Ella Maney Fundraiser
Donation protected
Ella Maney and her family have been selected as the recipients of our second annual KiraStrong fundraiser. Please help us support this amazing woman and her family as they battle to kick cancer's butt!
Ella's story, as told by her loving husband, Jeff:
Ella is a twin, a mother of 2, as well as helping to “mother” her sister’s 4 children. Just as Ella’s personal life centers around being helpful and positive influence for others, her career choices have also centered around helping others. She has been a college guidance counselor, worked in social services and currently works in human resources serving a large employee group. I’ve witnessed her impact on people in all sorts of environments from family, friends, coworkers, passersby and complete strangers. She is a steadfast and dependable advocate that many have come to love, admire and rely on.
Sometimes we meet people that we find uplifting, positive and inspiring influences in our lives. When we are blessed with one of these people it is often during personally challenging periods and in ways that are so timely that it is seemingly divine intent. I’m very fortunate that my wife Ella is one of those people.
Ella discovered the lump in her breast in early 2017 and she handled the situation as she has other life challenges – head on and with poise and grace. When the biopsy came back positive for cancer there was a short period of analysis and reflection, followed by determination and acceptance. As we moved through the processes of the surgery to remove both breasts, chemo therapy and radiation treatment she maintained her positivity.
I wish that the reality of these past 14 months was as simple as that last sentence implies, but it was not. If each of those treatments had a scale of 1 to 10 for ease and severity of side effects and complications, each one would be on the upper end of the scale. If the treatments alone were all she went through, that would have, in retrospect despite the difficulties, been a blessing. Unfortunately, there were also complications along the way including multiple hospital stays to treat a surgical site infection, mild to moderate memory loss (still recovering from this) and when the infection did not resolve it eventually resulted in the loss of her right breast reconstruction, essentially putting her through that loss twice. She continues physical therapy each week for arm and shoulder complications resulting from surgery that have impaired her physically. As many cancer survivors and those battling it can attest, the treatment can often be the most challenging part of the battle.
Through this whole ordeal Ella has stayed positive, stayed true to herself and continues to persevere. She smiles her infectious smile, shares her positivity with everyone and supports her family as mother, sister, and aunt.
I became partially disabled and off work shortly before her cancer journey began, she has been an unfailing advocate and support despite the financial burden the combined situations have created.
Ella has been able to return to work part time but finds each week a physical and mental challenge. Complicating things she recently learned that the future likely includes an additional surgery as a recent MRI shows a growth on her auditory nerve on the same side of her body that the cancer was located. It cannot be biopsied and may or may not be cancer; malignant or benign can only be determined after it is removed.
I’ve witnessed her impact on people in all sorts of environments from family, friends, coworkers, and complete strangers. She is a steadfast and dependable advocate that many have come to love, admire and rely on. And now thanks to help from KiraStrong we are reaching out to share our story and to ask for support for Ella during this challenging journey she is on. As most of our friends and family know we aren’t big social media users so we greatly appreciate any help you can offer in sharing our story!
The story of KiraSTRONG
In 2009 my wife Kira Crawford was first diagnosed with breast cancer. She was young, had her whole life ahead of her, and was the mother of two beautiful girls. Kira decided to aggressively go after the cancer to ensure it was wiped out and that she would be here for our girls for many years to come. She had a double mastectomy and endured several rounds of chemo, but she ran into multiple complications which nearly took her from us and landed in the hospital for several days. Yet she was determined to complete the full round of chemo and pushed through it to the end.
Unfortunately, three years later the cancer was found in her liver. Kira again stepped up and fought with everything she had to beat it, but after a year of battling, she passed away on November 8th, 2014.
Her primary motivation was our daughters, Addy (17) and Macy (16). Kira taught them the importance of kindness, that the kindness you give to others would always come back to you. This was confirmed when Kira was diagnosed with breast cancer and we started to receive back all the kindness Kira had shared with so many people over the years. It has been a tough couple of years for our family, but we’ve reached a point that we want to begin to pay forward all the kindness and support we’ve received.
Addy, Macy and I formed KiraSTRONG in memory of their mother and to help families dealing with breast cancer.
We know firsthand the positive impact donations had in helping our family getting through a very stressful and financially challenging time and we wanted to find a family dealing with breast cancer that could use some help.
Through friends and supporters of Kira we found Ella and her family. They are battling breast cancer and need our help. Please help us honor Kira and what she stood for and help the Ella and her family.
