Help a family with devastating medical bills

I am raising funds for our dear family friends who have been hit by an unimaginable string of medical and health challenges. I have asked Sam to tell his story in his own words below.

This family means the world to me and they have always been so willing to help whenever it was needed. If you can contribute something to help this family during such a difficult time it would be really appreciated. My goal is to raise $10,000 and any contribution will make a difference no matter how large or small.

From Sam...

Hello, I am Sam, and my lucky wife of 39 years is Carol. We both have life-threatening conditions: I have Heart Failure and myelodysplastic syndrome blood cancer (MDS). Carol has a tumor growing into the front of her brain (Glioblastoma). Our story of descending into Hope for a brighter future begins in September of 2019. Our middle problem child Craig (24) took his own life after seemingly overcoming drug addictions. This was a major blow to our perceptions of life. Our youngest son Alex (now 27) has been Type 1 diabetic since he was 10. We have had several close calls with Alex’s mortality, but he has thankfully survived to this day. We didn’t see Craig’s death coming.

Almost a year later I developed heart failure; by early 2021, my ejection fraction sank to 10% (50%+ is normal). Being the height of the COVID pandemic, the suspected cause was a virus/COVID. I suffered with the slowly improving condition while holding my IT career for 2 more years, then was let go in February of 2023 during the mass tech layoffs. As I was sick and older (60), I was a primary target for the mass layoffs/termination of IT jobs in 2023. I attempted to work a contract job for 2 months, but again was let go as the commercial real estate industry was crashing. After earning a Microsoft Cloud (Azure) certificate, I was diagnosed with blood cancer (MDS) by September 2023. I had the same symptoms as heart failure – trouble breathing, dizziness but, my eyesight was/is being affected (retinal hemorrhaging). I have basically had blood and platelet transfusions since September 2023 to this day. I am undergoing chemotherapy until a planned bone marrow transplant this year. Hopefully, I can get the transplant before my COBRA coverage ends in August this year. I have applied for disability; however, my current decision date is October of this year.

So by March 2024, Carol was unknowingly suffering the effects of a Glioblastoma brain tumor. We went for a walk to restart an exercise regimen to try and get some relief from my conditions. However, during a walk Carol tried to start running again (she had successfully completed ½ marathons prior to my MDS diagnosis) and fell flat on her face. During the emergency room check, they found a mass (tumor) in the front part of her brain during a routine scan of head and neck. As it turned out, we were lucky to do a walk and her subsequent fall. After another 2 emergency room visits due to her rapidly declining conditions (unable to stand up on her own and random pains), she was rushed into brain surgery on March 17th and 20th where half of the tumor was removed. However, half of the tumor remains in the short-term memory part of her front side brain. She spent 2 ½ weeks in ICU and is still in rehab, going on 3 weeks.

Our dear family friends (Stacey and Jeff Francis) volunteered to sponsor this GoFundMe, as we have not had any real income since July 2023. We do not have any chance to regain employment anytime soon. We both still have ongoing conditions and could have negative outcomes during our projected 1-year recovery estimates. Carol will have ongoing radiation and chemotherapy for her tumor, and my bone marrow transplant has an estimated 25% chance of success. We humbly are grateful for any help we can get to keep going and hope for the best.