Help for Vicki Peterson and her family!

My name is Chianna Fortin; my sister Nichole Quinn and I are starting this GoFundMe page to help and support our Parents, Kevin and Vicki Peterson, as Vicki now begins her treatments. On April eighth of this year, Mom sat with us and explained that she has cancer, but she was extremely hopeful that it could be fought with the right treatments. Mom told my sister and me, “The hardest part of finding out I have cancer is telling you girls.” But she was grateful. “God had answered my prayer before I even asked,” she told us. “Because if it were one of you girls, I would be on my knees begging for God to give it to me instead.” She told us that she has been blessed so many times in her life already and that she was not afraid because she planned on fighting.

What We Learned

On Thursday, May 5th, the pet scan results and the biopsy results were presented to us. We were heartbroken to find out mother has terminal cancer. She has been diagnosed with what's called Small Cell Metastatic Carcinoma. We learned that it is a very fast-moving and aggressive cancer. It has metastasized (traveled) from its primary location into her bones and a few lymph nodes. We also found out that day that this cancer cannot be cured. With intense chemo treatments, she has hope of being with us for a while. May 10th, she received her port for chemo and began treatments the very next day. Her first chemotherapy regimen lasted three days and was strenuous on her body. She was home on the 13th and was as bright as ever. On Saturday, she even went out to enjoy her time in the sun and mow her yard. We all believed that day was proof she would breeze through this. On the 18th, we called an ambulance to her home because she had taken a turn. We had no idea how this would turn out, but we were hopeful. The nurse told us that day that it was up to mom and her body's ability to fight at that moment. Like mom said she would, she fought and came home again on the 21st, but it was a reality check for the rest of us. Even though mom is strong, we learned that things can change quickly. Because she was home alone the majority of the day, and we didn’t know the warning signs that her white blood count dropped into dangerous territory, moms body began shutting down, and we almost lost her. Today we are home writing for help because although mom is a fighter, we were mistaken to think we wouldn’t need help in this fight.

Our Mother

We feel it is essential to let you know who our mother is to us girls and the people in her life. It is also crucial to explain her husband Kevins' role in her life, so you understand our need for support. Our mother is our hero, and I know I can comfortably speak for those in my family as well. She has faced every hardship in her life with such grace and strength. We have witnessed her push through every situation that would have taken the fight out of most people. She has never once pitied herself for the hand she has been dealt. She has taught many in our family to be stronger than what life can throw at you and do it in such a way that you are better and stronger because of it. I know this because I see my mother in my actions, and I hope I am strong enough to continue to use her to model my life. Us girls have grown up watching this woman getting hurt at work and becoming unemployable because of her injury. Having a fire take her hair and obtaining painful burns. Having a furnace malfunction and slowly poison her for two years, making her ill and causing cognitive issues in speech, memory, and thought process. Being diagnosed with fibromyalgia which causes her to struggle to do things she loves on many days. (She loves to garden) Now she has cancer for the third time.... not one complaint, not one time has she felt sorry for herself and lost sight of life. She always says, “God is greater than any problem I have.” She lives that every day. Over the years, Nichole and I have witnessed our mother use so many of her days to help others. Since she cannot work, she uses her time to help those around her. Mom has spent countless days/months over the years taking care of sick family members that were fighting cancer. Any time she can, she gives to whoever needs the help reguadles of the task, she is a jack of all trades and a master of every single one! I could never begin to describe the amount of emotional, physical, and financial support I have seen her give to others all this time. She does all this while fighting her own pain. Even after such a painful diagnosis, she was still putting others first right up until the day before her first chemo treatment. She wouldn’t bat an eye to help anyone in need, friend or stranger. She does all these without being asked and only because her heart leads her.

Our Father

Kevin, her husband, is as compassionate as our mother. He loves and supports her in all her ways. Our father works hard to keep the home they have made together, despite being the only one able to work. He comes home every day after a long shift and doesn’t miss a step. There are always daily tasks to be done, or one month it could be home renovations, the next it is setting up a huge pool mom found for the grandchildren (he nicknamed “Vicki's’ Lake”). Every day he's working on something for the two of them. It's obvious he loves Mom's heart and how she takes care of those around her. He has always recognized that her spirit is more giving and compassionate than most, and he continuously encourages and supports that. Every surgery mom has ever had, he has been right by her side. When she is ill, he is up in the middle of the night checking on her. If he were capable, she wouldn’t suffer or struggle one day in her life at the expense of his health and well-being.

