Wonder Woman Needs Her Super Friends!

Seattle’s very own Wonder Woman, Carla Moreno, culinary and Underground Seattle tour guide, Concierge, and Sasquatch seeker, needs our help. After having dinner with friends on October 17th 2019, Carla found herself in extraordinary pain. Carla lives alone and has no family in the area, so she had to drive herself immediately to the doctor. This initial doctor’s visit  indicated nothing more than a possible case of appendicitis, but Carla did not have the classic symptoms. And although initially the pain subsided, a few days later, Carla had to drive herself to Urgent Care. A CT Scan concluded that she had an inflamed appendix that had perforated forming some sort of an abscess, so the doctors at Urgent Care admitted her to the hospital where she spent 5 days on heavy duty IV antibiotics  and was monitored and scanned daily. In order for Carla to go home, doctors set her up with a PICC line to self administer antibiotics for 3 weeks, followed by oral meds for 10 days. 

The antibiotics seemed to work for a couple of weeks until one morning while Carla was in the shower when the pain returned -- with a vengeance. Once again, Carla drove to the Emergency Room and was admitted immediately for an emergency appendectomy. When she awoke after the surgery her doctor told her that in addition to the abscess on her appendix, they found and removed a tumor that was not visible in the CT scan. He also told her the tumor would be biopsied. A few days passed and all seemed well...until the morning of December 24, 2019. That morning while Carla was at work, the surgeon called her to inform her that the biopsy showed that she had a rare form of cancer called appendiceal cancer. He also told her that she would need to prepare herself immediately for  a right hemicolectomy and removal of part of her liver. This is a much more serious surgery where the recovery period will put her out of commission for several weeks. Chemotherapy is almost certain to follow. A final staging of the cancer and further treatment plan cannot be assessed until after this next surgery. 

Carla and her family and friends are understandably in shock at this turn of events after what  initially seemed to be a straightforward case of appendicitis. Already facing enormous medical bills, emotions are flying high, and the wait is excruciating. In a cruel twist of fate, October 17th was also Carla’s last day at a job she loved where her health care benefits ended at the end of October. In addition to her previous job, Carla had another wonderful job, where she continues to work, but it does not provide health insurance. She had however accumulated sick pay over the course of her years there. Unfortunately, Carla has now exhausted all of her sick time. Her only option now is short-term financial aid to offset some of the medical costs. The stress of dealing with mounting medical bills while trying to work, take care of other financial responsibilities, rest enough to heal in order to prepare for additional surgery, and stay positive through all of it is unimaginable. Carla is such a force, but even Wonder Woman gets tired. While she has endured many life challenges, appendiceal cancer is proving to be a test of her resilience and courage. If you know Carla at all, you know the passion and enthusiasm she brings to everything she does and how much love she has given the city and people of Seattle. At only 46, Carla has so many more stories to share and love to give. 

 Thank you for taking the time to read Carla’s story. Any assistance in easing her financial burden is greatly appreciated. Please share Carla’s story, say a prayer for her, and send good superhero mojo, so that she can focus on healing and returning to the Wonder Woman we all know her to be!