Cancer is a 6 letter word no one wants to hear, especially when it's followed by the words of "Stage 3." Kimberly Smith, wife of Kevin Smith for 23 years, a mother of four: 19, 17, 14, and 11, nonsmoker, and ASL interpreter was admitted Monday, May 13th, to the hospital for being jaundice. Come to find out, they found a tumor in her bile duct. In order to improve her liver function, she had to undergo 3 surgeries over the next week to help drain the bile ducts and improve functioning and prepare for the major tumor removal surgery. The course of action for the surgery was to remove 60% of her liver, her gallbladder, the tumor itself, 10 lymph nodes, and reconstruct her bile duct as well as a portion of her lower intestines. Needless to say, when they went in for the invasive surgery to remove the tumor, they saw that the cancer had reached her lymph nodes in another region. Her cancer just progressed from a Stage 3 to a Stage 4 Cholangiocarcinoma. As we all gathered in the waiting room trying to make sense of the shocking news, our eyes profusely filled with tears as our hearts broke completely into a million pieces. While we sat there crying in each other's arms, Kim had not woken up from surgery yet and didn't know the news. We made a deal that we had 24 hours to cry and be hysterical before Kim found out the news... because from then on, we had to be STRONG for HER.
The Smith/Selin family are asking that you help share our tragic story to help us pay for the ever increasing medical bills, in addition to everyday bills around the house. Originally we thought $10,000 would be our portion, but recently realized it would be $100,000. Her total medical bills will be over one million dollars. She will be off work due to 6 months of aggressive chemotherapy and radiation treatments combined, putting a huge financial burden on the family.
Cancer is not a blessing, but there are many blessings that come with cancer such as the outpouring of love through family, friends, and strangers alike. Life changing events like this make it important to remember to always hug the ones you love a little tighter everyday.
As you continue to keep up with our story, we want to thank you from the bottom of our hearts for taking time out of your day to do so. We ask that you help us fight this fight for Kimberly Smith. Caring Bridge allows us to keep family and friends updated in one place. We appreciate your support and words of hope and encouragement. It takes a village to conquer something like this along with love and light. The mindset, environment, and outlook you have about situations like these is what truly makes the biggest difference in the outcomes. Just because Cancer is a 6 letter word that no one wants to hear, doesn't mean we have to let it win. Help us bring hope to my family that we can conquer this situation all the way around... financially and emotionally. If anyone has any ideas and or willingness to host charity events such as silent auctions, tournaments, trivia nights, car washes, etc. feel free to reach out to us. We are open to all ideas and would appreciate the suggestions. Our information can be found within the links below.
Purchase a wristband for sale in the link below to help us know that we aren't alone in this fight. All proceeds from the wristbands will go towards the $100,000 for medical bills. We want you to join our team Kimberly Strong!
Wristbands:
https://teamkimberlystrongpositivealiv.godaddysites.com (
https://teamkimberlystrongpositivealiv.godaddysites.com/)
GoFundMe:
https://www.gofundme.com/f/r4zaj-someone-i-love-needs-a-cure 
