Caregiver fund for Ron Prather

On December 15th, 2021, 10 days before Christmas, Ron suffered from nose bleeds, fatigue, night sweats, dizziness, weight loss and no appetite. I am not clear on how long he had been feeling this way, as he is Sandy’s primary caretaker, his wife of 40 years, and he puts her first and is more concerned with her wellbeing. Sandy made the appointment and later found out they wanted to do a blood transfusion because he may have leukemia. A few hours later, we found out that Ron had an aggressive form of Leukemia. This diagnosis shocked everyone since he has always been relatively healthy, active in his community, an avid pickleball player, lover of life and loved dancing. He is the kind of man that would offer help to anyone in need and put his own needs aside.

 

On December 18th, three days after his diagnosis, he was transferred from Vancouver, Wa. to the University of Washington Medical Center in Seattle via ambulance for treatment because there were no open beds at OHSU in Portland, Or.

 

On December 22nd, they diagnosed him with Acute Myeloid Leukemia; his bloodwork was (poor/adverse) which means very difficult to treat.

 

Sandy did not want him to be alone and wanted to be with him as much as she could during treatment. Unfortunately, she can't drive and needs assistance walking to and from places. Thankfully, one of their most caring, loving daughters dropped everything to bring Sandy to Seattle so she could stay close to Ron. They were staying in a hospitality house close to the hospital until Covid closed the hospital to visitors. Unfortunately, medical insurance doesn't pay for their external expenses or co-pays for Ron’s stay in the hospital. All their costs are out of pocket while he goes through treatment which is a financial burden for both of them.

 

Today, Ron has been in the hospital in Seattle, WA. for 38 days. Chemo was completed after his first week at UW. Unfortunately, the bone marrow biopsy taken yesterday is not complete. On a conference call yesterday, they said that his blood counts were going up by just a little, and they spoke of moving him to a long-term care facility in Vancouver, Wa.  He is unable to walk, eat or drink. His prognosis is unknown at this time.

Ron is a veteran, he was in Vietnam while serving in the Marines. He was exposed to agent orange. Part of his duties as told to me by him was transporting delicate and top secret information from his commander to an unknown. He had an honorable discharge. 

 

I realize this can be a difficult time to ask for resources or support however, if you or anyone you know could contribute financially please do so at Ron’s GoFundMe. Unfortunately, this is an urgent situation and the costs are unknown.

 

If you would like to send well wishes, letters of love or cards to Ron you can send them to:
Ron Prather, 3211 SE 152nd Ave. Vancouver, WA. 98683

Ron is a father, a brother, a loving husband, father in-law to Dover Weinberg, grandfather to 8 grandchildren and many great grand children that he adores and they adore him. 

 

I want to thank each and every one of you for your consideration. Pray for healing!