Please join us in helping April Heaslip win!
Once in a lifetime, you may hear of a miracle that is only the result of pure love.
This miracle story involves a brilliant woman with a steadfast desire to fight, live, and love, a brilliant surgeon willing to take on the most incredible decision to save a life in unconventional ways, and a massive community of people dedicated to praying in unison.
At the center of this story is April Heaslip, an incredible human being, filled with starshine, love, brilliance, and an uncanny sense of wit and charm. She has graced so many lives in her 54 years, inspiring young women to hold on tight to their dreams and educating thousands of education-hungry people. With her Ph.D. in mythology and women’s studies, she continues to share her vast depth of knowledge with the world. Before this recent occurrence of cancer, she was in the process of finishing a book that was due to be published. This book focuses on mythology and the divine feminine in an age when women are rising into more and more positions of power and blazing a tour d force path of epic decision making. April is part of making this happen.
Our dear April Heaslip was diagnosed with throat cancer last year. She received treatment, but unfortunately, the cancer came back. This past Monday, she almost died twice. Without the incredible talented medical professionals at Massachusets General Hospital, she would not be with us.
They saved her life three times. The third intervention involved a heroic-10 hr surgery performed by Allen L. Feng, MD, a fellowship-trained head and neck surgeon who specializes in head and neck cancer and microvascular reconstruction. He had a conversation with her before her surgery via a whiteboard. He asked her permission to do a very risky surgery that would, if not anything else, give her more time. She responded by writing, “I TRUST YOU. I WANT TO LIVE.” Well not only did he save her life, but he also removed the cancer, and her potential for survival skyrocketed. He is an absolute miracle worker. While removing the cancerous mass, he reconstructed half of her throat and neck. This surgery removed her voicebox, requiring a trach for the foreseeable future. It was grueling, and all of her loved ones waited anxiously all day and into the night. It started at 10 am EST and ended at 8:30 pm EST. She made it through. Then we had to wait through the night.
And then a miracle happened. On 2/26/22 (her birthday) April woke up.
Using the whiteboard again, she told us that she could smell and taste. Much of the function that had been interrupted for so long was restored. A true miracle.
The incredible surgical team at Mass General feels there are options for continued treatment to fight this. It is critical she has the best, state-of-the-art care at this pivotal point.
She has had a challenging time finding housing while she has been battling cancer, and we want to be able to take that burden off of her. The recovery is going to be long. She will need ongoing care from nurses, ot’s, speech therapists, and close proximity to her specialists.
As of Sunday 3/24/22 April is now out of ICU and at Mass Eye And Ear in very good stable condition. And she is looking forward to the grammy’s tonight LOL! AN ABSOLUTE MIRACLE!!!!!!!
THANK YOU, EVERYONE, AT MASSA GENERAL AND ESPECIALLY Allen L. Feng, MD!!!!!!!!
Our goal is to raise $100k so she has a fighting chance to beat this. Please join us in helping April win! #aprilchooselove
www.aprilheaslipfundraising.org
