Cindy needs a home run and you can help

On August 19, Cindy, otherwise known as Momo, suffered a seizure while visiting her daughter Abigail, son-in-law Matt, and newborn grandson in California. The seizure caused her to fall, hit her head, and break her right hip and right collarbone. She was rushed to the hospital for treatment. Scans to determine the cause of the seizure showed a large, baseball-sized tumor pressing on her brain, causing severe swelling and seizures. The swelling and tumor cause Cindy to have a lot of trouble with confusion, word retrieval, and thought processing. The neurosurgeons anticipate reversal of these symptoms upon removal of the tumor. They also believe the tumor is benign, but removal of the tumor is urgent and necessary due to its size and the side effects it is causing. However, it had to be put on hold until the hip fracture was addressed.

Cindy had hip replacement surgery on August 21st and is recovering well. She is currently in a rehab facility that specializes in neuro / ortho patients. She will be there for 2-3 weeks. Her doctors want her to be able to move and walk well before doing surgery to remove the brain tumor so she is receiving three or more hours of intense therapy each day.

Cindy’s brain surgery will be in California in mid to late September with intense rehab afterwards. Her kids will be flying back and forth from their homes to California to help with her care and recovery. Her neuro care team has recognized the

importance of having her family near her for care as this has helped to mitigate her neuro deficits. This will be very challenging emotionally and financially as they will have extended periods of time away from their families and jobs. And, while we cannot take those burdens away, we can come together as a team to make things better.

So, why did I make this fundraising page? Cindy is like a second mom to me, and Cindy is a giver. She is well-known in her community of Riverton for her giving spirit, love of plants, and raising the Starman kids – Jelena, Jarred, Amanda and Abigail. Who knows, you may have even had a pizza from Gallina’s delivered by her! Bottom line, Cindy is always willing to go to bat for other people in any way she can, and now she needs you to step up to the plate so she can hit this baseball sized tumor out of the park!

The funds raised will go towards the following:

Transportation (air fare, rental cars, uber rides), accommodations in the San Jose and San Francisco area (hotels, air bnb rentals), meals for family taking care of Cindy, medical costs including: rehab essentials, insurance costs and recovery.

Any help would be greatly appreciated. Cindy faces a long road ahead of her but she is in good spirits and we are all hopeful for a quick and successful recovery.