Caring for Pam and Dan
Donation protected
My name is Tony, and I would like to share a little bit about my dear friend Pam, who right now needs some love and support. I met Pam when I was in High school. She got me my first job working as a Carpenter for her husband Dan. She is the one who introduced me to an amazing young lady by the name of Anna who I ended up marrying. Pam and Dan opened up their home to Anna and she lived with them through out most of her years going to college and nursing school. They both have supported Anna and I in so many ways big and small. When I started working Carpentry with Dan, Pam would often bring lunch for the guys. Pam noticed everyone always brought their own foldable camping chairs to sit on at lunch and I didn’t have one. The next time she came she brought a brand new chair with a big bow on it and gave it to me. Another time, she gave me a little Christmas tree, to plug into my truck dash at Christmas, since she knows I am kind of a Grinch. She gave me a my own coffee mug even though I don’t drink coffee. She thought it would help me fit in at work if I put my orange juice in it and just pretend. The picture I chose above is of Pam taking a selfie with my 3 boys. That day she just happened to be at our house for the 3rd day in a row, helping us clean and paint our new fixer upper we had just bought. I have about a million of these thoughtful little things she has done for me and I know I am not the only one. I have seen first hand that we are not the only family to receive these acts of Kindness from Pam and from Dan. Through out the 20 or more years I have known them I have seen them offer a bit of themselves and so much more to countless people.
Sadly, Pam has very recently been diagnosed with Cancer. Her and Dan are now in the battle to fight it. She is undergoing a variety of treatments to help. She is still in the early stages and does not have many answers at this point. As friends and family we often want all the details and want to know how to help. However, if you can imagine, it can be difficult and tiresome to explain things you barely understand are happening to yourself to every person that asks. While we think we are helping we are often causing more stress on the ones we are trying to help. Every person I have met battling Cancer is often physically drained after a treatment and that often lasts for days and then when you are feeling better you get another treatment. In addition, they are going to treatments and/or doctor appointments daily or several times a week. Enter Dan, Dan has been by his wife's side through all of these stages and appointments. On top of all of this, they have Dan's mom living with them, she needs her own level of care that they are graciously providing. The best way, currently, to help this family is to try and relieve any financial burden we can. They will, and currently, have medical bills from this that won't be covered by insurance. Pam isn't able to work at this time and neither is Dan with all he has to take care of. This situation will not change over night. However, we know that this will continue for months, not just a couple weeks. We would like to ask if you want to help, to please donate whatever you can so that they can get through the current, and coming, medical bills and have a few months of spending covered. This way they can get through these beginning stages with out having to worry about how to survive financially.
I can speak from experience, from when our son was in the hospital, having the bills taken care of is a huge relief. We also had lots of people just sending words of encouragement through social media. This was so helpful, reading messages from friends can really help you feel connected, even if it is one sided. Right now these are the two things that would help most and they are both so easy to do. Give if you can and if you can't please leave an encouraging message or fun memory or story you have had with Pam or Dan. We all know Pam loves to laugh and even though you aren't talking directly with her, there is chance you may hear her as she is pretty loud :) Questions are hard to answer at this point but we will try to update as things come up. There will come a time when meals and rides and things like that may be helpful. We will be setting up a care page in the next few days and put updates for some of the more day to day needs if and when they come up. If you are freaked out by giving credit card info or donating to these things, find and message me on Facebook (Tony DiCicco of Woodstock IL), or come to my house if you know where I live, and we can work out some other way to get the funds to them. Also, whether you can give or not, please share the ever-living Crap out of this page, so that we can get the word out and try to do whatever we can to get these two wonderful friends of mine (ours) through a very difficult time in there life.
I will try an update as much as possible, Thank you for your help!
Tony and the Sorensen family
Sadly, Pam has very recently been diagnosed with Cancer. Her and Dan are now in the battle to fight it. She is undergoing a variety of treatments to help. She is still in the early stages and does not have many answers at this point. As friends and family we often want all the details and want to know how to help. However, if you can imagine, it can be difficult and tiresome to explain things you barely understand are happening to yourself to every person that asks. While we think we are helping we are often causing more stress on the ones we are trying to help. Every person I have met battling Cancer is often physically drained after a treatment and that often lasts for days and then when you are feeling better you get another treatment. In addition, they are going to treatments and/or doctor appointments daily or several times a week. Enter Dan, Dan has been by his wife's side through all of these stages and appointments. On top of all of this, they have Dan's mom living with them, she needs her own level of care that they are graciously providing. The best way, currently, to help this family is to try and relieve any financial burden we can. They will, and currently, have medical bills from this that won't be covered by insurance. Pam isn't able to work at this time and neither is Dan with all he has to take care of. This situation will not change over night. However, we know that this will continue for months, not just a couple weeks. We would like to ask if you want to help, to please donate whatever you can so that they can get through the current, and coming, medical bills and have a few months of spending covered. This way they can get through these beginning stages with out having to worry about how to survive financially.
I can speak from experience, from when our son was in the hospital, having the bills taken care of is a huge relief. We also had lots of people just sending words of encouragement through social media. This was so helpful, reading messages from friends can really help you feel connected, even if it is one sided. Right now these are the two things that would help most and they are both so easy to do. Give if you can and if you can't please leave an encouraging message or fun memory or story you have had with Pam or Dan. We all know Pam loves to laugh and even though you aren't talking directly with her, there is chance you may hear her as she is pretty loud :) Questions are hard to answer at this point but we will try to update as things come up. There will come a time when meals and rides and things like that may be helpful. We will be setting up a care page in the next few days and put updates for some of the more day to day needs if and when they come up. If you are freaked out by giving credit card info or donating to these things, find and message me on Facebook (Tony DiCicco of Woodstock IL), or come to my house if you know where I live, and we can work out some other way to get the funds to them. Also, whether you can give or not, please share the ever-living Crap out of this page, so that we can get the word out and try to do whatever we can to get these two wonderful friends of mine (ours) through a very difficult time in there life.
I will try an update as much as possible, Thank you for your help!
Tony and the Sorensen family
Organizer and beneficiary
Tony DiCicco
Organizer
Woodstock, IL
Daniel Sorensen
Beneficiary