On May 22, 2020 Janette Kokozka, 61, went to heaven. She left behind her only child Daniel Santana, 25. After being diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer in early January 2020, many complications arose in receiving treatment due to the COVID-19 pandemic. After only one treatment her health started to decline. So much so she went into septic shock. She fought to survive but sadly perished a day after her health seemed to be making a small comeback.
She was born May 12, 1959 in Los Angeles but lived most her life in Orange county. She had two older brothers and was the youngest and only girl of the family. As a young adult she enjoyed spending time with her friends from Seal beach to Newport. She, much like her father, didn’t believe in the word “can’t” especially when she would hear someone say “you can’t do this” or “you can’t do that” simply because she was a female. It was this attitude and the perseverance that allowed her to work in male dominated jobs.
In 2013 it was discovered that her husband had pancreatic cancer. It was also at this time she learned she had breast cancer. After her husband passed in 2014, she became distraught. As the years passed, she became more and more immobile. It was as her mobility decreased her health became more and more an issue. She slowly stopped taking care of herself as much as she used to and focused more so on her son. So much so she neglected her health as she was doing all she could to keep the bills in order and cut corners where she could to make ends meet. In the last 2 or so years is when her health truly started to deteriorate. She became sick too often and last year was the hardest. Her son graduated in 2018 and continued to work part time to care for her. By last winter she started having breathing issues that were worse than ever before. On December 28, 2019 she called 911 due to shortness of breath. She was admitted with pneumonia and her right lung was 80% full of fluid. It was later discovered she had Lung cancer. She went home on January 9,2020. After four months from her release she got a second opinion confirming her lung cancer, but unlike the initial report it had now spread to her bone. Within 2 weeks she went into septic shock and 3 days later she passed. Her son was unable to say goodbye as it was unknown if she had COVID-19 and the hospital would not let him into the room but could only look at her from the window thinking he would see her again. He was left alone to make burial arrangement with no funds to do so. We are asking friends and relatives for any assistance possible.