Rhonda Simpson Medical Funding
Donation protected
As many of you know Rhonda had surgery in September 2015 due to being told that the endometrial hyperplasia and endometrial cancer she had spent 3 1/2 years fighting, had returned. Therefore, she had a complete hysterectomy the 19th of September. She did well during the first few days after this surgery.
However, before the end of that first week she ended up back in the hospital due to an infection with no known origin for the infection. The doctors started running test to identify the source, reason, as well as the type of infection, so that they could help her get well and back home to her family. During this hospital stay, and after numerous test and consultation's, Rhonda was told that she had developed an aneurysm, and infection had set in around that. The aneurysm was, at that time, 8 cm. However, that wasn't the most pressing issue, as the test also revealed she had Lymphoma, an enlarged and inflamed liver (hepatitis, later found to be due to acetaminophen), her kidneys were wanting to stop functioning and she had several area's in which the Lymphoma had already spread. She needed more test, but due to her liver, they couldn't proceed at that time with any further testing. They needed to focus on clearing the infection and deciding what to do about the aneurysm. The doctor's were unsure at that time whether she had Hodgikins or non Hodgkin's Lymphoma, whether or not her pancreas and spleen were involved and if her heart was invovled or being affected by the chronic liver failure (aka medicine induced hepatitis).
Rhonda, as usual, tried not to let anyone know how dire her medical condition was. She was told that her liver could go from chronic liver failure to acute liver failure at any moment. If that happened, there was nothing they could do but place her in ICU and keep her as comfortable as possible until she passed.
When Rhonda was released from the 2nd hospital stay, she was told emphatically to avoid stress, most physical activities and let her body heal from the surgery, and now infection, so they could then proceed with further test to know what direction to go in treating everything else. The day she went home, her husband was moving out of their home. It had been determined by her doctors that the situation she was daily living in wasn't the best for her health and that until they knew she was physically and emotionally going home to a safe environment, they wouldn't release her.
Therefore, the decision for her husband to move out was one in which she was given no choice. This immediately cut her financial support by two-thirds. Rhonda being whom she is, she never said a word to others as to just how bad things were going to be financially for her, and now she has all the added expenses of her health care cost.
Today, medically, Rhonda has Non Hodgkin's Lymphoma that started just outside her stomach, in her small intestines. The Lymphoma has spread from her small intestines to her lungs and throat. The doctors are doing all they can to prevent this from spreading to her brain, pancreas, spleen, kidneys, and bladder. Rhonda also has Leukemia, along with the Lymphoma. She has 3 more weeks of chemotherapy left, for now. However, this week she was unable to have the chemotherapy treatment as she has an infection, again of unknown origin, and her platelet count is very low. Rhonda need's a blood transfusion, and possibly facing several blood transfusions over the course of her treatment.
Rhonda's liver is still considered as being chronic liver failure, and needs a transplant. However, due to the Lymphoma and Leukemia, isn't a candidate at this moment to be placed on the transplant list for a liver. Rhonda still battles numerous other health conditions on a daily basis. Since 2005-2006, Rhonda has lived with rheumatoid arthritis, gout, an undifferentiated auto immune disease ( the test has never been able to clarify if it is Lupus or Multiple Sclerosis, as the test always shows both right at the "cut off limit"). Either way, Rhonda has a connective tissue disease and it limits her mobility on most days. Again, Rhonda very rarely discusses this and pushes herself so others do not see just how sick she truly is.
Moreover, Add to that all the medical issues that she has had for years, and all the new ones discovered in September 2015. Most people wouldn't have made it this far without giving up. Rhonda is a cancer survivor. She battled bone cancer in 2000-2001, then endometrial hyperplasia and stage iv endometrial cancer for a total of 3 1/2 years (2008-2010 & again in 2011-2013). When she was told in the later part of 2009 that she wouldn't survive another 6-7 months, Rhonda didn't tell most people and was determined to prove her Doctor's wrong. Thankfully, she did just that and in 2010 was cleared from having endometrial cancer at that time. She did something most people never do, she moved out of an assisted living apartment, out from under hospice care and proceeded to go on with life.
