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A battle with a rare heart cancer, PLEASE HELP

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First off thank you for reading this.. as I know it’s a bit long but it’s important to me to share this story. I am starting this go fund me for my amazing parents. We have the most amazing parents a kid could ever ask for however they are prideful so they would never consider doing this. They didn't ask me to do this nor do they know that I am actually doing it (honestly they’ll probably chew my butt out once they find out) but I’m hoping that once they see that they are not alone that they will accept the help and feel the relief that I desperately hope it brings. I have been contemplating whether or not to start this for awhile now but as I see all the help that people truly in need get from those with the means and kind hearts, I have to TRY for my parents. If anyone deserves this help, it is them. I want to start this by letting you guys get to know them a little more. So let me tell you a little about them first. We are a combined family. For many many years my Mom was a young single mom of two little girls and my Dad was a young single father of three little boys. When we finally came together my parents had another little girl making us together a big family of 6 with the youngest of us just 10 years old. Most of us are adults now and out on our own and doing great thanks to our wonderful parents who came together & worked HARD to make sure we were provided for the best they knew how and gave us the proper tools for us to prosper. However these last 3 years have really taken a toll for the worse on them. It all started First, within the same year both of them were laid off from their jobs that they had been at for over 15 years. They went from a two income household to a one income household to no income. But One thing about my parents is that they are dedicated Independent hard workers. They give their all when they are at a job. So while these very unexpected and very serious events really set them back they were still so strong and made every effort to get back up on their feet again, even being so discouraged at times. My Mom found a job pretty quickly but unfortunately the industry for my fathers position isn't plentiful especially at his age. As though that wasn’t enough, Covid hit.. and they continued to struggle with only one income. Now one thing about our mom.. as giving and independent as she is… she is also so prideful and and she works so hard so she won't ask for help… always saying 'there are those who have less' People who need more.... She doesn’t like to feel like a burden or as though she can’t do it (My grandma raised her to be a strong independent woman as my parents raised us to be) but because of this, things so quickly started falling behind causing a lot of bills to not get paid... Not only that but some things had to be let go and they’ve had to go without many things, even with the support of our family. Then, as though they were not struggling enough, we find out in November 2021 My Dad has a super rare cancerous tumor in his heart. SO rare that Less than 1% of cancer patients get this type of cancer. Cardiac Sarcoma it is called. It completely broke our hearts. My dad is our rock, our safe place.. the best dad a kid could ask for.. the best husband a wife could ask for and so much more. Picturing a life without him.. unimaginable. Now with that heaviness on our hearts My Mom started searching out a better paying job knowing there will not be another income coming in for quite awhile. Not only that but she needed to find a job she could work from home as she was going to need to take care of my Dad not only that but our baby sister. It was difficult but she had to make a way. Now my dad being the strong providing man that he is.. This really started weighing on my Dad's pride.. but now on top of all the other weight he was already bearing.. he now had to start fighting for his life. My strong- willed, hard working father had to accept that he can only concentrate on his health now because we needed him here. Our world would fall apart without him. My dad tried to apply for short term disability to help contribute while he was unable to work and was denied. As this new journey began the Doctors don't even know how to proceed due to this being such a rare cancer and there not being alot of research out there on it. Most of the research has been done on autopsies. (which was absolutely terrible to think of) So before we knew it my Dad had to have open heart surgery done to remove the tumor before they knew if it was malignant. At first when they did the scans they told us it was benign but that it had to be removed due to it was completely clogging an INTERNAL passageway IN his heart. It was a insane we hadn’t found it sooner because of the size of it. We waited for several torturous hours waiting to see if my dad would make it through. Someone was definitely looking out for him because he pulled through. However even after surgery they had no clue as to WHAT this tumor was exactly and had to send it off to the Texas research center. When we finally heard back we received the worse news we could ever receive.. the results came back that it was a MALIGNANT tumor. After finding this out the surgeon said he would've likely NOT performed the surgery due to all the risks that came along with it, had he known the tumor was cancerous... we got so lucky it didn’t spread. He also said he got as much as safely possible but there was some was likely left behind. So my dad was now living with cancer. Over the next couple of months my Dad had to go through chemotherapy & it kicked his butt… so much so that they stopped the sessions before they were complete. The chemicals were affecting his brain and memory way to much. It broke our hearts to see the pain and suffering he was going through. My strong dad.. my hero suffering the way that he was. The oncologist said the 'spot' remaining on his heart Had remained the same through out chemotherapy instead of improving so they didn’t want to continue however radiation was not an option as to the danger of it because of the location of the spot. He then referred him to a specialist in Houston. At this point it has been 8 long hard months since we got the horrible news and a lot more tests & consults have been completed. The specialist & his team got together and study and discuss my dads imaging on his heart and we receive news that that it appears the tumor is gone! My dad is officially CANCER FREE!!! This is the most amazing and wonderful news we could ever have gotten & while we can all breathe again and pray for nothing to return, there is still this heavy weight still on their shoulders. Their home bills have piled up even with my mom working overtime to try and make ends meet. Not only that but many doctor bills still need to be paid with more followup doctor appointments to follow. To add on to this stress They have vehicle issues and are unable to repair them which makes it difficult for them with doctors appointments and taking care of my little sister. My Dad hasn't been able to work for almost 3 years now and While he can now seek work he is very limited because of the long healing process to come due to everything he has endured over the last year. All of that being said Again, my Mom and Dad have their pride and won't ask for help. My Mom works 10 hour days & weekends to make ends meet but they are seriously struggling. My little sister lacks for things she needs because of their struggle. We help when we can but it’s still not enough. Not only that but my mom's health has taken a backseat to everything because she refuses to take time for herself when there is work that needs to be done because she can’t afford not to work those extra hours. The weight is heavy and hard to get out from under so I ask from the bottom of my heart for help, for them. Anything you can spare.. will help them get back on their feet and move forward in a positive direction. Anything to help them get their bills get caught up and for them to be able to relax a little bit and to be able to breathe for a moment and look at their future in a positive light again. I don’t know how to put a number on how much they need to help them catch up and be okay until they are back on their feet but anything you feel in your heart that you can spare will be so appreciated!! Thank you for taking this time to read our story and if you are able to help out thank you even more. My parents have done so much for us we just want to be able to do something for them.. Have a blessed day and thank you again!

Organizer

Samantha Hawkins
Organizer
San Antonio, TX

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