Support Holly Elizabeth’s Fight Against Lymphoma

Hello, my name is Jess Teixeira and I’m creating this Go Fund Me for my best friend Holly Elizabeth. Life has thrown her the curve ball that is Cancer, at only 34 years old. I am creating this as a way for her friends, family, and any other generous donors to assist Holly at this time.

Holly’s full diagnosis story begins back in the middle of June. She had been experiencing pain in her right rib side when she talked, laughed, and even breathed. She went to Urgent Care where they ordered an X-Ray. The results came back showing an abnormality in the front of her chest with her lymph nodes and ordered for a CT Scan. She asked the doctor what the worst case scenario was. The doctor said Lymphoma. She was so strong hearing this she reported it to all of us and we hoped for the best but prepared for the worst. What followed was unfathomable for us.

A few weeks later the CT Scan showed an immense amount of fluid around her lungs. A thorocentesis was performed on Holly removing 1250ml of fluid. Fast forward a few days later and Holly knew something was off. Her left arm was swollen and immobile, and her lymph nodes in her neck were visibly bulging. She was brought to the ER where they ran an Ultrasound and a CT Scan, and told her she had a blood clot (DVT) and that there was what appeared to be a malignant mediastinal mass… Lymphoma.

Holly was immediately ambulanced to the ICU at St. Elizabeth’s. After a biopsy, Dana Farber initially diagnosed her with Low Grade Lymphoma, which we eventually found out was a misdiagnosis. They placed a pleurx catheter in her right hand side to continuously drain the fluid building around her lungs. After ten days she was released back home. We all thought she was there to stay and begin her journey towards recovery. I was able to visit her at this time but quickly realized something was not right… She kept collecting fluid and her health was deteriorating again. It was very hard to see our bright and sassy Holly in this state.

After a week home, Holly was rushed off to the hospital again by her visiting nurse who saw her vital signs tanking.

As of August 5th Holly has been at Rhode Island Hospital being treated for, her correct diagnoses, non-Hodgkin Diffuse Large B-cell Lymphoma (a mediastinal mass and a pelvic mass). Since being admitted to RIH, Holly has undergone multiple CT Scans, Ultrasounds, Echos, a PET Scan, daily chest x-rays and lab draws, as well as platelet and blood transfusions. She has undergone five rounds of radiation to clear the way for her chemotherapy, of which she has also done the first five rounds. She has also gone from being under the max amount of oxygen to none at all! Which is a huge improvement, however her body and mind have been through a lot and this is just the beginning!

Because of all this time spent in the hospital, and the way cancer and chemotherapy act, Holly is currently neutropenic (extremely low white blood cells, basically no immune system) as well as learning to properly walk again. If you know Holly you know she’s an avid outdoors woman and this is a very hard hit for her. After her stats climb back up she will be sent to an inpatient rehabilitation facility that will provide intense physical therapy everyday. In addition to returning to RIH for her continued chemotherapy journey.

I know many of you asked Holly ways in which you can help, so I am starting a GoFundMe on her behalf. During this time Holly will not be able to work as she is immunocompromised. We would like to reach out to our friends, family, and beyond to help relieve some of the financial burdens that lie ahead for her and her care family. There will still be unexpected costs that arise as she goes through this process.

We understand everyone is in a different financial position, and we welcome any support possible to help Holly get through this challenging time in her life. Even sharing this story will help! And every donation goes directly to Holly.

 We thank you all very much ❤️