My daughter, Etiah, is a pocket full of sunshine.
She is the kind of person who can walk into a room and bring warmth, laughter, and light with her. She has a beautiful spirit and a way of making the people around her feel loved. She is so much more than the cancer she has been fighting for the past three years.
In April 2023, our family received the devastating news that Etiah had been diagnosed with Triple-Negative Metastatic Breast Cancer.
Since then, she has endured more than 100 chemotherapy treatments, a hospitalization for a ruptured appendix, radiation to her liver and lower neck, countless medical appointments, procedures, medications, and the physical and emotional challenges that come with fighting cancer.
And through it all, she has kept going.
She has continued to find reasons to smile. She has continued to love. She has continued to be that same pocket full of sunshine, even on days when she has every reason not to be.
Now, Etiah is facing another unexpected challenge. This week, she fell and broke her ankle. In the coming weeks, she will undergo surgery to have a plate and pins placed in her ankle. She will also undergo additional radiation to her upper neck as she continues her fight against metastatic breast cancer.
As her mother, there are few things more painful than watching your child go through so much. I wish I could take this all away from her. I wish I could trade places with her. I wish I could make every treatment, every procedure, and every difficult day easier.
But I can't.
What I can do is ask for help.
The financial burden of Etiah's ongoing treatment has become overwhelming. The medical bills keep coming, and the insurance co-pays and deductibles are astronomical. There are also medications, appointments, transportation, surgery, radiation, recovery, and everyday expenses that continue to add up.
We are asking for your help so that Etiah can spend less time worrying about medical bills and more time doing what she needs to do: fighting, healing, and living.
Every donation, no matter the amount, will help ease the financial burden of her cancer treatment and upcoming surgery and radiation. Your generosity will give our family something incredibly valuable during this difficult time: a little peace of mind.
If you know Etiah, you know that she has so much more life and love to give. She has already fought so hard for the past three years, and she is not ready to give up.
As her mom, I am asking you to please stand with my daughter.
If you can donate, thank you from the bottom of my heart. If you cannot, please share her story. One share can reach someone who can help. One donation can pay a bill. One act of kindness can remind Etiah that she is surrounded by people who believe in her and are cheering her on.
Please keep my daughter in your prayers as she faces surgery, radiation, and another chapter in this fight.
Etiah has spent so much of the last three years fighting to stay strong.
Now, I am asking our family, friends, and community to help carry some of that weight for her.
Thank you for loving my daughter, for praying for her, for sharing her story, and for helping us keep a little sunshine shining through the hardest days.
With love and gratitude,
Denise
