A 30-year-old single mother from Utah who was trying to raise $5,000 to plan her own funeral after learning she had only three months to live reportedly received more than $1 million in donations to help her two young children after his departure.
“I am given three months to live. Three months with my babies (…) Three months to make the most of the time I have left (…) I have to make sure that my children will be okay after I leave. I am now faced with the most difficult thing: planning my own funeral,” said Erika Diarte-Carr in a GoFundMe campaign reported by ABC4.
On September 18, the single mother apparently made the tough decision to put an end to her treatments for terminal cancer after learning that they were no longer enough to extend her life, preferring to enjoy the last months with her two young people. children, Jeremiah, 7 years old, and Aaliyah, 5 years old, according to the American media.
Since May 2022, the 30-year-old had been battling a rare high-grade terminal cancer, small cell lung carcinoma (SCLC), which had spread to other parts of her body, including her skeleton, by the time diagnosis.
It was shoulder pain that initially led her to consult, before receiving the grim diagnosis the day before Mother’s Day, we can read in the crowdfunding campaign.
Although her condition would have initially improved thanks to the treatments – even to the point of being able to put them aside for a while – she would have suddenly started suffering, in January this year, from a rare hormonal disorder, Cushing’s syndrome, which occurs when the body is exposed to too much cortisol for an extended period of time, according to ABC4.
Significant weight gain, deterioration of her muscles and bones, high blood pressure and type 2 diabetes: Erika Carr would then have been forced to resume treatments, until her healthcare team announced to her, in mid-September, that She only had three months left.
“I’ve never been good at accepting or asking for help, but unfortunately I think I’ve gotten to a point where it’s no longer an option for me,” lamented the 30-year-old mother, who hasn’t been able to work for months, leaving her with no savings and no life insurance.
“I need to raise around $5,000 to ensure that funeral expenses are covered,” said the woman who would also like to “leave something behind for my babies.”
Her story seemed to strike a chord as within a matter of days the small initial goal was not only reached, but exceeded US$1 million, the equivalent of approximately $1.3 million. .
“It happened overnight. I didn’t expect this. I didn’t expect (…) that many people would reach out to me and help me. “With the way it happened, I’m just in shock…just very grateful to everyone,” she told ABC4.
