Amanda Mesko, a mother of three along with her husband Steve have had a very difficult year.
In March of 2023, Amanda collapsed at work and was rushed to Lehigh Valley Hospital Muhlenberg. There they found an egg-sized brain tumor that was causing severe pressure - the tumor had triggered a seizure causing Amanda to collapse, according to her husband, Steve.
She was then transferred to the Lehigh Valley Hospital Cedar Crest Campus where she underwent brain surgery to remove the tumor. The biopsy revealed that she has grade 4 Glioblastoma.
The surgeons were unable to remove the entire tumor without compromising her daily function, according to Steve.
After recovering from the surgery she began radiation and chemotherapy treatments.
Unfortunately, there is no cure for this diagnosis and the goal of her treatments is to keep Amanda comfortable as long as possible.
In June, they received more bad news. Their twelve-year-old daughter, Sarabeth was taken to the emergency room for an extremely painful and swollen neck.
The doctors found that Sarabeth's lymph nodes were swelling and essentially "rotting", according to Steve. She also underwent surgery to remove and diagnose the infection. Her results came back diagnosing her with Pediatric Thyroid Cancer.
This condition, although not uncommon in late teens and early adults, is extremely rare and almost unheard of at her age.
At the end of October, Sarabeth completed her fourth surgery removing the cancerous mass, and began her therapy of radioactive Iodine.
The Mesko family
During her recent scans, they found that her cancer had spread to her lungs.
Although her prognosis is looking good, she still has a long road ahead of her.
In February, Amanda's younger brother Jesse was also diagnosed with a brain aneurysm and needed brain surgery. He has been in ongoing hospital and rehab care ever since.
It's been a difficult year for the Mesko family. Everything has placed an enormous strain on the entire family physically, emotionally, and financially.
Through all of these adversities, the family has done their best to keep a positive outlook and keep life as normal as possible, according to Steve.
A friend of the family created a GoFundMe campaign to help alleviate the tremendous amount of expense the family is incurring.
Please consider donating to help this family.
The GoFundMe link can be found here
In addition to the campaign, Amanda and Sarabeth will be beneficiaries of an event being hosted by Marissa's Warriors Foundation.
The event will be held on Saturday, February 3rd from 1 PM to 5 PM at the Schnecksville Fire Company Social Hall located at 4550 Old Packhouse Road, Schnecksville, PA.
There will be food, a basket raffle, door prizes, music, and more!
The information for that event can be found here -
Marissa's Warriors is also seeking donations of gift certificates and baskets for the basket raffle.
