Debbie Bates

Hi everyone, this is Amanda, Debbie’s daughter. As you may have heard, my mom died on Thursday, July 27, 2023 after an almost 8 year journey living with cancer.

A few weeks prior to her death, she began experiencing serious health issues that her local hospital was unable to stabilize or manage. On June 26, 2023, my mom was flown via air ambulance from the hospital in Florida to her wonderful treating physician at MD Anderson in Texas. We are so thankful that she was able to get the care she needed at MD Anderson in order to safely return to Florida via a regular flight. We all thought that we had so much more time with her here on Earth, but that was not the case.

My mom, ever the planner, took care of her death plans months prior. But the air ambulance flight expense was entirely unexpected and cost almost $22,000.

In times like this, people are asking our family what we need help with. Friends, this bill is what we need help with. Anything to lessen the burden of this one bill is greatly appreciated.

All funds will be given to my dad, Tom Bates.

We are so thankful to those who have reached out and offered their love, support and generosity in the midst of our loss.