Helping Sandy

Well... this is something we never imagined we'd have to do and something you always hope you won't have to. On Thursday, February 15th, our mom - Sandy Zastre - had to undergo emergency surgery. Unfortunately, after coming out of surgery, she also came out with a sudden stage 3 colon cancer diagnosis.

Sadly, the surgery that she is currently recovering from isn't going to be the last. The doctors found a tumor in her bowel that perforated through and caused infection. The tumor and infection were so large that they were unable to remove the tumor at the time. Due to the infection, she now has a temporary colostomy bag. We don't know yet if the second surgery is going to successfully remove the tumor and alleviate her need for the colostomy bag or not. They also haven't confirmed whether the next step is a second surgery or starting chemotherapy, but have been advised that both will be in her future.

Not that there is ever a good time to have this happen, but it happened at the worst time financially for Sandy. She was 3 days into starting a new management nursing position. Which means she has no insurance or coverage at all. The bank is no help at all as she has no mortgage insurance. She made the difficult decision to opt out of it because of the extremely high monthly cost due to her age. And of course, a few months later happens to be when she would've needed it. EI/disability unfortunately isn't going to cover all her bills each month. My mom only has two things - her condo and her car. We'd hate for her to lose these due to her condition.

Sandy is going to have quite the battle this year with an outlook of more surgery and chemotherapy. The last thing we want for her is to stress financially, or lose everything she has worked so hard for. We are hoping to raise enough money for her to make ends meet for the year. She doesn't have a concrete treatment plan yet, as she is still waiting on more test results. She is currently recovering from her first surgery and unfortunately the bills will just continue to come out as she recovers and regains her strength for more treatment. The doctor has advised to be prepared for the next year or so at the moment.

Sandy has worked hard her whole life. She went through nursing school while raising us 3 kids. She's our hardworking mama. If anyone is able to donate in her time of need, we thank you from the bottom of our hearts.

We will update you on her progress as her treatment goes on.