Rob Collins Metastatic Melanoma Fund

Hi, I am creating this fund to help our son financially survive the cost of the his healthcare insurance out of pocket $9000.00 that he will be required to pay to beat this horrible cancer. Rob has had many healthcare challenges in his life. He has survived 6 open heart surgeries by the age of 18 due to a congenital heart defect. He collapsed on October 2, 2023 due to his pulmonary valve failing and has over $12,000 debt hanging over him from last year. He has set up payment plans for the ambulance ride, hospital, and cardiology bills that he still owes on. The cardiologist was amazed that the porcine (pig) pulmonary valve had lasted him 25 years. Fast forward -Rob called me asking why would his left arm pit be so swollen the first week January 2024. Unfortunately, the diagnosis took my breath away. Metastatic Melanoma. Head strong and determined to continue to fight for his life I flew to Minnesota to meet him at the Mayo Clinic.

Over the last 2-3 weeks Rob has relocated to Rochester Minnesota to be close to the Mayo Clinic where he will live this year while he has 3 months of neoadjuvant immunotherapy infusions before the surgery, surgery to remove any remaining cancer, and then postoperative adjuvant immunotherapy for 6 more months. The cardiologist at Mayo states his valve replacement will be in the future after he beats this cancer. He believes Rob is a survivor and will keep a close watch on his heart throughout this clinical trial for the melanoma.

Rob has always lived life to the fullest and rarely shares with others the hurdles he has jumped to remain alive and healthy. He has completed 26 marathons and hopes to complete all 50 states - he wanted to be able to complete them all by the age of 50, but now the goal is just to finish them in his lifetime. Rob hopes to become the most interesting guy in the room and is currently focusing on reading the top 100 books to read in your life before you die. He found Jane Eyre at Goodwill while shopping for items to set up his new studio apartment.

I know so many people in the USA that can not afford the healthcare they so desperately need. I believe the most current data shows 66% of all bankruptcies in the United States are due to medical costs. I am a mother, nurse, caretaker, and wife and can help him navigate the appointments and decipher the medical jargon, and have helped him financially relocate to be near Mayo Clinic in Rochester. I get tears in my eyes when I think of the professionalism and support we received from his oncologist, surgeon, dermatologist, and cardiologist. I feel so blessed that they see him as a bright young man that is a survivor. In the Mayo Building a wall reads: THE GREATEST ASSET OF A NATION IS THE HEALTH OF ITS PEOPLE -William J Mayo 1861-1939

I am asking friends and family to help him by reducing the stress about the medical bills piling up, and allow him to use his energy focusing on healing. If you can donate, no amount is too small. Thank you Chris and Josh for allowing Rob to work remotely - and praying for him and watching over him. Any funds that donated will be solely for any medical bills incurred. Should we receive more funds than are necessary - we will pay it forward and help others.