A little bit about me
Hello, my name is Gloria Hill. I am a single 70-year-old woman from Houston, Texas and I have been a nurse for 32 years. I specialize in home health nursing because I have always been passionate about caring for the elderly. I love caring for them, and making them smile and laugh. Sometimes, I think it did more for me than it did them.
Pre-diagnosis
On January 17th, 2024, my whole life changed. It was on this day that I had an appointment with a cardiologist in the same network as my primary nurse practitioner. I am getting older, and I just wanted to make sure I didn’t have any heart problems. My cardiologist was amazing and ran a series of tests that showed no problems with my heart. However, upon reviewing my health records, she located a CT scan from August 2023, and asked me “did they ever tell you there is a lesion on your 11th rib?” to which I responded “no one ever told me about a lesion on my rib.” Concerned, she said “you need to make an appointment with your primary care physician ASAP”. So, I made an appointment and then headed to work.
The next morning at 8 a.m., my primary nurse practitioner called me after receiving a call from my cardiologist. She said, “Gloria, I’m sorry I missed this. I’m going to refer you to MD Anderson Cancer Center as soon as we hang up, but know they probably won’t get back to you today” as she reviewed my CT scans from last August 2023. That’s all she said.
I was stunned, shocked, and confused. I was also on my way to work and had several patients to see that day. This was the day my world as I knew it would change forever.
I called MD Anderson the next morning and spoke to a nurse who confirmed she got the referral, but no contact information was put on the referral, so they had no way of reaching me. No telephone number or email address was left. She said she had contacted the nurse practitioner to get my telephone number, but was awaiting a response.
I called everyday for the next 6 days trying to get an appointment. Finally, I was able to get an appointment at MD Anderson Cancer Center in the Houston Medical Center. They ran many tests. So many I was not able to work.
Post-diagnosis
I was diagnosed with Multiple Myeloma and was started on chemotherapy immediately. The chemo caused me to have multiple side effects. Everything from pain to multiple hospitalizations for gastrointestinal side effects, along with blurred vision and painful styes in my eyes. My vision got so bad during that time I could barely see and was left unable to drive. It also resulted in yet another hospitalization.
Currently, I am not able to work and I’ve been scheduled for a Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation (HCT) transplant this month. I am looking for financial assistance to ease the costs posed by food, medical insurance, a car note and mortgage, and other maintenance expenses. I have to take Uber most of the time to the hospital because of the variability of my vision. When my vision is okay, I am able to drive. However, I have to pay the parking fees for my doctors appointments, which gets to be very expensive since I have multiple appointments each week.
I know this is a long story, but I want you to know my story and why I need help. I’ve never been in a position like this until my diagnosis, and I am grateful for there being resources like this available for cancer patients like myself. I never imagined something like this could happen to me.
Thank you so much for listening. Any donations will be gladly appreciated.