The Rose Family

It is with a heavy heart that I am reaching out to ask our friends and family for support.

Over the past few months life has taken an unexpected turn for our family, specifically for my sister Katie, her husband Kenny and their 3 children. We discovered that one of her children has a birth defect that is negatively impacting their heart and lungs. They will undergo major cardiothoracic surgery to correct the defect soon. They will be out of school for a month and will require constant care while recovering. If having a child go through a massive surgical procedure was not challenging enough, last month life threw a few more curve balls at them.

Sadly my sister, 39, was diagnosed with an aggressive form of Breast cancer. While this is extremely scary news, we are moving forward with trepidation, courage and hope. Her journey of treatment and recovery will include a double mastectomy within the next couple weeks. This will be followed by approximately 4 months of a very aggressive form of chemo known as "Red Devil" chemo, and then 2 months of a different (easier to tolerate) chemo. This will be extremely difficult on her body and she will be unable to work during this time. After the chemo regimen, she may have to undergo radiation, to hopefully prevent the cancer from coming back.

On top of two family members undergoing multiple substantial medical procedures, last week my Brother-in-law was let go from his company. They received their medical insurance through his job, so they are now forced to figure out how to handle this financially.

The next 6-8 months are going to be very overwhelming for her family mentally, emotionally and physically. I am asking our friends and family to help take the stress of the financial burden off their shoulders so they can focus on healing and getting through the next 6-8 months as a family. We set up a Go-Fund-Me and we are hoping to raise $25K to assist with medical bills and living expenses during this time. We are so grateful to anyone who can donate any amount, anything will help.

In addition to the financial support, I am also asking if anyone can recommend a Breast Cancer support group in the Lincoln area that can help my sister and her family navigate this journey. This is not where we expected to be, but this is where we are at. My sister is extremely strong and we are confident that she will get through this. Please share this post so it can reach as many of our friends and family as possible.

Keep Katie, Kenny, and their kids in your thoughts and prayers. We thank everyone who can help!

#breastcancerawareness #pinkoctober #cancerfighter