Fight for Amy Capello
Donation protected
Let me introduce you to an amazing mother, daughter, sister, wife and all around bad-to-the-bone chick... Mrs. Amy "Star" Catherine Capello....
Before I tell you why this GoFundMe page is now necessary - let me tell you why we call Amy "all around bad-to-the-bone chick".
Amy obtained a B.S. and M.S. in Biology from Georgia Southern University. Since 2006, Amy has worked with the Tybee Island's Sea Turtle Project, dedicating her time to preserve Tybee Island's sea turtle population. Since 2008, Amy has educated Georgia's children. Amy began her teaching career at Johnson High School, where she worked for 4 years. Thereafter, Amy accepted a job with Georgia Cyber Academy where she continues to assist to this day in the education of our youth.
Amy maintains a strong commitment to her faith which is evidenced by the church-based small groups she leads and her participation in youth events. In 2019, Amy was on a team to raise money for LLS in honor of a family member who was battling Acute Myeloid Leukemia.
However, Amy's most precious life experience was becoming a mother to her son, Jayce. Watching him explore outside and teaching him about the bugs he finds are her most treasured moments.
Amy has dedicated her life to her community, her faith and her family. Therefore, it is with a heavy heart that I now explain why this GoFundMe page in Amy's honor is necessary.
In April 2020, after being treated for what was suspected to be an infection or cyst in her breast, Amy was diagnosed with Stage IIIB Inflammatory Breast Cancer with Invasive Ductal Carcinoma. She is 38 years old with no pre-cancerous marker. To say the diagnosis was unexpected is a gross understatement.
The cancer is aggressive and rapidly progressing. It has overtaken her right breast and spread to her lymph nodes. Since her diagnosis, she has had to seek immediate treatment. She had to start chemotherapy less than 15 hours after having a port surgically implanted.
She is currently receiving chemotherapy to shrink a 5 cm tumor in her lymph node before she undergoes a double mastectomy. Amy will receive chemotherapy over the next 16 weeks, with the last chemo round being August 13, 2020. Thereafter, Amy will undergo a radical non skin sparing double mastectomy around mid September, 2020. Four weeks after undergoing the radical non skin sparing double mastectomy, Amy will receive daily rounds of radiation for 6.5 weeks while in the hospital.
Amy didn't have time to even mentally process the cancer diagnosis before immediately beginning a rigorous and extremely intensive treatment regimen. Amy has been thrown into a fight for her survival. A fight that will impact her life mentally, emotionally, physically and financially for the foreseeable future.
We can't fight the battle for her but we can help lessen the financial burden on her and her loved ones, so Amy can focus all of her energy on the war at hand. We set the goal at $10,000.00 to help her cover some of the mounting medical bills and prescription costs. However, we want to blow the goal out of the water and show Amy - that we have her back!
For those who are unable to donate monetarily, you are welcome to join Amy’s Facebook group. The link to the group is https://www.facebook.com/groups/261195279550/
This way you can (Per Amy) “contribute in words of encouragement or prayers and love and good juju too if [you] want.” :)
To learn more about Inflammatory Breast Cancer, please go to the link below. Amy wants to use this journey as a vehicle to help educate people especially since Inflammatory Breast Cancer doesn't present like normal breast cancer. Knowledge is power! https://www.cancer.org/cancer/breast-cancer/understanding-a-breast-cancer-diagnosis/types-of-breast-cancer/inflammatory-breast-cancer.html
Amy with her son, Jayce.
Amy with her husband, Joel. Joel is a nurse and was in New York helping with the COVID19 pandemic when Amy received the cancer diagnosis.
Amy's chemo recliner...
First chemo sesh, done! Joel waited in the car for 5 hours as Amy received her first round of chemo, that consisted of two drugs - one they called "Red Devil."
The Days Leading Up to Amy's Cancer Diagnosis:
Amy’s husband, Joel, is a nurse. He was recently temporarily laid off by a local hospital due to elective surgeries being sidelined because of covid19.
On April 6, 2020, Joel travelled to New York as a contract nurse to work for 5 weeks in the Intensive Care Unit of a hospital [whose name is intentionally omitted] that was being overwhelmed with covid19 patients.
Prior to Joel leaving for New York, Amy was experiencing tenderness, sporadic sharp pains and abnormal heaviness in her right breast, with a notable change in its appearance. Amy’s OB suspected mastitis and treated her with antibiotics.
On April 14, 2020, Amy’s OB ordered imaging of Amy’s right breast after antibiotics did not clear the suspected mastitis.
Meanwhile, Amy’s husband, Joel, was staying in a hotel with 625 other nurses, working 14 hour days, for 21 days straight. The staffing company that contracted with Joel had three hotels in the New York area filled with nurses fighting the covid19 pandemic.
The hospital Joel was working in had only 1 in 4 vented patients surviving covid19 while another hospital in that area had only 1 in 5 vented patients surviving covid19. Every time a patient was taken off a ventilator, “Don’t Stop Believing” was played throughout the hospital due to the rarity of the vented patients surviving and as encouragement to the medical staff.
