Support for Rhett Hines & Family

Dear Penn Wrestling & and ATO Communities,

Rhett Hines, the brother of former Penn Wrestler and Assistant Coach Rich Hines (CAS '95, G'97), is battling terminal brain cancer (Glioblastoma). Please consider donating to support Rhett, his wife Kate, and their two teenage sons, Finn & Will. This message is being sent to the Penn Wrestling community on Rhett and Kate's behalf with their full knowledge and support (given the sensitive information it contains) and gratitude.

The specific goals of the funds are:

1) Allow Kate to take a leave of absence from work (unpaid) to support and care for Rhett.

2) Maintain the family's health insurance (through Kate's work) while she is on leave.

3) Pay for at-home assistance for Rhett to give Kate and their sons some respite and optimize their time together as a family.

4) Maintain the option of Rhett participating in a clinical trial. If this happens, it will likely be in Boston and will be logistically and financially intensive.

Glioblastoma is a very aggressive brain cancer with limited effective treatment options. The average survival with treatment (surgery, chemo, and radiation) is about 15 months. Five and ten-year survival rates are about 7% and less than 1%, respectively.

Rhett was diagnosed with glioblastoma in August of 2021. After two surgeries and multiple rounds of chemotherapy and radiation, he has now largely exhausted treatment options offering a chance of a full recovery or significant prolongation of life. Bottom line, the odds are that after over a year of fighting this disease, the most challenging months lie just ahead.

Complicating the situation is the fact that Kate has already exhausted all of her time off (Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA), Vacation, and Sick days) as Rhett's care needs become more extensive and time is becoming shorter and more precious. Her job is critical to the family as a source of income but primarily for health insurance.

Kate, an occupational therapist, is currently working full time (40hrs/wk) to maintain income and benefits. The goal with her employer is to negotiate a leave of absence. This would be unpaid and require her to cover the total cost of the health insurance. An intermediate option is part-time with a decrease in pay and a (lesser) increase in health insurance costs. The funds raised here will go to covering health insurance costs and offsetting the loss in income.

The remainder of the funds will be used to provide at-home care assistance to give Kate and the family some respite from caregiving duties and allow them to focus entirely on quality time as a family. Unfortunately, most health insurance programs do not cover at-home care assistance unless a patient is on hospice care, which means that the goals of care have changed from finding a curative treatment to focusing on a comfortable and dignified death. While Rhett's situation is dire, hospice is not the plan at this stage.

Lastly, there remains a possibility of Rhett being enrolled in a clinical trial, which could potentially alter the course of his disease in a positive and meaningful way. There are a number of variables at play, but if this happens, it will likely be in Boston. If Rhett is ultimately eligible for the trial and decides to enroll, it will be a big lift both financially and logistically. Funds raised here would significantly ameliorate those financial and logistical challenges.

Thank you for your consideration and generosity. We appreciate that some of you may have given to a previous GoFundMe on Rhett's and Kate's behalf. It is not easy to ask for support, but please know that it means the world to the Hines family.

In Gratitude-

Friends of the Hines Family