13 Jul Love to Christy – UPDATE
We met Christy first as a fan of Maggie Speaks. Over time she started helping us with promotions and became an integral part of our team and family. Recently Christy’s been enduring the kind of health crisis we all dread. If you think you can help – any gesture would be very meaningful for us and especially Christy.
- Go Fund Me
- PayPal
- Checks made payable to Christy Pool-Ooza and mailed c/o Mary Ellen Lynch 4239 W. 118th Pl., Alsip, IL 60803
UPDATE from Christy on July 28th
Unfortunately, things have taken a turn for the worse. Found out the cancer has spread to my stomach, liver and spleen. At that time, they told me time was limited. I decided to try one more round of chemo. My body had other ideas!
I have made the difficult decision to stop all treatment.
Next step: I’m looking into long term care facilities. (I want to come full circle on the “becoming a 70 year old” what with my sexy walker and back brace! I’m practicing my Bingo skills now! ;)) Obviously, have to navigate the insurance nonsense, but will keep everyone updated.
THANK YOU all for your support, prayers, and positive vibes. I can’t properly express how much it means to me.
Original Post
Christy was diagnosed with Stage II Breast Cancer in October 2012, at the age of 39, after finding a lump in her breast. After 2 plus months of tests, it was determined that the cancer had only spread to her lymph nodes. She was treated with 6 rounds of chemo, a lumpectomy with lymph node removal, then 6.5 weeks of localized radiation. Her Post Surgery pathology showed that a triple negative tumor encased in the original hormone positive tumor. She was given an extra 4 rounds of chemo to target the triple negative tumor. She went into remission in January 2014.
In October 2014, she began experiencing pain in her lower back and went to a chiropractor. The back pain mostly subsided, but she had increasing pain in her right hip. In February 2015, she went to an orthopedic surgeon who realized the cancer had metastasized into her hip. By the time it was caught, her hip was mostly eaten away. She was admitted for an emergency right hip replacement. The surgery went well, but she unfortunately developed a pulmonary embolism, the meds used to treat this caused bleeding into the hip area so she had to undergo another surgery to flush the site out. Additional testing showed that the cancer spread to her lower back (L1) and mid back (T9 – which has a compression fracture), lungs and left femur. Following surgery and a week in patient rehab, she started radiation to the lower spine and hip area. Following that, she had 2 rounds of chemo. She had a severe reaction to the second round and ended up hospitalized. It was determined that the problem was dehydration so she has to add extra fluids the next round of chemo. In June, she had stroke like symptoms, was rushed to the hospital and sadly tests show the cancer spread to her brain. She had emergency brain surgery – this time to pull out the larger tumor and eliminate the bleed. Thankfully, surgery was successful and she has recovered her vocal abilities and about 85% of fine motor skills. Good news is they ran tests and show the cancer has not progressed in her bones. She started a course of radiation targeting the whole brain as well as the T9 portion of her spine. She will be done July 15th with radiation and will start more chemo the week of July 20th. Her strength and positive attitude are amazing! She’s a great friend that would do anything for you!
As you can expect, her bills are piling up and her treatments have left her too exhausted to work. Please help with any amount you can afford! Checks should be made payable to Christy Pool-Ooza and mailed c/o Mary Ellen Lynch 4239 W. 118th Pl., Alsip, IL 60803.
Or use this GoFundMe link: http://www.gofundme.com/zd92kk