Mom, 52, Dying of Cancer Pleads with Community for Help So She Can Be Buried Next to Her Dad

A nursing assistant from Illinois has been diagnosed with terminal cancer and is asking her local community for help so that she can be buried next to her father in Alabama.

“It’s more of a last wish,” Christy Schroeder, 52, told CBS affiliate WIFR from her hospital bed with her 32-year-old daughter, Amanda Deringer, by her side.

For more than a decade, Schroeder worked as a nursing assistant in memory care before she was diagnosed with colon cancer in 2022. Last week, the grandmother learned that the disease had become terminal after spreading to her brain and lungs, WIFR reported.

In a GoFundMe page Schroeder has created to cover the out-of-state funeral expenses, she said receiving the news was “devastating.”

“After spending twelve years in the medical field caring for others, I find myself in the difficult position of needing help myself,” wrote Schroeder, who did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment. “I have no insurance, and the reality of my situation has left me in shock, leading to an emergency baptism and a lot of soul searching.”

Schroeder hopes that she can raise enough funds to cover travel expenses and the cost of a grave stone. As of Tuesday, Jan. 13, the donation page has raised almost $11,000 of its $13,000 goal.

“Without life insurance, I am worried about leaving these expenses to my family, who have already supported me so much through this journey,” Schroeder wrote. “I want to make sure everything is taken care of so they don’t have to carry this burden.” 

In the joint interview with WIFR, Schroeder explained that she dropped her life insurance to help take care of her daughter, who struggled with addiction and is now sober. 

“I love you so much,” Deringer told Schroeder, according to the outlet. “You took care of me.” 

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For Schroeder, learning that she’ll die has been difficult, especially because she doesn’t want to leave her child and grandchildren behind. But she takes solace in being buried next to her dad, according to the outlet.

“I’ve been a daddy’s girl since I was barely walking,” Schroeder said. “And it’s something I’ve wanted to do my whole life was be buried next to my dad.”