Retired firefighter needs help with medical costs

Never in my life did I think I would be reaching out to family, friends, and strangers for help. This is a very humbling experience as we have fallen so far behind, there is no light.

Here I am, asking for help. So that a man that has worked all his adult life, serving his community, and being a public servant, can keep his dignity, climb out of this hole and get back on his feet. So that we do not lose our medical and other insurance or our home. That our utilities are not shut off and our Service Dogs can be brought up to date on their vaccinations and medications. So that we can continue to get the medical help we both need to have some semblance of quality of life. So that we can breathe and focus on what needs to and can be done.

Your contribution will go toward bringing up-to-date utilities, mortgage, and insurance. Towards vaccinations, medications, and a good groom for our Service Dogs. Paying towards medical bills that have gone into collections to be able to negotiate a payment plan and those doctors that have been patient with medical payments, get caught up on. To clean the property so we are not fined, or worse, if a fire goes through, are not in danger of losing the house because there is no clearance. To give us room to breathe so we can focus on moving forward.

All he ever wanted to be was a firefighter.

From the time Ron became a cadet at 16, to being a volunteer when he turned 18, to serving his community when he was offered a paid firefighter position at 24, he stayed with the same engine company, ending his career as a Battalion Chief, thirty-nine and a half years later. For a total of 47 1/2 years, he was committed to the small mountain community he loves.

He wasn't just a firefighter. He made rank on the local Helitack (like a “Hotshot” but stays local) crew for the California Department of Forestry, which is now Cal-Fire. He worked seasonally for CDF before going to work for another fire company as a full-time employee. He was one of the founding members of the Search and Rescue Team for our county. He also started the Hug-A-Tree program in our area. When he was offered the position of a paid staff, full-time position as a firefighter, without hesitation he went to work in his community.

He started the Crisis Intervention Dog team in our area, bringing our trained Golden Retriever on calls to help mitigate family situations when there was a need. He and our dog traveled to Colorado to the Firefighters Memorial to bring comfort to grieving families. They also traveled to Arizona to the International Public Safety Association’s (IPSA) conference to bring understanding of how these creatures can help in times of crisis, to both families and other firefighters and emergency service workers. When not working, he and our dog would go to the local elementary school and read with the children. To this day, he is remembered by those that have stayed local and remember him and our dog helping them. Those children are adults now. He was also a foster parent for over eight years,

opening his home to children that needed one.

He loved to explore his mountains. Hiking and camping. Sharing his knowledge of the area with others. Teaching others about the fauna and flora and history.

It started when my husband filed a work-related injury claim. He could not walk without pain. He needed surgery on his foot, so while waiting on the decision from workman’s comp, he found a doctor that would do the surgery and paid for it out of pocket. Eventually, the decision came through, it was covered under workers comp. However, he could not safely go back to being a firefighter.

He was told by the company that there was no other position available to him, desk or otherwise and he would have to retire by a specific date or lose his pension he had acquired for thirty-nine and a half years. And so he retired in July of 2018. He was hoping to make it to 65 before retiring so he would be eligible for Medicare.

We had saved for retirement, and could easily get through a couple of years of medical insurance payments (more than one-third of his pension) before he would be eligible for Medicare. The house was almost paid off, we could do this!

Right before turning 65, he went to sign up for Medicare and was told he did not qualify. He knew he did not qualify for Social Security (no SS was an agreement between the Fire Department and CalPers) but Medicare was different. He could go on Medicare when I turned 65, which would not be for 8 years, but there would be penalties because he did not sign up when he was 65. This changed our situation more than we would know.

Going into the third year retired, we started feeling the loss in our savings. He ended up in the hospital with pneumonia where he was diagnosed with ventricular tachycardia. He never felt when it would happen, he still doesn’t. He has had two ablations. The first ablation was supposed to take only 3 hours, took over 8 and they still did not get deep enough to fix the problem so he had to have a second one. He still doesn’t feel when he has occurrences but is being monitored. The doctor told him he needed to be careful. If he was out hiking, he could have an episode and die. He had to stop.

The increasing medical bills, along with me going to emergency twice, insurance premiums going up, as well as everything else that has increased in price, from taxes to insurance to utilities to medical visits to medications started dwindling down those savings and cut right into the rainy day fund. We now have neither. Next month we will be in arrears so much that we are in danger of losing our medical, life, and auto insurance. Some medical bills have been sent to collections. Almost every credit card we have is behind in payments. Several are in collections. We are in danger of our utilities being shut off. We cannot negotiate new options until the past-due amounts are paid, so we pay for the higher options. Then you have late fees and service charges, increased finance charges (one card went from 6.99% to 39%!) that add to payments you are already having difficulty paying.

Our Service Dogs need their vaccinations, medications and to be groomed, and there is so much to mend on the property. The deck, which we had saved money to repair, is still broken and may not survive through another winter. There is also the yard, which needs to be cleaned before we get fined, and wood for the winter that needs to be bought.

We wanted to move, as living in a two-story house where the main living space is upstairs has become dangerous. Our credit has gone so far down in a hole, options are few with more costs involved.

It has taken a great deal of courage to write this request. To expose as much as we have in such a raw personal matter.

I want to thank you for reading through to the end. For considering making a contribution and if you cannot help, maybe share this so that others may be able to help. I promise to pay it forward when we can.

With our sincerest thanks.