12/03/2023
*Justina Joseph Story *
I'm an active person and I am
always busy. I am a certified Nurse Assistant. I love my job, my patients, and my friends at work. Since arriving in the USA in November 1998, I've consistently worked two jobs, including one at a nursing home. In 2018, I was even selected for a CNA Award for Southern California at San Gabriel Valley.
However, in May 2019, I had to stop working due to a diagnosis of arthritis in my left knee. My knee didn’t have cushion. I couldn’t engage in my usual activities. It would swell a lot and hurt as well. To continue with my life, I received income from EDD for six months since I stopped working.
Oh yeah, I forgot to tell you, I was living in a two-bedroom apartment with my Mom and my lovely husband.
During the time I did therapy, I also had routine checks with the Doctor. After Six months, I went back to work, but for no more than 3 hours, my feet started swelling. My Doctor told me I couldn’t work anymore.
Short story: In September 2022, I got sick.
My stomach didn't feel comfortable. Whenever I ate anything, I started vomiting; whenever I drank anything, I started vomiting. I tried to take medicine from my counter. Even my mom and husband wanted to feed me with their excellent food; they made their food. But it still didn’t work.
On November 21, 2022, my Mom’s birthday, I didn’t take her anywhere like I usually always did.
It was 2:30 am, early in the morning. My stomach started hurting badly. With my husband, I drove my car to Pomona Valley Hospital from Upland, where I still currently live. My husband didn’t go at night because he was having problems with his eyes. I also didn’t call 911; I didn’t want my Mom to get sad knowing the condition I was in. I even had to stop and fill my car with gas on the way to the Hospital.
This was the first time in my life that I was hospitalized; they ran many tests on me.
The following day, one of the Doctors told me I had a mass in my stomach size of 21 inches, probably cancerous as well.
Although I wanted to go home, the doctor told me I could not go home.
But I was worried about my mother. She was home by herself, 80 years old, and she had problems with her health. I had to sign all the paperwork to be released from the hospital.
The next day, November 22, 2022, I was feeling a lot better. I took Mom and my husband to a restaurant for the celebration of my Mom’s birthday.
From November 22, 2022, to November 29, everything was coming back to normal with my life.
Until November 30, 2022. At 6:30 pm, I went back home from the laundromat with my husband. I saw from outside my apartment that the house was filled with darkness. My husband and I ran inside the house looking for Mom; there we found Mom in the Kitchen, lying on the floor in front of the Refrigerator, eyes closed. I tried to wake her up, but she was not responding; we did CPR and then called 911. The EMTs did everything to help my Mom. They said she had passed away 20 minutes before we got back home. At this point, I was so sad that I sat down on the floor and hugged my Mom’s body.
I didn’t even remember that I had a pelvic mass in my stomach, and I didn’t remember that I had a problem with my feet.
I sat on the floor and cried for more than an hour.
I am very much thankful to Ailing and Pak Crish from City Blessing Church, who helped me from the beginning when my Mom passed away until We sent Mom’s Body to Indonesia. That wasn’t an easy job to do, but Ailing and Pak Chris did a good job. They were working hard to help me. I really appreciate what they did to me, and I will never forget this.
On December 4, I went for a CT scan. When I left the CT scan office, I felt short of breath. I saw an Urgent Care in front of the CT scan office, so I went inside there, and I told them what I felt.
The doctor checked me out and said I couldn’t go home; I had to go to Pomona Valley Hospital with 911.
I was having heavy blood clots in my lungs; again, I told the Doctor I would drive my car to Pomona Valley Hospital because I couldn’t let my husband move a car at night with his eye problem. So, finally, I went to Pomona Valley Hospital.
I experienced a difficult time from December 4, 2022, to December 20, 2022. On December 9, 2022, something unusual happened – my body felt extremely cold. While my husband was visiting, I asked him to cover me with a blanket, but even with that, I couldn't shake off the cold. I started shivering a lot and passed out.
My husband called the nurse for assistance. Despite their efforts to wake me, I couldn't open my eyes. I felt my body plying, and I saw my husband in the room, and I saw the nurses, men and women. It pushed me somewhere, and I saw a lot of beautiful flowers. I was outside of my body. Finally, I woke up in the middle of the cube of medical machines. As a result of the test, the Doctor told me I was having an infection in my blood clot.
I returned to my home on December 20, 2022.
On January 2023, around 3:00 pm
I was eating strawberries when suddenly I couldn’t talk; my husband took me back to Pomona Valley Hospital. I was having a stroke that caused me Aphasia. I was hospitalized for three days.
My body was okay, but on the left of my face, it was bothering me. For ten days, I couldn’t talk.
This made me feel really upset; I had never experienced this low with my condition.
My Pastor from Indonesia Catholic church ( We call him Romo Kanis ) was helping me a lot during this time, and my husband was trying to help me speak.
I received support from all my friends. Finally, when I started speech therapy. I was able to speak.
I continued chemotherapy, and I have had chemotherapy six times every 21 days.
I finished my chemo recently, on April 23.
During chemotherapy, I was so worried because I had heard terrible things about chemo.
I lost 60 pounds, I lost my appetite to eat, and if I drank water, I felt like throwing up.
On my third chemo session, I didn’t continue my chemo because I had high blood pressure and didn’t continue until the following week.
On the fourth chemo, I met a young lady in the chemo place where I usually went. This time, it was just me and her. I had never seen her before. I asked her if she was doing chemo, too. She said this was her 15th chemo she had, and she had one more chemo left.
She told me, “If I can do Sixteen Chemos, you can do Six Chemos easily.” She even helped me open my bottle of water to help me drink. Since then, I haven’t seen her again, but I haven’t had a problem drinking my water.
I Thank God I finished my Chemo without any issues.
My Oncology Doctor told me. “God was listening to your Prayers. Anything that was happening with you, one came after another, but look at you; you’re a miracle.”
So I had my surgery on August 15, 2023. Before I had surgery to remove my ovarian Cancer, my primary Doctor sent me to a lung Doctor and a Cardiologist Doctor to make sure everything was okay with me.
On August 15, 2023, I had my major surgery; it started at 8 am. My Husband and close friend Augusta were at the Hospital. They waited for me. Joan, Narjis and Lesbia. They were there until my surgery. They even fasted and prayed for me.
Around noon, during surgery, I lost so much blood that I received seven bags. This time, my cancer was 23 inches. I Thank God for sending me a good surgeon, Doctor, and Nurse. For five days, I was at the Hospital. I returned home on August 20, 2023. Two days at home, then I came back to the hospital because my Stitches were watering. This was my fault because, when I got home, I showered and really didn’t dry very well in this area cause me had a wound.
When writing this note, I was feeling incredible; my wound was almost closed. The nurse came two days/a week to help me check my wound. My Husband was helping me, too, changing my dressing if the nurse didn’t come.
Thanks to Jesus lord, he sent me good Medics, Doctors, and nurses,
Thanks for sending me good friends.
Thanks to my Good Doctor, who helped save my life.
My primary doctor said to me, “Oh, Justina, if I can put it in a book from when you started Surgery, it’s going to be an entire book.”
I was diagnosed with Hypertension, Dyslipidemia, History of pulmonary embolism (PE), Metastatic adenocarcinoma to O***y, Aphasia due to acute stroke, continuous oral anticoagulation, and Insomnia.
But here I am today, alive and well. I am very grateful to God, to my family,my friends, and everyone who helped me through my troubled times.
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