Montville Woman Reaches Out to Help Young Mom with Cancer

A fundraiser at the Mohegan Fire Company will be conducted to help a 28-year-old mother of two who is determined to prevail in a fight against stage four colon cancer.

Jennifer Crouch tells family and friends that she’s going to live into her 90s.

“I’m going to beat it,” she said last week, with timber in her voice. “There’s no other option. I have a life to live and I’m not going to lose this battle.”

The fundraiser at the fire company will be from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. Friday. About 20 vendors, including Tastefully Simple, Avon, PartyLite and Pampered Chef, will participate. Rhonda DiMaggio of Montville is organizing the event.

Crouch, who lives in Baltic, said her insurance carrier so far has denied $7,600 in claims. The company, she said, has refused to pay for the diagnosis, biopsy, and scans to determine the size and location of the tumor. “They say they weren’t medical necessities,” she said.

Ironically, she added, the insurer has paid for blood work and chemotherapy. She hopes the fundraiser – and others similar to it – will pay for her costs until, hopefully, the insurance company approves all payments.

She thought nothing was wrong until a routine September physical. Yes, she had some backaches, fatigue and weight loss, but she didn’t think much about it – attributing most of it to stress. But the physical showed that all was not right and on Oct. 20 she heard the devastating diagnosis that she has Stage 4 metastatic colon cancer. She broke down upon hearing the news, telling herself that she doesn’t want to die.

Crouch, however, quickly gathered herself. The woman with an unassuming smile, today is optimistic and determined not to spoil Christmas for 18-month-old son Dylan, and five-year-old Makenzie, who is eagerly awaiting the arrival of Santa Claus.

Crouch said she has told Makenzie that she has cancer and the daughter, though very young, senses this could be something serious.

“She tells me that she doesn’t want mom to go to heaven,” she said. “And I tell her, ‘I’m not going to.’”

Crouch’s husband, Nate, a security worker at the Millstone Point Nuclear Power Station in Waterford, said his wife is an inspiration.

“She’s the strongest person I’ve ever met,” he said. “She’s the one who supports me. I’m having a harder time dealing with this than she is.”

Nate said he has a chair in the woods “and I go there just to release my emotions.”

Jennifer said her only release is to occasionally step into the bathroom and cry.

She currently is in the third of 12 cycles of chemotherapy sessions. She has lost hair and she shakes a bit. She said she is fortunate that any nausea has been mild.

The large tumor in her colon has been removed, but she is far from being cancer-free. The cancer has spread to her liver. She expresses confidence that chemotherapy will cure that.

The remaining tumor is restricting the artery that pumps blood into the heart. There is much she can’t do now for fear the artery will become completely compressed, thereby halting blood flow. One thing she can’t do is lift her children.

Adults in good health should appreciate their blessings, Crouch said. “All the things you take for granted, for me have been turned upside down.

"Prognosis" is a word she avoids. But she said she was told that, without treatment, the doctors gave her 12 to 18 months to live. Now that she is getting aggressive treatment, she said she is preparing for a full recovery.

Nate Crouch said he is greatly impressed by the way residents of southeastern Connecticut have responded. “There really is an extended family that goes far beyond blood relationships,” he said.

In addition to the Mohegan Fire Company fundraiser, a bowling event last week  benefited the family at the Norwich Bowling and Entertainment Center.

Another fundraiser will be conducted Dec. 17 at VFW Post 10004 in Griswold.

Employees at Kellogg Marine in Old Lyme, in the spirit of the holiday season, have decided to prepare the Crouch family a full turkey dinner for Christmas and give gifts to Jennifer, Nate and the two children.

The Scentennial Candle Fundraiser, put on by DiMaggio, is also raising money for Jennifer.

Donations also may be sent to Rhonda DiMaggio, 95 Park Ave., Uncasville, CT 06382. Checks should be made payable to Jennifer Crouch.

For more information on Friday’s event at the firehouse, contact DiMaggio at 860-319-3090.