Rhonda never gave up then, and she is just as determined to survive now. Every time one of the Doctor's give her "bad" news, she takes that as a personal challenge to prove them wrong. Fortunately, most of the time she has been able to do just that, prove to the doctors that no one is going to place a time limit on her life.
With all of this going on, I personally have seen Rhonda continue to endlessly and selflessly, continue to give back to everyone in her life. That is just who she is, and I have been friends with her for almost 32 years now. I have never seen anyone as giving as Rhonda is and has been over these 32 years. She never puts herself first, she never questions giving to others....she never second guesses or never has to stop and think about it, she just does it, she does whatever needs to be done to help.
The funds we are seeking to raise for Rhonda are to help pay for her blood transfusions, further medical testing on her liver, help with her chemotherapy and also she is now facing test on her heart (if her liver holds out). She is scheduked to see her cardiologist March 22nd, to discuss what test are needed and if her liver will hold up for those test on her heart. Rhonda's heart has been going in and out of failure the past several weeks. Rhonda was told that she will need a heart transplant as well as a liver transplant. Yet both of these transplant options, are on hold until the Lymphoma and Leukemia are in remission. Also, Rhonda still has to go once a month to have test done on the aneurysm to see what size it is and if it doesn't shrink, to below 2 cm, she will have to make a decision on whether or not to have surgery for removal of the aneurysm, or continue to risk that this could rupture at any time and she could bleed to death internally.
Let me implore you to help Rhonda financially during this time. This is not anything she is going to easily accept. Her difficulty in accepting help is NOT a pride issue. Rather it is a fact that in her heart she never wants others to take away from their own lives or needs. But I know personally as I am at her house 3-4 times a week to help her with daily living needs, that right now Rhonda has a big need financially. The last thing she needs is the stress of worrying how to pay for her medical needs, or what test to have or what treatment to leave off. Right now Rhonda needs to be able to focus on getting through this. Either way, I have no doubt Rhonda will survive, that is what she does and that is who she is....a survivor.
Thank you all and God bless you all for whatever you can do for Rhonda, financially and prayerfully, Rhonda will most definitely appreciate the prayers and I know she covets those prayers daily.
Blessed to be a friend of Rhonda's for all these years. And I believe we all can say we want to help her be here for many years to come.
Thank you all for taking the time to read this and to help our friend during this time.
Sincerely,
April Bray
However, before the end of that first week she ended up back in the hospital due to an infection with no known origin for the infection. The doctors started running test to identify the source, reason, as well as the type of infection, so that they could help her get well and back home to her family. During this hospital stay, and after numerous test and consultation's, Rhonda was told that she had developed an aneurysm, and infection had set in around that. The aneurysm was, at that time, 8 cm. However, that wasn't the most pressing issue, as the test also revealed she had Lymphoma, an enlarged and inflamed liver (hepatitis, later found to be due to acetaminophen), her kidneys were wanting to stop functioning and she had several area's in which the Lymphoma had already spread. She needed more test, but due to her liver, they couldn't proceed at that time with any further testing. They needed to focus on clearing the infection and deciding what to do about the aneurysm. The doctor's were unsure at that time whether she had Hodgikins or non Hodgkin's Lymphoma, whether or not her pancreas and spleen were involved and if her heart was invovled or being affected by the chronic liver failure (aka medicine induced hepatitis).
Rhonda, as usual, tried not to let anyone know how dire her medical condition was. She was told that her liver could go from chronic liver failure to acute liver failure at any moment. If that happened, there was nothing they could do but place her in ICU and keep her as comfortable as possible until she passed.
When Rhonda was released from the 2nd hospital stay, she was told emphatically to avoid stress, most physical activities and let her body heal from the surgery, and now infection, so they could then proceed with further test to know what direction to go in treating everything else. The day she went home, her husband was moving out of their home. It had been determined by her doctors that the situation she was daily living in wasn't the best for her health and that until they knew she was physically and emotionally going home to a safe environment, they wouldn't release her.
Therefore, the decision for her husband to move out was one in which she was given no choice. This immediately cut her financial support by two-thirds. Rhonda being whom she is, she never said a word to others as to just how bad things were going to be financially for her, and now she has all the added expenses of her health care cost.
