for medications) and removed (due to severe infection), and subsequent emergency placement of a chest port to deliver antibiotics.
At present, she’s receiving last-line antibiotic treatment (to which she is allergic). She is enduring horrible allergic reactions in efforts to tolerate sufficient doses of the medication to wipe out her infections. There is urgency to this because she is scheduled for a hysterectomy July 10, 2018, necessary because of the presence of pre-cancerous cells and displacement of uterus causing spinal compression (creating pain and immobility).
The essence of Theodora Rachel’s spirit is unrivaled. Her transparency, positivity, humor, faith in God, and focus on her family are a blessing to witness. This is matched only by the support she’s received from her amazing husband, parents, children, and community of friends. They’ve rallied beyond belief for what they thought was a short crisis, but has demonstrated itself to be a critical ongoing battle for her health.
At present, there is an insurmountable financial burden on the family with no end in sight. Marcos has often had to take off work to take Theodora Rachel to both emergency and scheduled appointments and to care for their children. They've also incurred the added expense of childcare for two of the youngest children. The medical expenses are high and include various medications, co-pays, and home-health care needs, as well as the need (and expenses associated) with keeping the family home “hospital-sterile” given her already immunocompromised health status. Costs of the commute also add up quickly with multiple trips each week from Aberdeen to GBMC.
Please contribute what you can to ease the financial burden of this family so that their primary focus can be stabilizing Theodora Rachel’s current health crisis and focusing on her recovery from her next surgery, less than two weeks away.
She has been an inspirational “open book.” With many public Facebook posts on World Inflammatory Bowel Disease Day.
With endless gratitude for all of you, Monica
(one of her many friends and supporters)
This campaign is for a dear friend, Theodora Rachel Pestana, a 33-year-old newlywed (married to Marcos July ’17) and mother of a blended family of 5, who’s been battling Crohn’s Disease since her teen years.
From 2010 – 2013, she spent more time in hospitals than at home enduring NG tubes for nutrition, “chemo for Crohn’s” immunosuppressive therapies, and ultimately the removal of her colon and rectum with placement of a permanent ileostomy when it was determined that her Crohn’s disease had contributed to pre-cancerous cell changes in her bowel.
In the years following, she continued to experience health complications including frequent vomiting/bloating, infections, and the need to self-catheterize daily to clear urine (due to inability to urinate from nerve damage from her surgery). But she was ever-present at church and school events for her daughter. In July ’17, Theodora Rachel married her God-sent husband Marcos and it was a joy to witness her Facebook feed fill with videos of them dancing Bachata, their shared passion.
In January 2018 – her health status took a nosedive. She was immobile/chair-bound and in excruciating pain for three months due to compression of spine associated with displacement of uterus (due to bowel resection) and hemorrhagic cyst that ruptured. Her GI complications continued to worsen with gastroparesis, gastritis, erosions of stomach and cyclic vomiting syndrome. Since this time, she’s been vomiting daily and when a flare hits she becomes severely dehydrated and fatigued, often resulting in trip to Emergency Department.
Since February 2018, she’s been fighting two gram-negative bacterial infections (resistant to most antibiotics) and has worked her way through the various classes of antibiotics likely to help - with no success yet. These infections leave her fatigued and risk the functioning of her kidneys. In past month, she has had a PICC line placed (for medications) and removed (due to severe infection), and subsequent emergency placement of a chest port to deliver antibiotics.
At present, she’s receiving last-line antibiotic treatment (to which she is allergic). She is enduring horrible allergic reactions in efforts to tolerate sufficient doses of the medication to wipe out her infections. There is urgency to this because she is scheduled for a hysterectomy July 10, 2018, necessary because of the presence of pre-cancerous cells and displacement of uterus causing spinal compression (creating pain and immobility).
The essence of Theodora Rachel’s spirit is unrivaled. Her transparency, positivity, humor, faith in God, and focus on her family are a blessing to witness. This is matched only by the support she’s received from her amazing husband, parents, children, and community of friends. They’ve rallied beyond belief for what they thought was a short crisis, but has demonstrated itself to be a critical ongoing battle for her health.
At present, there is an insurmountable financial burden on the family with no end in sight. Marcos has often had to take off work to take Theodora Rachel to both emergency and scheduled appointments and to care for their children. They've also incurred the added expense of childcare for two of the youngest children. The medical expenses are high and include various medications, co-pays, and home-health care needs, as well as the need (and expenses associated) with keeping the family home “hospital-sterile” given her already immunocompromised health status. Costs of the commute also add up quickly with multiple trips each week from Aberdeen to GBMC.
Please contribute what you can to ease the financial burden of this family so that their primary focus can be stabilizing Theodora Rachel’s current health crisis and focusing on her recovery from her next surgery, less than two weeks away.
She has been an inspirational “open book.” With many public Facebook posts on World Inflammatory Bowel Disease Day.
With endless gratitude for all of you, Monica
(one of her many friends and supporters)
Fundraising team (2)
Monica Makrodimitris
Organizer
Perry Hall, MD
Theodora Rachel Pestana
Beneficiary
Beth Lindsey
Team member
