Kristin Ramirez, single Austin mom of six, faces stage 3 breast cancer | Season for Caring
Kristin Ramirez and her six children had embarked on a new life.
An abusive relationship was long behind her. She regained custody of her kids nine months after Child Protective Services took them in 2018 because of the domestic violence. The family of seven settled into an affordable apartment complex.
But in July 2022, Ramirez, 43, had a mammogram and learned that she had stage 3 breast cancer. She had to start chemotherapy immediately.
Then came the physical toll on Ramirez’s body; a loss of income as the treatments and the pain, fatigue and nausea they yield, have taken her away from work; and the emotional toll on her children, who range in age from 4 to 16.
“It’s challenging, but I would rather be with them than without,” Ramirez said of her children. “We made it, and we’re doing better than we were at this time last year.”
Ramirez underwent a nine-month regimen of chemotherapy and a double mastectomy. She responded well to the treatment and went back to work as a leasing agent at an apartment complex five days after her surgery.
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Ramirez has just embarked on a six-week radiation treatment. After that, she'll have 10 more months of chemotherapy to target her specific type of cancer.
She is nervous about going back into chemo and experiencing a repeat of last year.
The chemo made her too sick to work steadily. She worked at temporary jobs whenever she felt well enough, but the inconsistent pay was barely enough to support her family. The children's father does not provide child support and rarely sees them.
The prospect of further limited income was not the only thing that worried Ramirez. It was tough, she said, for her kids to see her losing her hair, shedding weight and becoming “sick in every which way” — too weak to even walk them to the school bus stop like she used to.
They’d been through too much already. Likely because of the trauma they endured in foster care, in which they were separated among three families, the children have shown behavioral issues for years, Ramirez said.
“It really amazes me how much they’ve gone through,” Ramirez said. “It breaks my heart.”
Ramirez’s mother, Janet Cárdenas, helps take care of the children and gives Ramirez rides to her appointments because Ramirez’s car is unreliable; it’s a 2015 Ford Focus Electric with a battery that’s too weak to handle the trips. In addition to helping her daughter, Cárdenas still works full time for a government agency and cares for her husband, who is 80% deaf.
In between gathering laundry and tending to the kids at Ramirez’s home, Cárdenas said, “It takes every strength that God gives us ...”
“Amen to that,” Ramirez said.
“... To do the job that needs to get done. You have to go beyond what you thought you could do just to get it done. But God is good,” Cárdenas concludes.
Ramirez plans to write a book with her kids about her journey with cancer through their eyes. She hopes it can be an outlet for the things they couldn’t express in the whirlwind of her diagnosis and treatment.
“I love my kiddos,” she said. “I have a strong faith in God. I know that we’ll make it.”
The Ramirez family’s wishes:
Financial assistance with rent and utilities; legal services to secure child support payments; fees for driving classes for her 16-year-old daughter; a minivan or large vehicle so the whole family can ride together and a second car for Gigi to help her mom with transportation; a sofa; Christmas presents for her children (a 16-year-old girl and five boys who are 4, 6, 7, 9 and 10) including art supplies, manga, Dragon Ball Z and soccer gear; fees for soccer teams; a PlayStation for the family; a smart TV; funds for a family vacation to the Texas coast; a prepared meal service while she is undergoing chemotherapy; adoption fees for an emotional support animal; and mentoring for Ramirez on writing a book about her experience with cancer.
Their wish list is available on Amazon.
Nominated by: Breast Cancer Resource Center; 8127 Mesa Drive, Suite B206, No. 131, Austin, TX 78759. 512-524-2560, bcrc.org
Its mission: To empower those affected by breast cancer with personalized support and compassion.
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This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Season for Caring: Austin single mom faces debilitating breast cancer