On April 22, 2020, Amy went to the hospital for a mammogram and ultrasound. Amy’s brother offered to go with her however Amy thought the testing that day would be minor and that she likely had a cyst or something similar. So, Amy went to the hospital alone.
However, the mammogram and ultrasound showed Amy’s right breast engulfed with cancer and a 5 cm tumor in her lymph node. Due to the advanced stage of the cancer and the level of its spread, the doctors did 9 biopsies that same day.
Joel tried to contact Amy throughout the day to find out the results of the mammogram and ultrasound. However, Amy did not want to tell Joel that she had been diagnosed with breast cancer while he was in the middle of working a shift. Amy waited for Joel to complete his shift before she broke the news to him over the phone.
Between April 22, 2020 and May 2, 2020, Amy met with her new medical team that consisted of an oncologist, a surgeon and a plastic surgeon. Joel attended the meetings virtually. Amy underwent CT scans of her chest, abdomen and pelvis, as well as a nuclear bone scan to see if the cancer had spread to other areas.
On May 2, 2020, Joel was able to fly home. Because of Amy’s compromised immune system and Joel having just returned from a covid19 severely affected area – they had a social distancing date in their sunroom. This was the first time Joel and Amy saw each other since he left for New York and she was diagnosed with cancer.
Joel stayed with friends from May 2, 2020 to May 4, 2020 while waiting to receive a covid19 rapid test. When the rapid test wasn’t made available in Savannah, Joel drove to Atlanta to get tested.
On May 4, 2020, while Joel was in Atlanta getting tested for covid19, Amy had a diagnostic MRI done on her right breast. Amy had a severe allergic reaction to the contrast dye administered during the MRI. The Medical Emergency Team had to be called in and Amy was rushed to the ER where she spent several hours. While in the ER, Amy was told that she had Stage IIIB cancer; that the cancer had not spread past the areas initially discovered in the April 22, 2020 mammogram and ultrasound; and that Joel’s rapid covid19 test was negative.
On May 5, 2020, Amy had a port surgically implanted. The port is sutured to her chest wall and the catheter runs into her jugular vein.
On May 6, 2020, Amy had her first chemo treatment.
There are many people out there like Joel and Amy who are/were separated during moments when they needed their loved one’s presence because of the covid19 epidemic. Please know our thoughts and prayers are with you all.
"Today I fly free.. Today I put on my wings and let go of the heaviness... Today, I open my hands, my heart, and my soul.." - Amy Capello, April 12, 2020
Before I tell you why this GoFundMe page is now necessary - let me tell you why we call Amy "all around bad-to-the-bone chick".
Amy obtained a B.S. and M.S. in Biology from Georgia Southern University. Since 2006, Amy has worked with the Tybee Island's Sea Turtle Project, dedicating her time to preserve Tybee Island's sea turtle population. Since 2008, Amy has educated Georgia's children. Amy began her teaching career at Johnson High School, where she worked for 4 years. Thereafter, Amy accepted a job with Georgia Cyber Academy where she continues to assist to this day in the education of our youth.
Amy maintains a strong commitment to her faith which is evidenced by the church-based small groups she leads and her participation in youth events. In 2019, Amy was on a team to raise money for LLS in honor of a family member who was battling Acute Myeloid Leukemia.
However, Amy's most precious life experience was becoming a mother to her son, Jayce. Watching him explore outside and teaching him about the bugs he finds are her most treasured moments.
Amy has dedicated her life to her community, her faith and her family. Therefore, it is with a heavy heart that I now explain why this GoFundMe page in Amy's honor is necessary.
In April 2020, after being treated for what was suspected to be an infection or cyst in her breast, Amy was diagnosed with Stage IIIB Inflammatory Breast Cancer with Invasive Ductal Carcinoma. She is 38 years old with no pre-cancerous marker. To say the diagnosis was unexpected is a gross understatement.
The cancer is aggressive and rapidly progressing. It has overtaken her right breast and spread to her lymph nodes. Since her diagnosis, she has had to seek immediate treatment. She had to start chemotherapy less than 15 hours after having a port surgically implanted.
She is currently receiving chemotherapy to shrink a 5 cm tumor in her lymph node before she undergoes a double mastectomy. Amy will receive chemotherapy over the next 16 weeks, with the last chemo round being August 13, 2020. Thereafter, Amy will undergo a radical non skin sparing double mastectomy around mid September, 2020. Four weeks after undergoing the radical non skin sparing double mastectomy, Amy will receive daily rounds of radiation for 6.5 weeks while in the hospital.
Amy didn't have time to even mentally process the cancer diagnosis before immediately beginning a rigorous and extremely intensive treatment regimen. Amy has been thrown into a fight for her survival. A fight that will impact her life mentally, emotionally, physically and financially for the foreseeable future.
We can't fight the battle for her but we can help lessen the financial burden on her and her loved ones, so Amy can focus all of her energy on the war at hand. We set the goal at $10,000.00 to help her cover some of the mounting medical bills and prescription costs. However, we want to blow the goal out of the water and show Amy - that we have her back!
