Rhiannon’s 3 year medical journey continues

Hi, my name is Sarah Shannon. I am Rhiannon Koch’s sister, and over the last three years, my sister has been through so much. The medical debt is adding up and becoming unmanageable for her. I am setting up this account in hopes we could ease some of Rhiannon’s stress because, unfortunately, it’s far from over. Here is what she has gone through, so you have an idea of what is happening behind that beautiful smile.

She was diagnosed with metastatic melanoma in September 2021; she had radical surgery to remove melanoma and lymph nodes. She went through one year of cancer treatments starting in October 2021. That diagnosis has ongoing follow-ups, such as Oncology visits, PET Scans, Dermatology visits, and testing for five years. She still owes back medical bills on all that.

About five months after completing cancer treatments, she started having heart issues, dizzy spells, severe pain, and GI problems. After six weeks of feeling like death and unbearable pain, she finally went to the ER, where she was admitted in May 2023 and stayed for five days. Visiting her in the hospital was so sad; there was nothing we could do but wait. During her hospital stay, she was diagnosed with a chronic lifelong illness called Pan-Ulcerative Colitis. She was discharged and given a long list of medications to take for the rest of her life, but she failed the maintenance medication, and we are now in the process of trying to find a new treatment plan. She has lost 53 pounds since all of this and can barely eat, sleep, or live a normal life. She is in constant pain and has body aches, nausea, and upset stomach, amongst other symptoms - daily.

Because of her history of cancer, Rhiannon and our mom recently went to the University of Utah Hospital to see a specialist and have some procedures done that will determine if this is caused by cancer treatments or something else. She is currently awaiting those results and hoping for a new treatment plan to get her feeling better. The medications will be several thousand dollars per treatment. The hospital, procedure, oncology, and G.I. bills are piling up. Unfortunately, these will all continue until they find a treatment plan that works for her. Thank you for reading. ❤️‍

Please donate if you can. If you cannot, please share as much as possible.

Sarah