Author: integritivity

Terry McNary was diagnosed with stage 4 colon cancer and he does not have much time left. His only child is a COVID nurse and have not been able to spend much time with him since Covid started because she is worried about getting him sick. They had a big family trip planed to Mexico, but that got canceled with Covid and some of the family members have lost their jobs and businesses so some could not go anyway.

The family would really like to take him somewhere before he dies as he has never traveled anywhere but to Nevada. His daughter has taken the next 6 weeks off of work to spend with him and to be his caretaker, as his wife has already passed.

Stella’s Wish will give the family $1000 toward travel expenses so that they can take Terry somewhere together.

Toni Palmer and her husband Ken went to college together and after he completed dental school, they were stationed in Camp LeJune, NC where he serve two years in the Navy (1980-1982 ).  Not knowing how toxic the camp was, Ken got cancer in 2004 and died in 2017. Toni got breast cancer in 2013. After  double mastectomy, chemotherapy, radiation and reconstructive surgery, she was clean of cancer till 2019.

In February of 2019 she was complaining of back pain, only to be misdiagnosed until November of 2019, when doctors detected Stage 4 Metastatic Breast cancer to the bone – incurable but treatable.

She was accepted into a clinical trial at Siteman in St. Louis  but her cancer progressed in May 2020 and she was taken out of the trial. She went back to her doctor in Springfield and is doing standard of care treatment. By September 2020 the chemo has reached a toxic level and the side effects could be aplastic anemia which causes bone marrow to stop making stem cells. Her doctor is working with Siteman to see if she can enter a 3rd tier study.

Toni’s lifelong friend also recently retired and the friends had hoped to travel for however long they can. However, Toni is too ill to travel so Stella’s Wish will send a care package and a gift card to help pay for dinner with family for Christmas.

Toni has a positive outlook on life and recently wrote:

“So I don’t know what happens next, but I know that God is bringing me from this last treatment and leading me to the next one.  My church is studying Colossians and the theme is Jesus is  Greater!!! And we all know He is Greater than anything cancer can throw at me.  All in God’s Time!!”

Brittany is 32 years old.  She loves her dogs and engaged to be married!  Brittany’s dream is to see all 50 states and her mother is trying to make it happen for her. She bought a 1999 Gulfstream and remodeled the interior.  Stella’s Wish is helping to make Brittany’s dream come true by sending $1000 in gift cards for tires and travel expenses so that they can get on the road in their RV.

Diane is battling stage IV cholangiocarcinoma and medical treatment has drained the family’s finances. Diane spent her 30-year career working for Social Services & remains beloved by those she supervised & close friends to those she worked with.  She also has also kept in touch with many from school she grew up with.  She is a very giving, encouraging, thoughtful person who has always given to others.  She is generous to a fault and a very loving person. She wished for a chance to visit Disney World, but is now under hospice care and unable to travel. Her family requested a fruit bouquet to cheer her up and Stella’s Wish Foundation has one on the way.

 

Jeff has stage four cancer and wished for an autographed jersey from Kansas City Royals Manager, Mike Matheney.  Jeff received his wish from Mike on September 8th!

Dan Raynor has been diagnosed with small cell metastatic lung cancer and is currently receiving chemo. It’s also in bone, liver and a small spot on the brain. He has recently located his biological brother and met him! There are several other brothers and sisters that he would love to meet, but unfortunately they live in North Carolina.  He is 65 yrs old and has searched for them for twenty years. The week he found them was the week he and his wife were told of his cancer.

Dan’s wish is being granted to travel to North Carolina to meet his other siblings for the first time!

 

Naomi Alejandro is receiving weekly chemotherapy to battle metastatic stage 4 breast cancer. She was diagnosed with stage 4 in February of 2020, after being in remission from breast cancer for two years. She has a wonderful husband, who pastors their church and three children under age 14.

Naomi wished for some special time away with her family, away from doctors appointments, etc. They live within driving distance to Broken Bow, where they could spend some quiet time as a family in a cabin at the lake.

The foundation is granting Naomi’s wish and is sending the family on a road trip to Broken Bow, Oklahoma to stay three nights in a cabin by the lake.

Vicki Merkel has just been diagnosed stage IV-B Esophageal Cancer. The cancer has spread to her liver and her brain. She put her entire life on hold when her husband passed away and has spent her entire life giving up her dreams to ensure the happiness and well-being of her son, daughter, and grand-children.

Vicki’s wish is being granted to rent an RV and travel see the Smithsonian, national monuments, and down to the Grand Canyon.

Eugene ‘Alex’ Betz is a 20-year veteran of the Montana Army National Guard and he has been with the Montana Highway Patrol as a Trooper for 18 years. He has 2 amazing daughters and a stepson. He was diagnosed with Spindle Cell Sarcoma in his right thigh in December 2019. The tumor was extremely aggressive and he had his leg amputated in January 2020. The tumor had grown to the size of a softball in approximately 4-5 months. Less than a month after the amputation, he found out the cancer had metastasized in his lungs. He had 4 tumors and surgery was not an option. He received autoimmune treatment, but the tumors continued to grow. After 3 treatments, he found out the tumors had tripled in size. His doctor told him he had 4 months left of relatively “mobile” time left and then perhaps 2 months of pain and limited to no mobility.

Alex is an avid outdoorsman. His daughters have carried on in his footsteps and love camping, hiking, fishing, hunting, backpacking, etc. Alex has always wanted to take his daughters on an adventure to Alaska. He does not have the resources now to do that, but it is something he still wants to do. He wants to take his girls on one last epic adventure before he is no longer strong enough to do so.

Alex is an amazing human being. He volunteered his time for children with cancer at Camp Make A Dream in Montana. He became certified and used his personal raft to take kids, even some in wheelchairs, floating down the Missouri River. He also volunteered his time to the Montana Wounded Warrior Project. He brought veterans on hunting and fishing trips throughout the state of Montana. Alex has dedicated his life to helping others. He gave 20 years to his country and deployed to Iraq. He has served as a law enforcement officer for the past 18 years. He has volunteered for non-profits. He is also a single father of 2 amazing daughters and a son who adores him. He has run 1/2 marathons with them, taken them to climb the tallest mountains in Montana, takes them camping multiple times throughout the summer, even into the late fall in Montana. He spends every waking moment trying to find some way to give them lasting memories.

Alex’s cancer has progressed at an alarming rate. He had dinner with my family on Christmas and at that time he knew he had a tumor, but he did not know it was cancer. 7 months later, he just signed up for hospice.

Stella’s Wish Foundation is sending Alex on a road trip to Glacier National Park, where he feels comfortable traveling too, due to their low number of COVID cases.