Stage 4 Esophageal Cancer

I was given my name by a Queen.
I am the offspring of Hero.
The carbon copy of a strong woman.
I am her Daughter.
And for that, I am a better person.

This is the poem I wrote for my mother, the strongest person I know.
One day she had pain in her lower chest so I took her to the ER, 2 days later we sat in a room and heard the words that every person fears… “You have cancer.” It was devastating, like an animation. It didn’t seem real, everything seemed to slow down. I looked at her, this woman who gave me life, and I was terrified to think of it without her. She smiled and the first words from her, “I’m going to beat it.”
I had to walk out of the room so that I could cry. As I stood there, with the wall holding me up, I decided that for all those times my brothers’ or I were sick, she was strong. When we cried, she would soothe us. When our hearts were broken she would hold us. I wanted to do that for her, I wanted to be strong.
A few days later, at the first Onocology appointment, we found out that it was Stage 4. Stage 4! Suddenly strong didn’t seem possible. The tumor in her esophagus had been growing for 2 years and it was now in her lymph nodes, muscle, and lung. Surgery wasn’t an option and she has to do Chemo and Radiation. We made a plan.
Getting home that day, Dad drove to a local store and was hit by another car. He was okay and luckily the car was only dented. What luck?!
The next day we stopped to get prescriptions filled, she doesn’t have insurance: $392 out of pocket. Because of where the tumor is she couldn’t eat solids, so, an all liquid diet. Protein $40/week, ingrediets to make protein shake and give her calories (Almond milk, peanut butter, yogurt, etc..) $75/week. I’ve picked up extra hours, my husband works overtime, my brothers were sending money, we where going to make it. She applied for disability, medicaid, food stamps… No medicaid, No food stamps, but she gets disability after 5 months. FIVE MONTHS!! What do we do till then? Some weeks we have to pick and choose what medicine we can afford and what bill can wait. Thankfully we have some great people who helped us with gas money for doctors visits, or a little money for groceries. But they can’t support us. Our landlord told us to pay as we could (God Bless Him!) But he still needs to support his family.
Then more prescriptions, more trips to the doctor. The car payment got behind. We went to a local charity to get help with the electric, they only helped as much as they could. We took out loans, pawned precious items. We are going to do whatever it takes to make sure she has everything she needs to survive and we are all going to be strong and do it like she did for us our whole lives; with hard work. Now more money is going out than coming in and we just can’t make it. We can’t do it alone anymore, we need to ask for help. Thankfully (yesterday) we had family help keep a roof over our head but only enough to keep it for a little while longer.
The money from this fund will pay for our rent, the only reliable car we have, doctors visits, medicine, electric, groceries, water, and other life necessities.
We couldn’t express the gratitude that we would have for those who help us. Our hearts are already so over joyed that Mom is officially in partial remission! And eating solid food again! We still have a long journey ahead but she is fighting hard and we want to help her fight more than anything in the world. So for you to help her makes, my heart glow. “Thank you” will never be enough.

To donate please click this link: https://www.gofundme.com/v8vv6bas