Mary Zeigler's Medical Fund
Donation protected
Hello, my name is Cathy Zeigler. I am Mary Zeigler’s sister-in-law and I am setting up this campaign for her. Mary was diagnosed on May 10th with pancreatic cancer stage 2B. Mary is the mother of 3 children Renee, Kendall and Beth, one grandchild Eli and loving wife of her wonderful husband Randall.
Mary is a teacher at Central Noble High School in the special Ed department. She is an active member of Sparta United Church of God and is the secretary of the Noble County Fair. Mary unexpectedly found this cancer after a trip to her doctors on April 27th because of her high blood sugar levels (she’s diabetic) and a yellowing of her eyes and skin. Her doctor sent her to Kendallville Parkview where they did an MRI and immediately sent her to Parkview Regional Medical Center, in Fort Wayne, where she was admitted. On April 28th they put a stent in her pancreas because it was completely blocked. They wanted to do a biopsy, but that would require a longer recovery time and her oldest daughter was getting married on Saturday so they sent her home on the 29th and her daughter Renee was married on April 30th.
She returned to the hospital the following week and had the biopsy done where it was confirmed to be cancer. After doctor visits in Fort Wayne and a second opinion at IU Medical Center in Indianapolis a treatment plan was decided upon. Mary would have 4 rounds of the strongest possible chemo they could give followed by surgery in Indianapolis. She just finished her 4th round of chemo which entailed 2 days of continuous chemo followed by 12 days off.
She will be heading to IU Med Center on August 2nd where they will reassess the size of the tumor and schedule her surgery. The surgery is called a pancreaticoduodectony or a “Whipple”. It will take 4-5 hours to perform with a hospital stay of 7-10 days. When she has recovered enough from this surgery they will most likely do another round of chemo. Throughout this journey Mary has been what I like to call “The poster child of Pancreatic Cancer” so positive and upbeat and continuing to do everything a busy mother has to do on a daily basis.
This included her youngest daughter’s graduation from high school and all the festivities that go with that.
And then on top of that, her husband having a third stent put into his heart, the first 2 were put in in early February. Luckily this was done on one of Mary’s off week of chemo.
Although money is at the bottom of our priorities in this situation, I am certain it still lingers in the back of Mary and Randall’s mind. Our close knit community, group of friends and family is amazing and I am confident we can all raise some money for Mary’s medical expenses. Our main priority is to do whatever it takes to help Mary beat pancreatic cancer and be with her family for a long, long time. Thanks from the bottom of our hearts and please continue to keep Mary and her family in your thoughts and prayers. I will keep you posted as we continue on this journey.
FYI Everyone: Molly Long is my, Cathy Zeigler 's, daughter, and Mary's niece. I do not have a Facebook account so she used hers to post our campaign!
Mary is a teacher at Central Noble High School in the special Ed department. She is an active member of Sparta United Church of God and is the secretary of the Noble County Fair. Mary unexpectedly found this cancer after a trip to her doctors on April 27th because of her high blood sugar levels (she’s diabetic) and a yellowing of her eyes and skin. Her doctor sent her to Kendallville Parkview where they did an MRI and immediately sent her to Parkview Regional Medical Center, in Fort Wayne, where she was admitted. On April 28th they put a stent in her pancreas because it was completely blocked. They wanted to do a biopsy, but that would require a longer recovery time and her oldest daughter was getting married on Saturday so they sent her home on the 29th and her daughter Renee was married on April 30th.
She returned to the hospital the following week and had the biopsy done where it was confirmed to be cancer. After doctor visits in Fort Wayne and a second opinion at IU Medical Center in Indianapolis a treatment plan was decided upon. Mary would have 4 rounds of the strongest possible chemo they could give followed by surgery in Indianapolis. She just finished her 4th round of chemo which entailed 2 days of continuous chemo followed by 12 days off.
She will be heading to IU Med Center on August 2nd where they will reassess the size of the tumor and schedule her surgery. The surgery is called a pancreaticoduodectony or a “Whipple”. It will take 4-5 hours to perform with a hospital stay of 7-10 days. When she has recovered enough from this surgery they will most likely do another round of chemo. Throughout this journey Mary has been what I like to call “The poster child of Pancreatic Cancer” so positive and upbeat and continuing to do everything a busy mother has to do on a daily basis.
This included her youngest daughter’s graduation from high school and all the festivities that go with that.
And then on top of that, her husband having a third stent put into his heart, the first 2 were put in in early February. Luckily this was done on one of Mary’s off week of chemo.
Although money is at the bottom of our priorities in this situation, I am certain it still lingers in the back of Mary and Randall’s mind. Our close knit community, group of friends and family is amazing and I am confident we can all raise some money for Mary’s medical expenses. Our main priority is to do whatever it takes to help Mary beat pancreatic cancer and be with her family for a long, long time. Thanks from the bottom of our hearts and please continue to keep Mary and her family in your thoughts and prayers. I will keep you posted as we continue on this journey.
FYI Everyone: Molly Long is my, Cathy Zeigler 's, daughter, and Mary's niece. I do not have a Facebook account so she used hers to post our campaign!
Organizer and beneficiary
Molly Long
Organizer
Fort Wayne, IN
Mary Zeigler
Beneficiary