Help Kendra Pay For Her Medical Bills

Hi, my name is Mike and I'm fundraising for Kendra to pay for her medical bills. Kendra is a vibrant young woman of 24 years. She will be turning 25 this month. Kendra has been having medical problems for quite some time but her doctors were unable to determine exactly what was wrong. One evening on July 30st her mother Samantha and I got a call from Kendra crying, saying she was in a lot of pain. We told her to get to the emergency room immediately. The doctors there found a mass in her pelvic region but didn't have the resources to determine what exactly what was going on. So Kendra was transported from Ridgecrest California where she lives to Loma Linda University Hospital. Through imaging they found what they thought were several masses and decided she would most likely need to have a complete Hysterectomy.

The hospital was able to schedule surgery on the 3rd of August. As her mother and I sat on pins and needles waiting to find out how the surgery went we got a call from her step-sister and step-mother only to find out is was much worse than we could ever imagine. Kendra has two large cancerous masses, stage four ovarian cancer. The masses were so large that the surgeon could not even see her reproductive organs to remove them. We were told that even if the doctor tried to perform the procedure she could not be certain that she would be able to put her back together. The masses, about the size of two newborn babies heads, had fused most of her internal organs together. So they took a piece of the mass to study and sewed her back together. The cover photo is of Kendra the day after her surgery.

The only thing the doctors could think to do is start a series of chemotherapy infusions in hopes that it will shrink the masses enough to operate on it at a later time. Two days after her surgery she got her first round of chemotherapy. On the 6th of August Kendra was discharged but because she was still recovering from surgery the three of them decided to stay in a hotel for a few days before they made the three hour trip back to Ridgecrest. There she stayed with her step-sister for a few weeks while the incision site was better healed. We bought her a foam mattress and bed frame to help make her more comfortable. It didn't take long before her hair started falling out due to the chemo so she had her sister cut her hair short. She cried for about ten minutes we were told. Kendra said she was going to learn to love her new looks for as long as she will have it. Kendra is such a strong young woman much like her mother who is power chair bound from multiple sclerosis.

On August 27th Kendra was supposed to have her second round of chemotherapy but the nurses told her that her veins were shot from the first round of chemo. So the following Thursday the hospital put a port in to better facilitate future rounds of chemo. She had her second round on Friday September 3rd. The photo below is of Kendra that day.

So far we haven't really been able to talk to her. Saturday the 4th she was too tired from the chemo the day before. Yesterday the 5th we talked to her step-mother and Kendra was just in too much pain to talk to anyone. Up until this last weekend we have talked to her every day but I guess the second round to chemo really took her for a loop.

Kendra just recently started work as a CNA which she loves. Her manager is going to keep her job position available until she is ready to return. The doctors are speculating that sometime around February she should be finished with chemotherapy and the hysterectomy will be completed. Kendra didn't work at her new job long enough to be eligible for medical insurance. While she was in Loma Linda she applied for state insurance and was accepted but it didn't cover all her medical expenses. It is estimated that she will be responsible for about $20,000 and that's why this fundraiser. As young as Kendra is, that amount would likely take her most of her life to pay off. So I decided to start this fundraiser. As full of love and life as Kendra is, she doesn't need to have such a high medical bill to start off her new career. Any amount will help, if you can't give at least pray for Kendra that she will be healed and live her life to the fullest. Samantha and I thank everyone up front for anything you can do to help this vibrant, young woman be healed.

Updates will be posted from time to time so that everyone will know her progress.

Thank you and God Bless, Mike and Samantha.

UPDATE: Normally Samantha and I talk to Kendra every day. She had her second round of chemotherapy on Friday the 3rd. Since then she hasn't been up to talking on the phone.  Saturday she was just too tired all the way through Monday. Yesterday the 7th I texted her sister and she had been vomiting all the night before. She'll wake up for about an hour or so then fall back to sleep. Today she goes to Loma Linda to have her incision site looked at by the surgeon.