Jessicas Brave Story

Hello my name is Isaia, I am the second eldest out of 5 children and here is only a glimpse into why I am starting a give a little page for my mother and the rest of my family.

In 2007 my mother was diagnosed with Leukaemia. Leukaemia is A cancer of blood-forming tissues, hindering the body's ability to fight infection. As many of you already know this was such a difficult time for the Peseta family with the youngest out of all us kids only being a year old. My siblings and myself were all very young at the time with Shaniah being only 8 years old, myself 7, Grace 5, Ezekiel 3 and nevaeh had just turned one. For my siblings and I it was a worst nightmare come true. Having to go through trauma and experiencing something we couldn’t quite understand or comprehend was quite and still is very emotional and difficult. The hospital became our second home for not only our mother but for us all, going to visit her every single day without fail. It took a toll on us all and had a massive impact on all our lives. We all had to grow up way too fast in such a short period of time than most children our age and live a life of fear that we could possibly lose our mother.

Fast forward, my mother had a transplant and was thankfully free of cancer (praise God!) but even to this day my mother is still suffering 13 years on. She suffers from a disease called GVHD which stands for Graft-Versus-Host Disease. GVHD is a condition that occurs when donor bone marrow or stem cells attack the recipient. GVHD can occur at any time after a transplant. However, it's more common after the marrow has started to make healthy cells. The condition can be mild or severe. But in my mother’s case, she is chronically ill and it is quite severe.

Here is a link with more information. https://www.lls.org/treatment/types-of-treatment/stem-cell-transplantation/graft-versus-host-disease

One of the many things GVHD has caused is the loss of sight. She isn’t actually able to see and do normal things the average person can do which is heartbreaking for us to watch every single day.

My mother can no longer walk due to the disease affecting her foot/leg and needs to be attended to and treated as if it’s a rash/wound everyday by Nurse Maude. She is bound to her wheelchair and is unable to do simple things like transport herself to and from the bathroom, or from her wheelchair to the bed etc.

My mother’s skin has also been deteriorating on certain parts of her body, which causes her constant discomfort. It also causes her irritation leaving scars and skin tears as her skin is very sensitive and delicate.

All my mother’s teeth had to be pulled out due to them starting to break off and her bones becoming weak and all the medication she had been taking over the years. It’s been extremely hard for her to even eat most foods.

Our mother’s everyday living situation is very difficult for her as she can barely do anything. But there is still hope that a miracle CAN happen through the power of prayer and faith and that God will heal her!

The reason I’m making this is because we simply need help. We have suffered enough and need all the help/funding we can get to ensure my mum has everything she needs to assist in her healing process and to help get the equipment she requires in order for her to get better. We struggle financially to get the things my mother needs as we just simply do not have the funds.

The only other option I could think of was to start this page and hope that out of the goodness of people’s hearts that we would be able to provide for our mother’s needs.