Relief for Denise

A week before Thanksgiving, my mom, Denise, had to cancel the birthday weekend we had planned to go to the emergency room for stomach pain. She was admitted to the hospital and was scheduled for surgery to remove her gallbladder. She suffered complications and infections during recovery and had been in and out of the hospital with kidney failure and was diagnosed with liver failure, the doctors removing liters and liters of fluids from her core.

Going in for blood testing, the doctors admitted my mom again this past Friday, the 21st. The fluid build up was especially painful to her and they removed two liters just that day. 

I was able to speak to my mom on Sunday night, the 23rd. I sat on her bed and couldn’t hold back tears while she lay there. The doctors had given her to the end of the week to live and I couldn’t imagine mine and my brother’s world without her. The only words I could get out were “I’m not ready.” She reassured me, “I know, Sammy. It’s like they say, ‘time heals all wounds.’” I feel so awful that she’s in this situation at such a young age and I asked her if she was scared. “A little,” she said softly. “But it’s just like going to sleep.” I had no idea this would be the last conversation we would have and I wish I would have stayed longer.

She is currently under sedation with a tube down her throat to help her breathe. There is an infection in her lungs, what the doctors think is pneumonia, and she is needing hours of dialysis every day in hopes of kickstarting her kidneys to be self sufficient again. While her body rests from confusion and struggling to breathe for the past couple of days, my family waits for information about getting my mom on a liver transplant list. Her liver has failed completely and without this transplant, there will be no hope. 

My mother raised two children without their father and survived a very physically abusive relationship for 10 years. She worked late and long shifts to make sure my brother and I were taken care of, always putting us ahead of herself. She is a survivor that shaped me into the strong woman I am today. 

The purpose of this gofundme is to help my brother and I (and hopefully my mom) get ahead of the medical expenses. This is only a fraction of what will be owed, but any penny will help. Our stepdad passed away a year ago from an aggressive blood cancer and my mom was left to cover five years worth of medical expenses for him that are still needing to be paid. With my brother’s and my income combined, we will not be able to keep the house that they built and will have to find a place we can afford to live while including both medical bills. 

Our mom is a fighter. We have hope.