Susanna’s story

Connections that last for Infinity

Throughout her battle with cancer, Susanna was determined that her husband and children maintain as normal a life as possible. That desire is the heartbeat of everything Infinity - Susanna Smiles does today.

Susanna was strong, loving, and beautiful inside and out. A friend to many, she always made time for friends and family, and she exercised regularly to stay fit and healthy. She married her high school sweetheart, Brooks, and together they had four kids: Preston, Landon, Braydon, and Brooklyn, ages 17 to 10 at the time of her diagnosis.

For over a year, Susanna lived with back pain that kept getting worse. She was advised to keep exercising and try conservative care such as chiropractors and massages. Then she began having trouble breathing and learned that fluid was building up in her lungs. In late 2020, at age 44, she was diagnosed with stage 4 kidney cancer that had already spread to her lungs and spine. She was told she had less than a year to live. Her world was turned upside down, but she was determined to fight and beat it.

Her cancer treatment medications wreaked havoc on her body, so she turned to alternative treatments, all paid out of pocket: infusions, weekly vitamin IV injections, Rife Frequency treatments, and daily TKM Therapy home visits. Some required equipment costing over $30,000. She even considered traveling to other states or countries to see cancer specialists about experimental treatments, but the costs were prohibitive. The treatments gave her hope, and they took a heavy toll on the family’s daily budget.

A Catholic education for all her children was very important to Susanna, and she worked two jobs to help pay for it. As her pain grew and her strength faded, she could no longer work full time and lost her promoted position. She kept working part time because she carried her health insurance policy, even when she could barely sit at her laptop for more than a few minutes. Like most families, Susanna and Brooks could not cover the added medical costs on less income while still paying the mortgage and private school tuition for four children.