LETS BEAT PANCREATIC CANCER

My father is a Diabetic with a pre-existing Heart Condition and is now fighting Pancreatic Cancer. He has just finished four months of Chemo that did not shrink the tumor. Since the mass wraps around an artery, surgery is not possible at this time. Oncologists have now placed him on a combination of Chemo Pills and Radiation Treatments five days a week for six weeks at the Houston VA. 

My dad has been fighting a medical battle for at least half my life, and it has progressively gotten worse throughout the years. I started this GoFundMe to help make it to his current treatments (5 days a week). After it gained momentum, I realized I should have taken it more seriously. Being one-track-minded kept me from seeing how much it could genuinely help my father with medical bills, medication, and living in this economy.

He is too sick to work, and the Disability office has yet again failed another Veteran. At the time, there was no precise diagnosis for his issues. So many different things were wrong from the heart not pumping enough oxygen to the brain to chronic dizzy spells that force him to hold onto walls to navigate through the house.

I remember when my dad could beat us in a race from the car to the department store door with a wager in place. I see him now suffering on a recliner covered with tiger balm and burn marks on his back from a heating pad trying to ease the pain.

I think one of the worse parts is the fact that he was denied disability for things like being seen carrying groceries in for my elderly grandmother, who needs a walker even to move around. Or being seen not doing the work but instructing my brother under the hood of my mother's only form of transportation to and from work, what pays the bills and puts food in their mouths.

And now he has Pancreatic Cancer! Even with its seriousness, his appeals to the disability office have tapped out. Unavailable completely, not even a loophole for a Veteran. We also live too far but not far enough for transportation help through the VA. It appears as the pick-up service could care less about your actual appointment times. 

I could go on about all the things that’s make me wanna scream at the top of my lungs. I have seen so many injustices done to my family, and I’m such an optimistic person I remind myself every day that everyone suffers. But I’m so tired. I’m tired of holding back tears every time I see my dad look so sickly. I’m tired of a government that won’t give but the most minuscule help to someone who served in our military. I'm tired of feeling like we can’t fight for ourselves.

Finally, I’m tired of feeling like asking for help is a weakness because it’s not; it’s my strength to help my father. I love him, and I want him to live without constant pain in his life. And yes, selfishly, I want him here for me because I need him.