Talia is Running to Help Lili Fight Ovarian Cancer

On March 8, 2021, I watched as the nurses and doctors frantically tried to resuscitate my father in the ICU. He didn't make it. It took six weeks from the day of his lung cancer diagnosis to the day he lost his fight. My father was only 68 years old.

I was (and still am) at a loss for words over losing someone I loved so dearly. Someone who raised me, loved me, taught me, and guided me throughout nearly 31 years of life.

I expected him to one day come out to California to climb a mountain with me. I expected him to one day walk me down the aisle as I marry my future husband. I expected him to be an incredible grandfather to my children. But those father-daughter moments will never happen because cancer took them from us.

The hole in my heart will never be filled. No one and nothing can replace my father. It's a symbol of how special he was and how deeply he impacted my life. And while nothing I do can bring him back, there are many ways I can keep his spirit alive. The best way, in my opinion, is by doing something that fills my soul while also giving back in his memory.

I am committing myself to running across the Grand Canyon 2x this October and raising money for my dear friend, Lili, and her fight against a very rare form of Ovarian Cancer.

Your donations will help pay for Lili's life-saving treatments and give her the ability to enjoy her life without the financial burden of costly hospital bills. Every penny of this GoFundMe will be supporting Lili.

However, if you want to support me as well, you can explore my Etsy shop - Landman on the Moon . A percentage of my profits will go towards Lili's fight and the rest will support my training, campaigning and the logistics (hotel, gas, food, gear, etc.) for my upcoming run.

It is nearly 50 miles and over 10,000 feet in elevation gain. No easy feat but with the spirit of my loving father behind me and a very powerful "WHY", I know I can do this and make a positive impact on someone who really needs it.

Thank you for supporting me, Lili, and keeping the memory of my father alive! #StanderUpToCancer #LandmanOnTheMoon

Here is Lili's Story:

In early 2020 I felt something off with my abdomen. It seemed to distend & I had bowel changes. I just passed it off as having bad gas or just the “normal” bloating we all get. TMI, but I was unable to have a bowel movement for over a week, even after taking all of the laxatives & enemas. I knew something was wrong so I took myself to the ER on 2/17/2020. I went in for an X-ray, then a CT scan where the doctors found multiple masses obstructing my bowels. I was told I had to go into emergency surgery & would most likely come out of it with a colostomy. At that time, I had no idea what a colostomy was. I called my parents & they were on the next flights to be with me. My surgery went ok—I was so inflamed they could barely do anything but decompress my bowels & do the colostomy. They found several tumors I spent a week in the hospital as the pathology results came back & I was diagnosed with Low-Grade Serous Carcinoma—a very rare form of Ovarian Cancer.

Shortly after I started my treatment—an oral chemo drug that blocks estrogen (because my cancer is hormone-responsive). About 5 months, June 2020, later my stomach felt distended again & I knew something was wrong. I went to the ER & scans determined that I had appendicitis from my cancer. I had a few days of hospital stay & they decided to treat it with antibiotics & scheduled major surgery (including taking the cancer out) for 6 weeks later. Well, my body decided “No”. 2 weeks later, I rushed myself to the ER with the worst pain. I knew my appendix has burst. Sure enough, it did & I was out into emergency open surgery once again. It took them about 3 hours to separate all my organs (cancer makes them stick together). They took out my appendix, my uterus, ovaries, Fallopian tubes, cervix as well as the cancer in my abdomen, colon & some they had found on my rectum. I was in the hospital maybe a week then sent home.

On top of everything, all this time I developed an extremely rare ulcerative condition called Pyoderma Gangrenosum. Flesh eating ulcers grew around my stoma (stomach butt-hole LOL). It was the absolute worst pain of my life-hands down. It was worse than all of my surgery pains combined. It got to the point (9/2020) where the area around it was so red, hard & hot to the touch. I knew, again, that something was wrong so back to the ER I went. They said I had cellulitis and admitted me into the hospital. It got worse & nothing could control the pain. I went into another open surgery to remove my stoma & the Pyoderma, then they relocated my stoma. After this surgery, my health started to deteriorate. My BP was crashing as well as all of my other vitals due to septic shock. I was out of it-don’t remember anything in the ICU but my parents were by my side every step of the way. After 8 days in the ICU with several interventions, I started to get better. I went back to the regular hospital areas & had a total of 33 days of hospital stay.

They had to bring me back into the operating room several times, I had a chest tube, I had 2 bowel resections, multiple IV’s in my arms & neck, about a dozen blood transfusions, several scans & gained 70 lbs from the fluid resuscitation. I could barely move. I couldn’t sit up or walk for weeks. I eventually started to gain my strength back with PT & OT.

GEEZ. Excuse my language but what a fucking wild ride. I don’t know how I got through it other than my incredible amazing parents!!! I love them more than anything in this life. They stayed with me every single night. They never left my side. I am extremely blessed to be the luckiest girl in the world to call them my parents. Everyone-my beautiful sisters, cousins, aunts & uncles, grandparents, all of my friends. I couldn’t have done it without you.

Fast forward— it's half way through 2021 & I am still healing from that huge fiasco last October. I have a surgical wound that is almost closed (yay!) & mostly have my normal mobility back. My last scan showed that there was no growth & not much detected disease. I’ve been through hell & back but I am SO extremely blessed to be in this moment. Things can somewhat be back to normal.

I have been out of work now for over a year. It’s been rough & I appreciate everyone for supporting me through this time. If you can donate or share my story, it would mean a lot to me. I will never forget what I went through & how it has changed the person I am today. I am so thankful for everyone in my life & for each moment I get to spend with others. I love you all so much.

Love always,

Lili