Today, medically, Rhonda has Non Hodgkin's Lymphoma that started just outside her stomach, in her small intestines. The Lymphoma has spread from her small intestines to her lungs and throat. The doctors are doing all they can to prevent this from spreading to her brain, pancreas, spleen, kidneys, and bladder. Rhonda also has Leukemia, along with the Lymphoma. She has 3 more weeks of chemotherapy left, for now. However, this week she was unable to have the chemotherapy treatment as she has an infection, again of unknown origin, and her platelet count is very low. Rhonda need's a blood transfusion, and possibly facing several blood transfusions over the course of her treatment.
Rhonda's liver is still considered as being chronic liver failure, and needs a transplant. However, due to the Lymphoma and Leukemia, isn't a candidate at this moment to be placed on the transplant list for a liver. Rhonda still battles numerous other health conditions on a daily basis. Since 2005-2006, Rhonda has lived with rheumatoid arthritis, gout, an undifferentiated auto immune disease ( the test has never been able to clarify if it is Lupus or Multiple Sclerosis, as the test always shows both right at the "cut off limit"). Either way, Rhonda has a connective tissue disease and it limits her mobility on most days. Again, Rhonda very rarely discusses this and pushes herself so others do not see just how sick she truly is.
Moreover, Add to that all the medical issues that she has had for years, and all the new ones discovered in September 2015. Most people wouldn't have made it this far without giving up. Rhonda is a cancer survivor. She battled bone cancer in 2000-2001, then endometrial hyperplasia and stage iv endometrial cancer for a total of 3 1/2 years (2008-2010 & again in 2011-2013). When she was told in the later part of 2009 that she wouldn't survive another 6-7 months, Rhonda didn't tell most people and was determined to prove her Doctor's wrong. Thankfully, she did just that and in 2010 was cleared from having endometrial cancer at that time. She did something most people never do, she moved out of an assisted living apartment, out from under hospice care and proceeded to go on with life.
Rhonda never gave up then, and she is just as determined to survive now. Every time one of the Doctor's give her "bad" news, she takes that as a personal challenge to prove them wrong. Fortunately, most of the time she has been able to do just that, prove to the doctors that no one is going to place a time limit on her life.
With all of this going on, I personally have seen Rhonda continue to endlessly and selflessly, continue to give back to everyone in her life. That is just who she is, and I have been friends with her for almost 32 years now. I have never seen anyone as giving as Rhonda is and has been over these 32 years. She never puts herself first, she never questions giving to others....she never second guesses or never has to stop and think about it, she just does it, she does whatever needs to be done to help.
The funds we are seeking to raise for Rhonda are to help pay for her blood transfusions, further medical testing on her liver, help with her chemotherapy and also she is now facing test on her heart (if her liver holds out). She is scheduked to see her cardiologist March 22nd, to discuss what test are needed and if her liver will hold up for those test on her heart. Rhonda's heart has been going in and out of failure the past several weeks. Rhonda was told that she will need a heart transplant as well as a liver transplant. Yet both of these transplant options, are on hold until the Lymphoma and Leukemia are in remission. Also, Rhonda still has to go once a month to have test done on the aneurysm to see what size it is and if it doesn't shrink, to below 2 cm, she will have to make a decision on whether or not to have surgery for removal of the aneurysm, or continue to risk that this could rupture at any time and she could bleed to death internally.
Let me implore you to help Rhonda financially during this time. This is not anything she is going to easily accept. Her difficulty in accepting help is NOT a pride issue. Rather it is a fact that in her heart she never wants others to take away from their own lives or needs. But I know personally as I am at her house 3-4 times a week to help her with daily living needs, that right now Rhonda has a big need financially. The last thing she needs is the stress of worrying how to pay for her medical needs, or what test to have or what treatment to leave off. Right now Rhonda needs to be able to focus on getting through this. Either way, I have no doubt Rhonda will survive, that is what she does and that is who she is....a survivor.
Thank you all and God bless you all for whatever you can do for Rhonda, financially and prayerfully, Rhonda will most definitely appreciate the prayers and I know she covets those prayers daily.
Blessed to be a friend of Rhonda's for all these years. And I believe we all can say we want to help her be here for many years to come.
Thank you all for taking the time to read this and to help our friend during this time.
Sincerely,
April Bray
Organizer
April Weldon Bray
Organizer
Bremen, GA