The 33-year-old mother of two from Utah is planning her own funeral after she went to the emergency room with a “shoulder injury” and received devastating news

A mother of two is planning her own funeral after being diagnosed with terminal cancer, despite only going to the emergency room with a shoulder injury.

Erika Diarte-Carr, now 33, was told when she was just 30 that she had an extremely aggressive form of small cell lung cancer.

The single mother of five-year-old Ailiyah and seven-year-old Jeremiah learned of multiple metastatic tumors throughout her body.

“By that point, the damage had already been done.” “In that moment, my life and the lives of my children were changed forever,” she said.

After being diagnosed with cancer, she was diagnosed with Cushing's syndrome two years later and in September this year her treatments became ineffective

Her diagnosis of Cushing's disease caused her to get worse after stopping treatment and left her as sick as she is now

She received the devastating news just one day before Mother's Day in 2022, before learning on January 17 this year that she was also living with Cushing's syndrome.

This caused her to quickly gain weight, more than 30 pounds, within a few weeks.

She began to suffer from muscle and bone loss, high blood pressure, moon face and type 2 diabetes.

She told ABC 4 that Cushing's also prevented her from leaving.

The single mother worked full-time for as long as possible, only taking two months off for appointments, surgeries, biopsies, radiation and chemotherapy treatments.

“I was ashamed and embarrassed that people learned the truth, that I kept this a secret for as long as I could,” she wrote on a GoFundMe page, “but the physical effects are starting to take over , and I can do it.” “I'm not hiding it any longer.”

Treatments were stopped when her scans began to improve, but her Cushing's syndrome had a dramatic impact on her health and quality of life in the months that followed.

She says that her Cushing's disease is one of the main reasons her health has deteriorated so much that she is now in the condition she is in.

She stopped her treatments in September because they were no longer effective and was told she only had three months to live.

“Three months to spend with my babies and my loved ones,” she wrote, “three months to make the most of the time I have left.”

“Three months to spend with my babies and loved ones,” Diarte-Carr wrote, “three months to make the most of the time I have left.”

She started a fundraiser and asked for help in any way she could. She donated $5,000 on GoFundMe for her funeral and to support her children after her death

Diarte-Carr explained that she wanted to spend time with her children without getting sick from treatments and medications.

All her energy is now focused on her children and she just wants to make the most of the time she has left.

She now faced the difficult task of planning her own funeral and ensuring her children were cared for.

She asked for help in some way and started the page with the goal of raising $5,000 toward her funeral expenses and supporting her children after her death. Since then, donations have exceeded $750,000.

“Since I haven't been able to work for months now, I have neither money nor life insurance set aside for this situation. If you could please donate or share something we would be grateful,” she said.

“Any funds that exceeded my funeral expenses will now be put into a trust fund for my babies, so I can leave something for them and still make sure they are okay when they grow up,” Diarte-Carr wrote

Diarte-Carr's cousin, Angelique Rivera, shared the heartbreaking photo of her children hugging their mother on a hospital bed, saying her story touched the hearts of many.

“We are at a loss for words and could never thank you enough,” Rivera wrote.

Viewers of the post chimed in in the comments, offering the family help and support in any way they could.

“Is there anything else we can do?” Meals? Halloween costumes? Your story has touched so many!! I pray for her and her sweet babies.' I wrote one.

Another commented: “Oh my God I pray so much for her comfort and for her sweet babies who are having to cope without their mama.” This story tore me apart. Please God, watch over these wonderful people.'

Many others offered help to the children and Diarte-Carr in their final months, with toys, donations, food, and asked how they could get involved.

Diarte-Carr then informed those who had donated or would donate that she had stopped her treatments because they were no longer effective and that she had been told she had three months to live

Her church in Ogden, Utah, provided the single mother and her family with ample help and support with meals, toys, food, money, prayers, and any help they could provide

She thanked everyone who helped, writing: “Any funds that exceeded my funeral costs will now be put into a trust fund for my babies, so I can leave something for them and still make sure they stay that way.” OK, when they grow up.'

Diarte-Carr also thanked her medical team in Ogden for their “time, care and patience.”

“My family and I thank you all from the bottom of our hearts!” she said.

She added: “[My children] are my whole life, light and soul. “My children are my fight and what keeps me going.”

Five-year-old Ailiyah told ABC 4, “She's special to us.”

The family plans a camping trip and hopes the children can experience another Christmas with their mother.