Please support Sharon & Chad through this setback
Donation protected
I am Sharon Bobek and this is my story.
I am requesting prayers, donations, and asking to please share this. I am a firm believer that God will provide and reward those who help others. I am usually that person. At the moment though, I am very sick and finally being put on a Pancreatic transplant list after 12 years of not getting the help I needed. If you don't know, it can take 13-30 years to receive one. Doctors are saying that my parents and my son are the only ones that would be a viable and valuable match. Both my parents are sick and older to where their pancreas wouldn't work for me. They both have diabetes. My mother is going through cancer herself and because of my health and lack of money, I can not get back to New Jersey to see her or help in her time of need. My father has Pancreatitis as well. My son, Jamison would be a good match but again, I am not a selfish person and can not take part of his for reasons being
#1 He is in the United States Army and they would discharge him to do something like this and then he would be a high health risk where they wouldn't let him back in. That would destroy his dreams and his future.
#2 If he gives me a piece of his Pancreas, doctors aren't offering a high percentage that it would help or work due to mine being so damaged for so long
#3 If I take his, I would be putting him in the same place I am today. It's like giving him a death sentence because its not "if he develops this; it's when" and I can't do that to my son. He's my whole world and the reason I keep fighting, keep praying, and keep asking God for me to live another day. He is too young to give up so much for what might not work.
So to explain what I am going through is a long story but in a summary:
I battled and beat Uterine cancer and had a full hysterectomy at a young age. I had breast cancer and beaten that. I had my gallbladder removed.
I had type 1 Diabetes since I was 21 yrs old. I am on the Omnipod insulin pump injecting 200 units of insulin a day but because my pancreas is so damaged and dead from the numerous tumors I have, it does not help. Now I am what they call a brittle diabetic. I was diagnosed with 13 tumors in 2011, now I have over 50 and 3 of them are in a very dangerous place; inside my Pancreatic Duct. They are called IPMNs which are precancerous. That means they can change at anytime and with Pancreatic Cancer being so aggressive and dangerous, a person can pass away within 4 months. By the power of God, mine have not turned to cancer yet, but they are growing in size and more show up every time I get a new scan. I also have Chronic Pancreatitis which is very painful, I can not absorb the food or nutrients I need to maintain weight. I went from 160 lbs down to 95 lbs in a few months. With that I lost muscle mass and usage of my legs. I can barely walk. I have diabetic neuropathy as well which makes it harder on me.
I should not be working at the moment according to my doctors, they keep telling me I need to focus on my health, my present and future. I can not do that if I do not have a roof over my head, heat, electricity, medications and food. I need a vehicle to get around, plus gas. I need phone service to make doctor appointments, let alone keep in touch with my son who is stationed at Fort Lewis Washington State. I miss him terribly, I can not bear to go one second without hearing his voice.
I am physically and mentally drained. I am asking for help. I never needed it before for the fact that I have always done it on my own since I was 17 years old. Chad is a retired firefighter and was placed on retirement disability and his pension is not enough to survive alone at the moment. He did not want to retire, his dream was always to be a firefighter. It was taken away from him too soon due to 9/11. I was the main source of income through out our 18 year relationship doing construction, and winter time gets very slow, so there is hardly any income to depend on.
I would like to go to Johns Hopkins for my health to be resolved. If I can provide enough proof to my insurance company that there is hope beyond drastic measures for me, my insurance will cover things. They are only allowing me to go to Doctors and Hospitals in Virginia right now and the only option they're saying is to do a Whipple procedure which is dissecting parts of my organs, and reconnecting them and in the end, they're only predicting a 3-year survival rate after that. So I'm not willing to take a chance on that, but what I am willing to take a chance on is to hope for, receive, and heal through other options. Again, there are so many hurdles and obstacles and one main reason is finances. I would have to pay out of pocket to get things rolling and that I do not have.
Every day is a battle. and I am trying to fight this battle. Those who are close to me know the strength I have, my dedication, and my determination. But yet I feel so weak and embarrassed to ask for help.
I thank you in advance.
God bless those who generously donated and to those who will.
Sharon
Organizer
Sharon Bobek
Organizer
Louisa, VA