24 September 2023 , 18:27
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A woman was shocked to discover she was not allowed to return home from Greece after she discovered she had leukaemia following seemingly normal health problems.
Sandra Gutierrez, 43, who was on holiday for her friend's wedding, suddenly noticed her arms and legs were covered in bruises. She wasn't worried because she is anaemic, but a friend told her to get checked out and she was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia.
What followed was an "overwhelming health odyssey," with Sandra still on the island of Crete since her diagnosis on August 29. She has to make sure she is able to fly before returning home and there has been difficulty paying her medical bills as she is treated on the island's Venizelio Hospital.
“Our world got turned upside down,” she told Today. "The doctors initially didn’t believe that I was not in pain. But I swear, I was not in pain. I (had) a lot of energy. I didn’t see any other signs.”
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Sandra said her anaemia made her feel like her cancer signs were normal (Gofundme)
'Our world got turned upside down,' Sandra said (Facebook)On a GoFundMe page that has raised over $100,000 so far, Sandra's friends wrote "Her current condition prohibits her from taking a 45-minute flight to Athens, let alone a 12-hour flight home to NYC."
So far, Sandra is still unclear if her insurance company will be able to pay for treatment for what is a rare form of blood cancer and said: "Americans are not set up to pay bills in the European Union." The cancer is known as 'acute' because patients can go from feeling fine to suddenly very ill.
Early signs for Sandra didn't just include the bruising she had on her body, she had a period that lasted for two weeks. This, Sandra said, was not that unusual because she had irregular periods before and she put her extreme fatigue down to jet lag.
Sandra arrived in Crete for a friend's wedding, but things soon went wrong (Gofundme)Sandra needs a higher blood count in order to fly home and it is hoped that she will be on US soil by the end of the month. On September 15, Sandra's condition "suddenly changed" and her blood levels were found to be too low, something that makes her a risk when flying.
The treatment so far has been mixed and an update on the GoFundMe page said that an initial response to chemotherapy was "an extremely positive sign," but "other blood levels remain too low to resume chemo for now."
The update continued: "She is receiving red blood cells, plasma and platelets, as needed, to help her along. Amidst all of this, Sandra is in good spirits.
Sandra's sister Julissa has remained by her side (Gofundme)"She is eating well, she has been able to walk around, and did not experience ill effects due to the chemo she received earlier this month. We are hopeful chemo can resume soon with the transfusions and care she is getting."
“From her family, we remain ever grateful for the support, love, and donations people continue to send. We ask that you keep Sandra in your prayers. And as Sandra says, ‘Always listen to your body.’ So let’s keep that message alive out there. She is the best sister, daughter, aunt, friend, and everything #thebest,” her sister Julissa, who has remained by her side, said.