Help Betsy win her battle against brain cancer

Currently, they are living off her social security disability  and Ron's disability and pension from his service in the military and to the State. Both are devout Christians, strong in their faith, and two of the best humans you will ever meet.

On Betsy's 38th birthday, her husband Ron proposed to her. Unfortunately, what she expected to be the best and most exciting time of her life quickly turned into one of fear. Days after Betsy's 38th birthday, she learned from her doctor that a mass had been found on her brain. When most brides fill these times with exciting tasks like looking for their dream wedding gown and other monumental events, Betsy was filling hers with doctor appointments and preparing for another big day, brain surgery.

When that day came, the doctors performed Betsy's brain surgery and found two masses. The doctor decided it was best to remove just one and leave the second one intact, as he felt it would not create an issue later. She was closed up and told everything should be fine because the second tumor appeared benign. A few months later, Betsy started work again but began noticing that she felt off. She went to her doctor and explained the symptoms she was experiencing and was told that it was all normal and part of the healing process.

Betsy and Ron were married in May of 2019. The present symptoms dampened the usual joy of honeymooners, and Betsy knew in her heart that something was wrong. She decided to be her own advocate and started researching the symptoms she was experiencing alone. She went back to the doctor and insisted that there was something wrong and persuaded the doctors to do another MRI.

This MRI showed that the mass they deemed "fine" had actually grown and looked quite different. It had mutated to germinoma cancer and was creating the symptoms that she was experiencing. The doctors felt that radiation coupled with pain management was the best course over another surgery to remove the tumor.

Fast forward a few months later, the world shut down due to COVID and Betsy found herself being shuffled from doctor to doctor all while still experiencing the same debilitating symptoms, chronic headaches, extreme facial pain and loss of concentration. The doctors insisted that everything was going as planned, and due to the fact that the tumor did not appear to be growing, she should stay the course.

It is now 2022, and Betsy has been dealing with pain that no one should ever have to experience for three years. She is now told by her current doctors that there is nothing left that they can do. They tell her she should leave the tumor alone and resign herself to the fact that she will have to live with this pain, and maybe seeing a psychiatrist to learn to manage the pain internally could help. Betsy is in intense pain, and these doctors want to wave it off as if a psychiatrist can just give her mind exercises to eliminate it or put her on drugs that completely degrade her quality of life. This resignation of her medical team and their seemingly lack of support takes a profound toll on Betsy and leads to her thinking about giving up and not living anymore. This is when Betsy and Ron know they need to seek a second opinion and find an end to her pain. They look to their faith to give them strength and to find a cure.

They visit Stanford Medical Center and receive bittersweet news; a doctor specializing in this rare form of brain cancer has a solution and agrees to take her as a patient. He performed a multilayered MRI and found multiple issues no one had seen in the past years of doctor's visits. He finds that she is suffering from Occipital Neuralgia and Trigeminal Neuralgia as a result of the tumor pressing on nerves within her brain. Stanford proposes that the tumor be removed, as it is creating irreversible nerve damage. Now the bittersweet portion, since he is out of network, all tests, visits, and surgical procedures will not be covered by her insurance and must be paid out of pocket. Betsy and Ron have attempted to appeal her insurance company's decision not to cover her care with this doctor and have sought help from the State via an independent medical review. The insurance and State have denied her once again, telling her she needs to go back to Cedars-Sinai, where their doctors cannot perform this type of surgery, and once again resign herself to the fact that there is nothing more that can be done. When asked if they would write a referral to see this specialist, she was once again denied.

This obviously is not a solution that anyone should have to accept, and Betsy and Ron have decided to fight for her life and proceed with a surgery that is outside of anyone's means, as the surgery alone will cost upwards of half a million dollars. They are looking to find aid in the form of medical grants and State aid but know that they will fall short of what is needed to fund the surgery without the help of insurance. This is where we need and are asking for your help. We have created this GoFundMe to help ease or eliminate the financial burden this life-saving surgery will create. Not only are monetary funds needed for the surgery but also for aftercare and housing for Ron as they currently live 8 hours away from Stanford. If you would like to help via the following forms, it would be greatly appreciated:

• monetary thru GoFundMe or Venmo @Betsy-Santana , Zelle 
  

• hotel/air vouchers-miles for lodging and travel for Ron to be with Betsy during her recovery
  

• most importantly, prayers for strength and healing for Betsy and Ron, and all those that love her, and for God to guide the doctor's knowledge and hands to put an end to her pain.