Chalise Scholl says she had to cash in her life insurance policy to bury her mother two years ago.

 

Now Scholl is raising money for her own funeral. Diagnosed with stage 4 cervical cancer, doctors have given her six months to live. She's 37.

 

She sells wristbands on Facebook for $4 apiece. A friend has set up a GoFundMe page. A restaurant near her home in Peoria recently held a benefit. She has raised a few thousand dollars so far.

 The wristbands say "Krazii Strong," after her nickname. She says she draws strength from the people who wear them.

"I'm not popular so I never thought I would raise as much as I have," Scholl said. "It is so touching to see how much people care. Their support has really lifted me up."

Scholl started her campaign in the spring after she went through her third round of chemotherapy and her hopes were dimming about any recovery. Last week, doctors confirmed her cancer has continued to spread throughout her body.

 

She says she draws inspiration from her mother, Gail Scholl, who was 57 when she went into hospice care after suffering for years from heart disease and later finding out she had breast cancer.

 

“I’m not scared of death. I know the signs and I will know when it’s time to transition,” Scholl said. “I watched this before. Watching my mother transition made it easier for me to be accepting of death and be at peace with it...read more