Bill Keegan's Cancer Fight Fund
Donation protected
Hello to the GoFundMe community. My name is Bill Keegan. I live in the southwest suburbs of Chicago with my wife, Janelle (Myers/Mehler), an incredible, wonderful woman who I have been married to for 24 years. We have four amazing, beautiful daughters ranging in age from 16 to 22.
Over the years, my wife and two of my daughters have confronted a number of health issues, some quite serious. These problems prevented my wife from working full time and one of my daughters was unable to attend school for nearly a year. I am lucky to have had good health during my life and was able to provide for my family, both their physical and emotional needs. Our strong faith helped us get through the tough times.
Then in January 2014, we were dealt a new challenge. I was diagnosed with a rare and aggressive form of cancer called a soft tissue sarcoma. In December of that same year, a CT scan revealed that the cancer had spread to my lungs. A five-month course of radical treatment would begin immediately. Sixty days following the end of that treatment, new scans showed that the cancer had grown exponentially and that the prognosis was not good. My condition was determined to be terminal.
While I have continued to work throughout the past two years ( I own my own business), my chemotherapy treatment schedule and overall health have prevented me from maintaining the same daily work schedule and generating income to support my family. Medical expenses not covered by my health insurance mounted beyond control. We exhausted our life savings, our 401k and sought help from our families and good friends just to make ends meet. As a result of these challenges, we were forced to declare personal bankruptcy and continue to have serious financial hardship in meeting our obligations. In short, this illness has devastated me and my family.
My wife and I have always prided ourselves as being generous people and did a lot of volunteer work over the years through our church, helping others who needed assistance. Now the time has come where we are the ones who could really use some help. We’re in jeopardy of losing our home of nearly 20 years, our two girls in college are now forced to take additional student loans to continue their education, and the out of pocket medical bills continue to pile up.
I’m appealing to the good, caring people of the GoFundMe community to find it in their hearts to lend a helping hand if you can. I’ve read about the amazing help you’ve provided to people in need and it makes me feel good to know so many of you care enough to assist complete strangers.
This I can promise you. Any and all contributions would go directly to keeping us in our home, paying our monthly health insurance, helping our daughters, and making a dent in the bills where we can.
I thank you for taking the time to read my story. God bless all of you!
Sincerely,
Bill Keegan
Over the years, my wife and two of my daughters have confronted a number of health issues, some quite serious. These problems prevented my wife from working full time and one of my daughters was unable to attend school for nearly a year. I am lucky to have had good health during my life and was able to provide for my family, both their physical and emotional needs. Our strong faith helped us get through the tough times.
Then in January 2014, we were dealt a new challenge. I was diagnosed with a rare and aggressive form of cancer called a soft tissue sarcoma. In December of that same year, a CT scan revealed that the cancer had spread to my lungs. A five-month course of radical treatment would begin immediately. Sixty days following the end of that treatment, new scans showed that the cancer had grown exponentially and that the prognosis was not good. My condition was determined to be terminal.
While I have continued to work throughout the past two years ( I own my own business), my chemotherapy treatment schedule and overall health have prevented me from maintaining the same daily work schedule and generating income to support my family. Medical expenses not covered by my health insurance mounted beyond control. We exhausted our life savings, our 401k and sought help from our families and good friends just to make ends meet. As a result of these challenges, we were forced to declare personal bankruptcy and continue to have serious financial hardship in meeting our obligations. In short, this illness has devastated me and my family.
My wife and I have always prided ourselves as being generous people and did a lot of volunteer work over the years through our church, helping others who needed assistance. Now the time has come where we are the ones who could really use some help. We’re in jeopardy of losing our home of nearly 20 years, our two girls in college are now forced to take additional student loans to continue their education, and the out of pocket medical bills continue to pile up.
I’m appealing to the good, caring people of the GoFundMe community to find it in their hearts to lend a helping hand if you can. I’ve read about the amazing help you’ve provided to people in need and it makes me feel good to know so many of you care enough to assist complete strangers.
This I can promise you. Any and all contributions would go directly to keeping us in our home, paying our monthly health insurance, helping our daughters, and making a dent in the bills where we can.
I thank you for taking the time to read my story. God bless all of you!
Sincerely,
Bill Keegan
Organizer
Janelle Keegan
Organizer
Tinley Park, IL