Alyssa Castro Medical Expenses
Donation protected
Fundraiser for Alyssa Castro
I met Alyssa 14 years ago while working with her Mother Keri. At that time she was a sweet 11 year old and though we live 3,000 miles away, her Mom is my best friend and are like family to me. Over the years I was proud to see Alyssa grow up to be a sweet, ambitious, God-fearing woman. Always positive, happy, I enjoyed seeing her posts on facebook about how God is good and how Blessed she is (and how she is going to marry Tim Tebow). She volunteered by dressing up as Disney princesses for children in need to bring them joy.
In January, she saw her doctor because she had a cough and her glands were swollen and painful. So they put her several courses of antibiotics thinking she'd get better. When she returned with the same symptoms her Dr. wanted to do a biopsy to rule out lymphoma. The test came back negative. Her doctor ordered a full body scan that showed lymph nodes had grown and expanded into her diaphragm. They ordered another biopsy, this time of a new node and bone marrow. It took longer than expected to get results, but she was told they too, looked fine. Thankfully her Dr. had the tests re-run immediately because she wasn't getting better and the lymph nodes were causing her neck and throat to swell almost closing her airway. Tuesday they got the call no one would want. It is Hodgkins Lymphoma, likely stage 2 or stage 3. Treatment was to start immediately to give her the best shot at recovery. The following day she would be getting a port installed in her chest and the day after,(today 5/17/18) she'd start chemo for 4-6 months. The chemo has the potential to make her sick and lose her hair, but even more devastating for a 25 year old, may render her infertile.
Despite all of this, she is still in good spirits. It would be great if we could all show support for a young woman that pays it forward, even if you have to give your morning coffee up for a day to help Alyssa out. Obviously she is going to incur a lot of medical expenses over the next 4-6 months. I'd like her to not have to worry about the financial aspects of treatment and concentrate on getting well.
I thank you for your support.
I met Alyssa 14 years ago while working with her Mother Keri. At that time she was a sweet 11 year old and though we live 3,000 miles away, her Mom is my best friend and are like family to me. Over the years I was proud to see Alyssa grow up to be a sweet, ambitious, God-fearing woman. Always positive, happy, I enjoyed seeing her posts on facebook about how God is good and how Blessed she is (and how she is going to marry Tim Tebow). She volunteered by dressing up as Disney princesses for children in need to bring them joy.
In January, she saw her doctor because she had a cough and her glands were swollen and painful. So they put her several courses of antibiotics thinking she'd get better. When she returned with the same symptoms her Dr. wanted to do a biopsy to rule out lymphoma. The test came back negative. Her doctor ordered a full body scan that showed lymph nodes had grown and expanded into her diaphragm. They ordered another biopsy, this time of a new node and bone marrow. It took longer than expected to get results, but she was told they too, looked fine. Thankfully her Dr. had the tests re-run immediately because she wasn't getting better and the lymph nodes were causing her neck and throat to swell almost closing her airway. Tuesday they got the call no one would want. It is Hodgkins Lymphoma, likely stage 2 or stage 3. Treatment was to start immediately to give her the best shot at recovery. The following day she would be getting a port installed in her chest and the day after,(today 5/17/18) she'd start chemo for 4-6 months. The chemo has the potential to make her sick and lose her hair, but even more devastating for a 25 year old, may render her infertile.
Despite all of this, she is still in good spirits. It would be great if we could all show support for a young woman that pays it forward, even if you have to give your morning coffee up for a day to help Alyssa out. Obviously she is going to incur a lot of medical expenses over the next 4-6 months. I'd like her to not have to worry about the financial aspects of treatment and concentrate on getting well.
I thank you for your support.
Organizer and beneficiary
Wendee Correia-Hewitt
Organizer
Port Orchard, WA
Alyssa Castro
Beneficiary