$15K Raised By Mahwah Woman For Friend With Benign Brain Tumor

MAHWAH, NJ — A Mahwah woman raised more than $15,000, as of Tuesday, for her friend whom she grew up with in Waldwick — a mother of two young children who just had a complicated surgery to remove a benign brain tumor.

Joan Ingerman, who set up the GoFundMe page for Christine D'Annibale, said her friend had the 10-hour surgery on Nov. 16 and is doing OK, and that she will have a follow-up surgery to remove the rest of the tumor at a date not yet specified. She will remain at the hospital until the second surgery, and then be transferred to a rehabilitation facility.

"Thank you all for the overwhelming love and support for Christine," Ingerman said in a Friday update. "One hurdle down, but a long road still to go."

D'Annibale was diagnosed with the tumor earlier this year, and since then, it has affected every part of her life, from her being a mother to her job as a hairdresser, Ingerman said.

Her surgery and rehabilitation, Ingerman added, will come with a "tremendous financial burden."

"She has a very long road ahead that will be filled with mounting medical bills, household expenses and childcare, and a career that will be on hold for the foreseeable future with no income," she said. "Anything you can give to help our friend Christine would mean so much."