Help Betty Fight Cancer & Pay off Lung Surgeries

Hi. I'm Kari, Betty's daughter. Most of you know that on July 15th my mom went into the hospital with a collapsed lung. When her lung did not heal and inflate on its own, doctors at Emory University Midtown operated to remove a "bleb" on her upper right lung. They also performed a pleurodesis - scraping of her lung to help it adhere to the chest wall to prevent further collapse.

What we haven't yet shared widely, is that two weeks later, the pathology results came back indicating that the bleb was malignant (stage 1 lung cancer), but that they fortunately successfully removed all of the cancer during the surgery. However, we were told that it did not look like "normal" lung cancer and may have metastasized from elsewhere.

An agonizing three weeks later, she had a PET scan and second follow-up appointment, during which we learned the very good and relieving news that there were no other primary cancers and she is cancer free today. However, we also learned that a nerve block procedure she had the day before to minimize her post-op pain had actually punctured and recollapsed her lung. She was readmitted to the hospital for monitoring, and was fortunately released the following afternoon after her lung began to reinflate on its own. The recollapse essentially reversed the pleurodesis, setting her recovery back and causing additional pain.

While she is exhausted and disappointed that she is unable to make it to her granddaughter's wedding in September, she is grateful to be cancer free and healing.

This gofundme is to help her pay her medical costs as she is not in a position to increase her monthly mortgage payment by refinancing her house. She also is bracing herself for increased medical bills each year given the need for regular CT scans and follow-up appointments to monitor for potential return of the lung cancer. Even a few dollars is greatly appreciated.