When it rains, it pours

I'm not sharing this next part for added pity. I'm sharing this because it shows that this man's strength has no limit and his love for our mom keeps him moving forward. I feel like many people would have crumbled under these circumstances. The same week we found out mom had terminal cancer, and when Kevin needed to be at his strongest, a storm hit our hometown. While they were in Sioux Falls receiving her first chemotherapy treatments, the storm damaged their roof, and they lost many of their shingles. The rain and wind were so heavy that it caused a leak in their dining room. The same storm blew over a large tree in the backyard, and the wind caused strips of tin to rip off their barn. After they returned home, Kevin had to return to town to pick up their family dog, Ranger, from the kennel they housed him at. The front end of his Jeep started to shake on the way in, so he swapped vehicles. As the week went on, Kevin noticed that their pup was suffering some issues with his stomach. At first, he thought Rangers' nerves were shot because of being away from home, but after taking him to the vet, he found out he had swallowed a plastic bag that probably blew in from the storm. After being hit with all this in a very short period, Kevin stayed calm and assertive. Never once letting mom know that he could be feeling overwhelmed because of the bad string of luck. None of the other things mattered. She was his emotional priority. He just worked that much harder. He did everything he had to do to get everything done while working his job, and taking care of her. I have never met a man as stable and level headed as him. Although he is capable, I know this is taking a toll on him and that he is not letting anyone else see. Good news finally came, and the Jeep was a simple fix, and Ranger is home and well. (Got to share the positives)

What we are facing. What we are hoping. What we are asking.

We know that we are headed for challenges because of the severity of this cancer. If mom chose not to treat, we were told she has a 2–4-month life expectancy. She would need hospice care almost immediately due to the intense pain the cancer in her bones will cause and how fast this cancer will spread to the rest of her organs. Her only option is to do highly aggressive chemo treatments and radiation to shrink and hold the cancer at bay for as long as possible. She will be traveling to Sioux Falls monthly to receive multiple doses of chemo in a three-day/ four-day span. With the aggressive nature of these treatments, mom will be too weak and ill to be home alone any longer and will need to have someone with her most of the time. My father, sister, and I are trying to manage the best way to care for mom between the three of us. What we do know now, after the scare on the 18th, is that mom will need her husband close by. My sister and I know that Kevin needs to be by her side because he is her strength and rock to keep her fighting. During the chemo stages, it is so vital that mom doesn’t suffer setbacks like the one on the 18th. If she is too weak at the time of her next chemo treatment, they will push out her appointment. That would then cause the risk of the cancer spreading and no longer being manageable. We hope that if we can keep her on track, the treatments will succeed in slowing any spread and adding many happy years to her life. We are asking you to help us return a lifetime of kindness to our mother so we can give her as much time with us as possible. That will require help from a community that we have never met. It feels terrible to ask those you never met to feel something that doesn’t affect them. Friends, family, and strangers willing and able to give what they can will allow our family to give our time and strength to our mother. We also understand that money is tight for everyone right now, so if all you can offer is prayer and support, we will humbly accept it. Where we all stand, we realize that we are in an emotional and financial bind to be able to provide the level of care she needs and deserves. We were initially naive about this, believing we could handle it as a family, but now we know it's time to be humble. When the gravity of this finally hit us, we realized that we would need help. We called and spoke with friends and others who have been in our shoes. We were at a loss on what amount we needed to ask for, and they guided us on what to keep in mind during this time. They told us to look at medical expenses, cost of travel, hotel stays for treatments, lost wages while providing care, unexpected emergencies, and with a heavy heart, eventual funereal expenses. With all that, we know any help we get is a blessing. We feel ashamed, but our pride can't be what makes this decision. We have no idea what to expect due to the aggressive nature of this cancer and the extensive amount of time she will need treatments. We want to help her stay focused on getting better because those of you that know our mom, know that she is still more worried about her family and the stress she feels she's putting Kevin and us girls through.

I will updating this as often as our schedual allows to keep everyone informed on moms progress. Thank you for supporting us during this difficult time and for taking the time to read her story. Any kind and encouraging messsages will be gladly received and will surely have a possitive imact on all our spirits. God Bless and thanks again.