Gwendolyn's beat cancer fund

Hi friends, my name is Nancy Parmalee. I am organizing this fund for my dearest friend Gwendolyn, who I know is very dear to many of you too.

 

A lot of you haven't heard from Gwendolyn in many years. That's because she has been sick for a very long time. She has been having symptoms for at least 8 years that caused her to pass out and disregulated her heart rate and blood pressure. It made it impossible for her to have a normal life, and made it difficult to impossible for her to keep up with friends. The long time away has made it hard for her to reach out for help and believe that people are still thinking of her and care about her. I know how many people she has touched and the countless number of people that love her. She is feeling very alone.

 

After years of misdiagnoses she was finally diagnosed with neuroendocrine tumor during the pandemic. This is a type of tumor that secretes neurotransmitters and causes something called carcinoid crisis. That's what all the passing out what about. Unfortunately in all that time the cancer was spreading and now that we know what's going on Gwendolyn is in the fight of her life. She has been getting treatment in Norfolk Virginia where there is a specialist in this type of cancer. This has taken her far away from family and friends to a place where she has only met a few people and has no support system. We are talking to a world expert in Denver and there may be another chapter ahead there.

 

Friends, we have been through every agency and worked with every social worker and there is no safety net. Taking that avenue landed Gwendolyn in a really horrid halfway house that became dangerous to the point that she had to leave. She is in the hospital right now and there is an immediate need for someplace for her to go when she is discharged and then for stable housing with a caregiver to provide the medical support she needs.

 

I'm not going to sugar coat it. Her quality of life has been lousy during this phase, with medicaid paid caregivers coming and going with no qualifications or training. The carcinoid crisis episodes are frequent and harrowing and made worse by stress. She needs a restful place to heal without disruption and threats of violence. She needs a qualified caregiver. She needs a real support system and there just is not a safety net that is going to provide it.

 

In the coming days we are going to be dealing with the immediate need of someplace to go when she is discharged which may mean a hotel room for a bit while we find something stable and long term. I am now connected to the care team at Ohef Sholom temple in Norfolk and we will be working together to find a real solution.

 

Please come together with me to give Gwendolyn the security and quality of life she needs and deserves so she can focus on healing. These issues are incredibly stressful for Gwendolyn and as I mentioned, stress worsens the carcinoid crisis episodes so please let me be the conduit to organize this and just send Gwendolyn your love and healing thoughts. It means so much to her now that we have started reaching out to friends to know that she is wrapped in love by people who have shared so many amazing times with her over the years.

 

Please spread this far and wide, to the sailing community, to other communities we are a part of, to anyone who might be willing to help. Please come together with me to make magic happen for Gwendolyn. She needs you and I need you too. Please give as much as you are able. If you aren't able to give, please send some love and pass this around. Please help me create a life for Gwendolyn that's worth living and worth fighting for. She needs us.

 

Thank you from the bottom of my heart.

 

Love,

Nancy