Thank you,
Addy, Macy, Mark and Paige
Ella's story, as told by her loving husband, Jeff:
Ella is a twin, a mother of 2, as well as helping to “mother” her sister’s 4 children. Just as Ella’s personal life centers around being helpful and positive influence for others, her career choices have also centered around helping others. She has been a college guidance counselor, worked in social services and currently works in human resources serving a large employee group. I’ve witnessed her impact on people in all sorts of environments from family, friends, coworkers, passersby and complete strangers. She is a steadfast and dependable advocate that many have come to love, admire and rely on.
Sometimes we meet people that we find uplifting, positive and inspiring influences in our lives. When we are blessed with one of these people it is often during personally challenging periods and in ways that are so timely that it is seemingly divine intent. I’m very fortunate that my wife Ella is one of those people.
Ella discovered the lump in her breast in early 2017 and she handled the situation as she has other life challenges – head on and with poise and grace. When the biopsy came back positive for cancer there was a short period of analysis and reflection, followed by determination and acceptance. As we moved through the processes of the surgery to remove both breasts, chemo therapy and radiation treatment she maintained her positivity.
I wish that the reality of these past 14 months was as simple as that last sentence implies, but it was not. If each of those treatments had a scale of 1 to 10 for ease and severity of side effects and complications, each one would be on the upper end of the scale. If the treatments alone were all she went through, that would have, in retrospect despite the difficulties, been a blessing. Unfortunately, there were also complications along the way including multiple hospital stays to treat a surgical site infection, mild to moderate memory loss (still recovering from this) and when the infection did not resolve it eventually resulted in the loss of her right breast reconstruction, essentially putting her through that loss twice. She continues physical therapy each week for arm and shoulder complications resulting from surgery that have impaired her physically. As many cancer survivors and those battling it can attest, the treatment can often be the most challenging part of the battle.
Through this whole ordeal Ella has stayed positive, stayed true to herself and continues to persevere. She smiles her infectious smile, shares her positivity with everyone and supports her family as mother, sister, and aunt.
I became partially disabled and off work shortly before her cancer journey began, she has been an unfailing advocate and support despite the financial burden the combined situations have created.
Ella has been able to return to work part time but finds each week a physical and mental challenge. Complicating things she recently learned that the future likely includes an additional surgery as a recent MRI shows a growth on her auditory nerve on the same side of her body that the cancer was located. It cannot be biopsied and may or may not be cancer; malignant or benign can only be determined after it is removed.
I’ve witnessed her impact on people in all sorts of environments from family, friends, coworkers, and complete strangers. She is a steadfast and dependable advocate that many have come to love, admire and rely on. And now thanks to help from KiraStrong we are reaching out to share our story and to ask for support for Ella during this challenging journey she is on. As most of our friends and family know we aren’t big social media users so we greatly appreciate any help you can offer in sharing our story!
The story of KiraSTRONG
In 2009 my wife Kira Crawford was first diagnosed with breast cancer. She was young, had her whole life ahead of her, and was the mother of two beautiful girls. Kira decided to aggressively go after the cancer to ensure it was wiped out and that she would be here for our girls for many years to come. She had a double mastectomy and endured several rounds of chemo, but she ran into multiple complications which nearly took her from us and landed in the hospital for several days. Yet she was determined to complete the full round of chemo and pushed through it to the end.
Unfortunately, three years later the cancer was found in her liver. Kira again stepped up and fought with everything she had to beat it, but after a year of battling, she passed away on November 8th, 2014.
Her primary motivation was our daughters, Addy (17) and Macy (16). Kira taught them the importance of kindness, that the kindness you give to others would always come back to you. This was confirmed when Kira was diagnosed with breast cancer and we started to receive back all the kindness Kira had shared with so many people over the years. It has been a tough couple of years for our family, but we’ve reached a point that we want to begin to pay forward all the kindness and support we’ve received.
Addy, Macy and I formed KiraSTRONG in memory of their mother and to help families dealing with breast cancer.
We know firsthand the positive impact donations had in helping our family getting through a very stressful and financially challenging time and we wanted to find a family dealing with breast cancer that could use some help.
Through friends and supporters of Kira we found Ella and her family. They are battling breast cancer and need our help. Please help us honor Kira and what she stood for and help the Ella and her family.
Thank you,
Addy, Macy, Mark and Paige
Organizer and beneficiary
Mark Crawford
Organizer
Lake Oswego, OR
Elenorah Maney
Beneficiary