Help Nancy get Specialized Van & Medical Needs

Hi, my name is Marie Spina and this fundraiser is for two very close friends of mine, Keith and Nancy Wheeler.

We have known each other for over 30 years and are so close that we consider each other family. During this time I have watched Keith and Nancy help numerous people without hesitation in many, many ways and without question. Never once asking for anything in return, doing it because they just want to help. It’s just the kind of people they are. Good, kind hearted, loving and caring people, which are hard to find in this day and age.

Now they need our help. First let me give you a little history about Keith and Nancy. Nancy had cancer when she was younger and beat it. She had been cancer free for a long while. Keith on the other hand had some back issues due to an injury he had sustained while serving in the Marines during Vietnam. He had back surgery at that time and thought he was ok.

Well about 2 1/2 years ago things started to go south for Keith and Nancy. First Nancy's cancer started to rear it ugly head again. This time in the form of Intestinal Cancer. So more surgery and Chemo Therapy. Then Keith was having a very difficult time walking and was in severe pain. He went into the hospital for back surgery where they discovered that the original surgeons nicked his spine. Unfortunately, there is nothing they can do to help him. They told Keith that eventually he would end up in a wheel chair.

Meanwhile Nancy had seemed to recover from her cancer surgery and had a Colostomy Bag until she was healed. She then went in and had a reversal done and the bag was removed. She seemed fine after that.

Just when we all thought things where getting back to normal, Keith was diagnosed with Bladder Cancer, related to Agent Orange! So he underwent surgery to remove that. He had to undergo a 2nd surgery 2 months later because the cancer returned. As of today, June 16 he just told me that he has to have a 3rd surgery on June 29th because the cancer is back again, and then Keith will be going for Chemo.

So getting back to Nancy. Towards the middle part of last year Nancy started having some severe pain whenever she would eat. Specifically, digesting her food, she would get very sick and she was in and out of the hospital constantly. It seemed like it was a never ending cycle, never stopping! Then in November her right lower leg started to bother her also and Keith kept taking her to the ER. At the hospital they would put her on a liquid diet and do an ultrasound on her right leg. The ultrasound was negative. This went on several times. Every 2 days Keith was rushing Nancy back to the hospital and the hospital would keep Nancy for 2 to 3 days, run tests, put her on a liquid diet, do an ultrasound on her right leg tell her she'll be fine, that it would all clear up when she went back on her chemo treatment and then send her home. She would be back again 2 to 3 days later with the same two problems again. They finally discovered that she had blood clots in her right leg and they had to amputate it. It was our worst nightmare coming true. But Nancy being the most positive and upbeat person I know, came around and pressed on and got through it determined to overcome. You see her goal was to be able to get a prosthetic leg so she could dance with her son Jason at his wedding in October. I told her that when she was ready that we would go shopping for her Mother of Groom gown and we were both excited.

So Nancy was doing her rehab and learning how to use her new leg and then the pain started again in her intestines. So Nancy ended up back in the hospital and somewhere around this time she had cut her big toe, not bad but the cut just wouldn't seem to heal for some reason and it had been quite a few weeks. Meanwhile they kept putting Nancy on this liquid diet to clear her intestines and then sending her home. Now, during one of her short stays in the hospital they addressed her toe and why it wouldn't heal and they did this by putting a stent in her left lower leg/ankle/foot area to help with circulation.

We are now into May of this year and Nancy has been in and out of the hospital more then she has been home. Its a miracle that neither Keith nor Nancy haven't contracted Covid 19. One evening I was home with my husband and my phone rang and it was Keith. When I answered it I jokingly said to him "Don't tell me your taking Nancy to the hospital" and his panicked response was "I just called 911 Nancy's being taken to the ER she's doubled over in pain!" I told him to call me as soon as he knew what was going on. He called me later and told me that they were taking her to Lehigh Valley Medical Center Hazelton instead of Geisinger's and he would keep me posted.

Lehigh Valley started working on Nancy immediately to find out what was causing all her pain in her intestines and found out that she had a buildup of scar tissue that was causing the blockage in her intestine. So they immediately did surgery to remove the scar tissue and correct that problem. They also found that Nancy's left lower leg had moderate blood flow so they immediately put her on blood thinners and were monitoring that and it became an issue. So the decision was made to move her to Lehigh Valley Medical Center in Allentown where they had a Vascular Team waiting for her. When Nancy arrived there she was monitored over night and the next day the decision was made to unfortunately amputate her left leg.

So at a vibrant 67 years young, our Nancy has now become a double amputee, through no fault of her own. My only goal for starting this campaign is to help Keith and Nancy raise enough money to make the modifications to their home and to get a Van that will help transport Nancy and Keith to where ever they need to go. Unfortunately, Nancy will be in a wheelchair or scooter for the majority of the time, so the van will make it much easier for them. Keith is unable to lift Nancy so this is a necessity.

Any donation that anyone can make will be greatly appreciated. I know its a very large goal but, its a very big expense and every little bit helps. God will bless you 20 times over for helping those who really need your help.

Thanking you in advance for your generosity on behalf of the Wheeler's.

Marie A. Spina