Martha's Heroes

Martha Hitchcock is an amazing 42 year old woman with Tuberous Sclerosis and LYMPHANGIOLEIOMYOMATOSIS. Since the age of four she has persevered through all her medical emergencies. She had 18 brain surgeries in a two year period and four cancer surgeries. Martha was also involved in two automobile accidents, the first occurring when she was a passenger in a car which was hit by a drunk driver. The second accident happened when she was travelling down the freeway in her mom’s van. A car struck the van from behind and caused it to roll over four times. Martha received 100 stitches for lacerations.

In the middle of all her surgeries Martha became blind when a local doctor misdiagnosed her condition. Fluid had backed up in her brain causing permanent damage to her optic nerves. After becoming blind she made two trips to Mexico to help build houses for the poor. With all these major medical events happening in her life, she was still able to complete her bachelor’s degree from UC Davis and her master’s degree from Chico State. Martha completed 3000 hours of internship in five years basically working for minimum wage while mentoring court appointed sex offenders.

Martha is a medical social worker and when not counseling clients, she gives back to her community. She raised $40,000 for her hometown charity with a program called “Martha’s Heroes. She ran a half marathon for cancer awareness and a three - mile run to help veterans with PTSD. She has donated her blood, body tissue and tumors for study by the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland with the hope these studies will enable others to find a cure for their diseases.

Martha’s hero is Rosie the Riveter. Her motto is “Put your can’t down and do it anyway” which she got from her great grandmother. She felt her life and dreams were finally coming to fruition when she recently moved back to her hometown to be near her family and friends. She wanted a good job and she wanted her own home. She is now employed with the dream job she desired and has put everything she can together in order to make a down payment and complete her dream of owning a house. The house is currently in escrow, yet with her upcoming major surgery and a long rehabilitation period, Martha faces loss of income and a possible loss of the house.

If Martha successfully purchases the house, it will still need a new roof, a toilet she can use situated at the correct height for her body, a new solid front door for her safety and a new blind -friendly electric stove. We need $50,000 to give back to this incredible young lady who, despite all which has been taken from her, is still able to give so much of herself to others. Thank you for being Martha's heroes!