Please help! Family in Need

My sister Jackie and I (Jamie) are trying to raise funds to help our Mom (Debby a/k/a Mamaw) and Stepdad (Jimmy a/k/a Papaw).

Several years ago he was diagnosed with CLL. This has always had us on edge and he has been being monitored to see if the Leukemia advanced beyond stage 0. Regardless of this diagnosis, he has thankfully not progressed and has been able to maintain somewhat of a normal life.

It has been a crazy year overall for the family. Less than a year ago, their son Jack nearly lost his life in a car accident. It took him many months to recover and turned their lives upside down. Now he has thankfully recovered and started college. This was such a blessing! The entire family has been working hard to get back on track. Papaw was able to secure another job and life was moving on and starting to return to normal.

Just after Thanksgiving, Papaw started getting ill. We assumed it was a virus that was going around, but he started having other symptoms that did not seem right. So, off to the doctor he went. The news was grim and at first he was told he had cancer. Multiple tests were ordered by the oncologist and urologist to get to the bottom of the issue. The tests were weeks away and in the meantime, Papaw stayed in severe pain. On Christmas Day, he was not able to participate and had become extremely swollen. He ended up going to the Emergency Room. He had become septic and was immediately admitted. The tests that were scheduled for weeks away now needed to happen sooner. We were all so nervous and scared. Several days later, we received the good news that the issue was not cancerous! After 19 days of hospitalization, several tests, and surgery; his final diagnosis was severe diverticulitis that caused a fistula on his bladder. He has currently been fitted with a colostomy bag and FINALLY discharged from the hospital. His road to recovery will likely include another surgery to repair the bladder and take 6 months or more to heal.

In the meantime, he has not been able to work, they are accumulating extraordinary medical bills, and struggling overall to make ends meet. We are not sure when he will be released to return to work and are taking his recovery one step at a time.

We are generally a proud family and do not like to ask for help, however, we really feel they need help that is beyond our means. Any donation would be very much appreciated and go directly to the family to help them with bills, additional medical supplies, and daily needs.