Rich “Kuzzy” Kuzmitch fire & battle with cancer

Hi my name is Stephanie (Kuzmitch) Scofield and I am creating this fundraiser on behalf of my father Richard Kuzmitch. As a life long Pepperell resident many of you know him as Kuzzy. My dad is strong independent person who at nearly 70 lived alone and took care of himself for the most part. For those that know him, know that he would do anything for anyone and help anyone who needed it. He has always been an avid outdoor enthusiast, snowmobiles, hunter and fisher and loves the oceans. On Easter we got the call on from his neighbor that his house was on fire. Luckily he and his two kittens made it out alive however, the house and contents were a total loss. He suffered smoke inhalation and several burns but the burns have healed. He refused treatment at the scene and for the next several weeks as we began clean up efforts however his coughing and health began to decline. We attributed this to the fire, the shock of it, the smoke inhalation etc.. to lift his spirits several of his brothers and close friends took him on a fishing trip where another unfortunate event occurred, he fell in the boat sustaining a broken vertebrae, several fractured ribs and sustained internal injuries. In my typical tough as nails dad fashion, who doesn’t go to the doctor, didn't. So for the next five weeks he slowly started to decline, energy, weight, ability to eat, and he was no longer able to work on cleaning up from the fire or tending the small garden he made at my house. Finally after weeks of begging and pleading with him to see a doctor he did. This is when the worst of the nightmare began. During the CatScan they discovered a massive inoperable tumor in his lungs. He was diagnosed with stage four lung cancer that had metastasized to his liver, lymph nodes and brain along with diabetes. He has begun both radiation and chemotherapy and as you can imagine being retired and on Medicare the cost of his treatments and life saving medication costs are growing by the minute. Since the fire he has moved in with my family and we are doing everything we can to help him during this difficult time. He has the basics covered such as clothing and food and we are slowly trying to replace all his vital records and documents (which has not been an easy process). He is a humble person who will not ask anyone for help, but I am asking if there is anything that anyone can contribute to assist in the cost of his medical expenses and clean up efforts from the fire no amount or donation of any sort is to small and is greatly appreciated. The next several weeks he has a multitude of radiation and chemo appointments and a large amount of the life saving prescriptions and treatments are only minimally covered by Medicare. We have replaced all his basic necessities such as living with us, clothing, bedding and care. At this time he needs assistance with coving his ever growing medical expenses. Please share, share , share and if there is anything at all you are able to help with just know that it is greatly appreciated.

Thank you for taking the time to read this post and share it and for your consideration and or any donation you are able to make.

thank you so much

Stephanie