For those who are unable to donate monetarily, you are welcome to join Amy’s Facebook group. The link to the group is https://www.facebook.com/groups/261195279550/
This way you can (Per Amy) “contribute in words of encouragement or prayers and love and good juju too if [you] want.” :)
To learn more about Inflammatory Breast Cancer, please go to the link below. Amy wants to use this journey as a vehicle to help educate people especially since Inflammatory Breast Cancer doesn't present like normal breast cancer. Knowledge is power! https://www.cancer.org/cancer/breast-cancer/understanding-a-breast-cancer-diagnosis/types-of-breast-cancer/inflammatory-breast-cancer.html
Amy with her son, Jayce.
Amy with her husband, Joel. Joel is a nurse and was in New York helping with the COVID19 pandemic when Amy received the cancer diagnosis.
Amy's chemo recliner...
First chemo sesh, done! Joel waited in the car for 5 hours as Amy received her first round of chemo, that consisted of two drugs - one they called "Red Devil."
The Days Leading Up to Amy's Cancer Diagnosis:
Amy’s husband, Joel, is a nurse. He was recently temporarily laid off by a local hospital due to elective surgeries being sidelined because of covid19.
On April 6, 2020, Joel travelled to New York as a contract nurse to work for 5 weeks in the Intensive Care Unit of a hospital [whose name is intentionally omitted] that was being overwhelmed with covid19 patients.
Prior to Joel leaving for New York, Amy was experiencing tenderness, sporadic sharp pains and abnormal heaviness in her right breast, with a notable change in its appearance. Amy’s OB suspected mastitis and treated her with antibiotics.
On April 14, 2020, Amy’s OB ordered imaging of Amy’s right breast after antibiotics did not clear the suspected mastitis.
Meanwhile, Amy’s husband, Joel, was staying in a hotel with 625 other nurses, working 14 hour days, for 21 days straight. The staffing company that contracted with Joel had three hotels in the New York area filled with nurses fighting the covid19 pandemic.
The hospital Joel was working in had only 1 in 4 vented patients surviving covid19 while another hospital in that area had only 1 in 5 vented patients surviving covid19. Every time a patient was taken off a ventilator, “Don’t Stop Believing” was played throughout the hospital due to the rarity of the vented patients surviving and as encouragement to the medical staff.
On April 22, 2020, Amy went to the hospital for a mammogram and ultrasound. Amy’s brother offered to go with her however Amy thought the testing that day would be minor and that she likely had a cyst or something similar. So, Amy went to the hospital alone.
However, the mammogram and ultrasound showed Amy’s right breast engulfed with cancer and a 5 cm tumor in her lymph node. Due to the advanced stage of the cancer and the level of its spread, the doctors did 9 biopsies that same day.
Joel tried to contact Amy throughout the day to find out the results of the mammogram and ultrasound. However, Amy did not want to tell Joel that she had been diagnosed with breast cancer while he was in the middle of working a shift. Amy waited for Joel to complete his shift before she broke the news to him over the phone.
Between April 22, 2020 and May 2, 2020, Amy met with her new medical team that consisted of an oncologist, a surgeon and a plastic surgeon. Joel attended the meetings virtually. Amy underwent CT scans of her chest, abdomen and pelvis, as well as a nuclear bone scan to see if the cancer had spread to other areas.
On May 2, 2020, Joel was able to fly home. Because of Amy’s compromised immune system and Joel having just returned from a covid19 severely affected area – they had a social distancing date in their sunroom. This was the first time Joel and Amy saw each other since he left for New York and she was diagnosed with cancer.
Joel stayed with friends from May 2, 2020 to May 4, 2020 while waiting to receive a covid19 rapid test. When the rapid test wasn’t made available in Savannah, Joel drove to Atlanta to get tested.
On May 4, 2020, while Joel was in Atlanta getting tested for covid19, Amy had a diagnostic MRI done on her right breast. Amy had a severe allergic reaction to the contrast dye administered during the MRI. The Medical Emergency Team had to be called in and Amy was rushed to the ER where she spent several hours. While in the ER, Amy was told that she had Stage IIIB cancer; that the cancer had not spread past the areas initially discovered in the April 22, 2020 mammogram and ultrasound; and that Joel’s rapid covid19 test was negative.
On May 5, 2020, Amy had a port surgically implanted. The port is sutured to her chest wall and the catheter runs into her jugular vein.
On May 6, 2020, Amy had her first chemo treatment.
There are many people out there like Joel and Amy who are/were separated during moments when they needed their loved one’s presence because of the covid19 epidemic. Please know our thoughts and prayers are with you all.
"Today I fly free.. Today I put on my wings and let go of the heaviness... Today, I open my hands, my heart, and my soul.." - Amy Capello, April 12, 2020Organizer and beneficiary
Toni Robider
Organizer
Savannah, GA
Amy Capello
Beneficiary