A mother-of-two who visited the emergency room with a shoulder injury is now planning her own funeral after a devastating terminal cancer diagnosis.

Erika Diarte-Carr, from Utah, was told she only has three months to live after undergoing several treatments for her highly aggressive form of small cell lung carcinoma. The single mother, now 33, was just 30 when she received the news but has battled on over the past couple of years.

In January this year, Erika was told she was also suffering from Cushing Syndrome – a disease which caused her to put on more than 60 pounds within a matter of weeks as well as experiencing muscle and bone deterioration, high blood pressure, Moon Face and Type 2 diabetes. On top of this, she has been left unable to walk.

The mom, who has started a fundraiser to help raise funds for her children, five-year-old Ailiyah and seven-year-old Jeremiah, after she dies, has multiple metastasized tumors throughout her body. She explained: “By that point the damage had already been done. In that moment, mine and my kids’ entire lives had changed forever.”

Erika bravely kept working during her treatments, only taking two months off for appointments, surgeries, biopsies, radiation and chemotherapy treatments. “I have been ashamed and embarrassed for people to know the truth that I have kept this a secret for as long as I could,” she wrote on her fundraising page. “But the physical effects are starting to take control, and I can’t hide it any longer.”

Treatments stopped when her scans began clearing up, but her Cushing’s dramatically impacted her health and quality of life in the following months, MailOnline reports. She says the disease is one of the main reasons her health deteriorated so much to where she is now. Erika continued: “Three months to spend with my babies and loved ones,’ she wrote, ‘three months to make the best of what time I have left.”

The Utah mum has said she will dedicate her remaining time with her children, with all her energy going towards them as she wants to “make the best of it” in her time left. Aside from spending time with her children, she’s been left to plan for her own funeral and is hoping to raise thousands of pounds to cover the cost when she dies. Despite only setting up the page with a $5,000 target, kind well-wishers have generated more than $750,000.

She said: ‘Due to me not being able to work for months now I do not have any finances saved up or any life insurance set aside for this situation. If you could please donate or share anything would be appreciated. All the funds that have exceeded my funeral cost will now be put into a trust fund for my babies, that way I can leave behind something for them and I can still ensure they are going to be ok as they grow up.”

Diarte-Carr’s cousin, Angelique Rivera, shared the heartbreaking photo of her children hugging their mother on a hospital bed and that her story touched the hearts of many. Rivera added: “We are at a loss for words and could never say thank you enough.”

Many community members from the mum’s town of Ogden in Utah have come forward to help out – offering support to Erika with meals, toys, food and money. Thanking all the people who have helped, she said: “All the funds that have exceeded my funeral cost will now be put into a trust fund for my babies, that way I can leave behind something for them and I can still ensure they are going to be ok as they grow up.”

Diarte-Carr also expressed her gratitude for her medical team in Ogden for their time, care and patience, adding: “Me and my family thank you ALL from the bottom of our hearts. My children are my whole life, light and soul. My children are my fight and what keep me going.” Five-year-old Ailiyah told ABC 4: “She’s special to us.”