Help a nurse in crisis BATTLE #4

Dear family, friends and for all we have not met who stumbled upon this page.

My father used to always say he never met a stranger and I strive to live by that in my own life.

I have visited this site many times to help a stranger in need, never thinking that one day I might need to reach out a hand and ask for help…… but here I am .

Please meet my niece Erica Austin, a Penn State Masters of Nursing Grad, a Mother of two young beautiful girls, Rylee 9 and Zoey 3, and wife to my nephew Jay.

ADENOCARCINOMA

Pancreatic cancer

That dreaded word that entered our lives December 12, 2022.

Erica was having acute pain in her abdomen right before Thanksgiving and she drove herself to the emergency room where they discovered pancreatitis and an inflamed gallbladder, liver, and cysts on her pancreas. The doctors had to removed her gallbladder and put a stent in her pancreas and one in her liver to help to get her liver enzymes to a stable level. She came home 6 days later feeling slightly painful but happy to be home. Over the next week Erica’s pain did not subside, it got progressively worse and she and Jay decided that a trip back to the ER was warranted. After some scans of her abdomen they discovered that her liver stent was not working properly and they would need to go back in to replace that stent and that’s where this journey begins.

To the doctor’s dismay, they “saw something” on her pancreas they took a biopsy and told Jay and Erica that the results would be back in a few days.

It was the longest few days in history !!

Being a nurse Erica knew that there was a chance that the biopsy could be bad news, but considering that she is only 35, healthy, and no family history of pancreatic cancer they hoped the news would be good and they would hear “it’s benign”.

Well unfortunately this was NOT the case.

Of all the cancers that you could be diagnosed with, this is the one you do NOT want to see come back on your biopsy report. As a nurse the minute you hear pancreatic cancer you know this is a battle! What you don’t know is are you ready to fight.

After days and hours and minutes of crying, you look at the faces of your children, you reign it in and face the demon head on !

We as a family had to face facts that this is the path we are now on and we have to walk through it …

This journey is not going to be easy for Erica, Jay, and their daughters.

It is just the beginning.

So here is where I reach out my hand….

Over the past six months Jay has been on disability. He herniated the discs of his neck and had to have surgery to fuse them together. He has not been able to return to work as an electrician for the local #5 here in Pittsburgh, Pa due to the severity of his neck injury and the slow healing of the fusion. This has put a great burden financially on their family but with Erica‘s income they have been able to scale back, push through, and keep everything flowing. Now with Erica being placed on FMLA they will be truly suffering financially trying to make ends meet on half of their income. Not to mention expenses for their ongoing medical needs that we aren’t even aware of yet.

We would appreciate all of the thoughts and prayers from all who read this story and we would love for you to consider a monetary gift.

We are putting this fundraiser together for Ericas journey, to help ease some of their financial burden.

In the season of giving will you please consider my Niece Erica, my Nephew Jay and their beautiful daughters Rylee and Zoey.

A donation in any amount would be greatly appreciated.

A mountain starts with one grain of sand.

Let build a mountain !!

Thank you,

Molly Monahan Rayer