Young North Fork Mom Facing Sudden Health Challenges Needs Help:

SOUTHOLD, NY — A young North Fork mother is facing a sudden and frightening diagnosis — and the community has come together to envelop her with love and support.

A GoFundMe page, "Help Support Marta Thomas And Her Family," was created by Marta's sister Sandy Martocchia, to help.

"On March 19, after dealing with a series of sudden health issues, Marta received the shocking, and devastating news that she has an inoperable brain tumor. It was later diagnosed as a grade 4, midline, glioblastoma of the thalamus with a rare mutation called H3K27," she wrote.

Marta and her partner, Tom Cornell, live in Southold with their two young daughters, Lina, 7, and Vienna3, Martocchia said.

"She is a loving, stay-at-home mom, who is passionate about her girls and her community. She is an active member of the Southold Mothers' Club, where she has forged many relationships with the young moms in our community," she added.

Marta and her family are facing the unthinkable, her sister said.

"This sudden diagnosis has put her family into a tailspin. She was experiencing complications from the biopsy and underwent surgery on March 23, to insert a shunt into her brain to relieve the pressure and pain it was causing."

Her sister's plan is to start radiation and chemotherapy as soon as she can, Martocchia said. "Tom is a local oysterman —Cornell Oysters — and has been unable to work the long hours he is accustomed to, due to the many trips to and from the hospital and caring for his children."

Martocchia said she and her sisters Erin and Lisl organized the GoFundMe to help Marta's family cover household expenses, to pay for travel to and from the hospital and treatment centers, for family members to assist with her care, and to defray medical expenses not covered through insurance.

The goal, she said, is to create a holistic approach to her care, exploring local alternative health options, such as nutrition, herbal medicine, mind/body therapies.

"When people say life can change in the blink of an eye, it’s true. If you know Marta, you know how outgoing, funny, and sometimes bossy she can be! We want to get her back to her old self, so her children can have their vibrant mom back again."

Martocchia added: "Please help Marta and our family during this extremely scary and overwhelming time. A donation of any size, will mean so much to Marta and her family."

To donate to the GoFundMe, click here.