Angelo & Lynn Di Meo Medical Fund
Donation protected
This 'Go Fund Me' page has been established for friends and acquaintances to help Lynn Di Meo in her struggle to overcome a critical financial situation following the passing of her beloved husband Angelo.
This is a story that began about 3 years ago when Angelo Di Meo was suddenly and unexpectedly diagnosed with lung cancer. Lynn and Angelo had lived a healthy and vibrant life together for about 40 years and this sudden diagnosis crashed in on them without any kind of warning. Angelo was diagnosed with Stage 4 lung cancer and was given just a few months to live. The 'few months' turned out to be a couple of years but in the end, there was no beating this awful disease. Angelo put up an amazing fight throughout this ordeal and Lynn steadfastly stood by his side throughout this heartbreaking phase of their lives.
What made this particularly hard for Angelo and Lynn was that they had no medical coverage here in Canada as they were not 'landed immigrants' or citizens of Canada. With Angelo's medical situation, he was unable to fly back to the UK for treatment over there. However, they did have medical insurance so they embarked upon a treatment course here in Canada. After undergoing several months of treatment, there appeared to be some degree of progress in fighting the tumours but in time, they multiplied as the cancer spread. As matters were approaching an even more critical phase for Angelo, the doctors evaluated him as a candidate for a new experimental drug. The chances of him qualifying for this drug were incredibly thin but it was established that he DID qualify and the treatment began.
As I am sure everyone knows, medicines do NOT come cheap in the US.....or in Canada either. With each treatment costing thousands of dollars, it quickly became evident that Angelo and Lynn had to fight their medical insurance company to approve the purchase of the medication. This in itself was a long, hard fought battle on the part of Lynn in particular. It was she who spent countless hours in meetings and on telephone calls fighting with the medical system, the pharmaceutical companies and even Canada Immigration to allow this treatment to move forward.
Sadly, the treatment only delayed the outcome of Angelo's poor health and he finally passed away on January 4th, 2019 after putting up an immense and courageous battle, but always with his smile, his sense of humour and his dignity.
After trying to overcome the trauma of losing her husband, Lynn now had to try and deal with the incredible number of medical bills that she was faced with. Not the least of these were the costs of the medication as the insurance company fought every step of the way to to avoid paying out the pharmaceutical company. On top of this almost insurmountable level of pharmaceutical costs, which numbered well in excess of $60,000 Lynn was also faced with massive hospital bills (as they are not citizens of Canada), as well as hospital, emergency room, ambulance costs and finally, funeral costs.
Since Angelo's passing, Lynn has steadfastly tried to make things work but she has now reached the point where she needs help and she simply cannot deal with this mountain of debt on her own.
To compound matters even more Lynn now faces the possibility of returning to the UK to try and deal with the health of her elderly parents. Both her Mother and her Father, 90 and 88 years respectively have recently been admitted to hospital in the UK, now too frail to live alone they are facing being moved from hospital to an interim care facility, whilst a more permanent solution is found.
In summary, we are reaching out to the many people that have come to know and love the Di Meo family and we respectfully hope that we can collectively step in and help Lynn get over the issues she is facing and in turn, help her get onto rebuilding her life.
Thank you for your consideration in this matter; your understanding, your generosity and your contribution is greatly appreciated as we help Lynn get back on her feet.
This is a story that began about 3 years ago when Angelo Di Meo was suddenly and unexpectedly diagnosed with lung cancer. Lynn and Angelo had lived a healthy and vibrant life together for about 40 years and this sudden diagnosis crashed in on them without any kind of warning. Angelo was diagnosed with Stage 4 lung cancer and was given just a few months to live. The 'few months' turned out to be a couple of years but in the end, there was no beating this awful disease. Angelo put up an amazing fight throughout this ordeal and Lynn steadfastly stood by his side throughout this heartbreaking phase of their lives.
What made this particularly hard for Angelo and Lynn was that they had no medical coverage here in Canada as they were not 'landed immigrants' or citizens of Canada. With Angelo's medical situation, he was unable to fly back to the UK for treatment over there. However, they did have medical insurance so they embarked upon a treatment course here in Canada. After undergoing several months of treatment, there appeared to be some degree of progress in fighting the tumours but in time, they multiplied as the cancer spread. As matters were approaching an even more critical phase for Angelo, the doctors evaluated him as a candidate for a new experimental drug. The chances of him qualifying for this drug were incredibly thin but it was established that he DID qualify and the treatment began.
As I am sure everyone knows, medicines do NOT come cheap in the US.....or in Canada either. With each treatment costing thousands of dollars, it quickly became evident that Angelo and Lynn had to fight their medical insurance company to approve the purchase of the medication. This in itself was a long, hard fought battle on the part of Lynn in particular. It was she who spent countless hours in meetings and on telephone calls fighting with the medical system, the pharmaceutical companies and even Canada Immigration to allow this treatment to move forward.
Sadly, the treatment only delayed the outcome of Angelo's poor health and he finally passed away on January 4th, 2019 after putting up an immense and courageous battle, but always with his smile, his sense of humour and his dignity.
After trying to overcome the trauma of losing her husband, Lynn now had to try and deal with the incredible number of medical bills that she was faced with. Not the least of these were the costs of the medication as the insurance company fought every step of the way to to avoid paying out the pharmaceutical company. On top of this almost insurmountable level of pharmaceutical costs, which numbered well in excess of $60,000 Lynn was also faced with massive hospital bills (as they are not citizens of Canada), as well as hospital, emergency room, ambulance costs and finally, funeral costs.
Since Angelo's passing, Lynn has steadfastly tried to make things work but she has now reached the point where she needs help and she simply cannot deal with this mountain of debt on her own.
To compound matters even more Lynn now faces the possibility of returning to the UK to try and deal with the health of her elderly parents. Both her Mother and her Father, 90 and 88 years respectively have recently been admitted to hospital in the UK, now too frail to live alone they are facing being moved from hospital to an interim care facility, whilst a more permanent solution is found.
In summary, we are reaching out to the many people that have come to know and love the Di Meo family and we respectfully hope that we can collectively step in and help Lynn get over the issues she is facing and in turn, help her get onto rebuilding her life.
Thank you for your consideration in this matter; your understanding, your generosity and your contribution is greatly appreciated as we help Lynn get back on her feet.
Organizer and beneficiary
Paul Brown
Organizer
Langley, BC
Steve Di meo
Beneficiary