Bailey Cancer Crisis
Donation protected
It's been almost 2 years since Robert's health issues began. 12 months ago we started traveling to Cleveland clinic for weeks at a time seeking answers. Over a year ago we flew to MD Anderson for a consultation and we were told we couldn't go home or he would die. He had a grapefruit sized tumor taking over his body. He finally got a diagnosis, but not the one we were hoping for... inoperable Stage 4 Urothelial cancer. A year ago we moved into our camper in Houston, where we lived for 4 months. 10 months ago, Robert's job cut his pay by 70% because of his "decreased abilities" due to his cancer treatments and time spent in the hospital. 10 months ago, we got our last paycheck.
After 4 rounds of hard core chemo and week-long hospital stays, Robert was too sick to continue working. Living in the camper became too hard as he continued to get sicker, and we decided to come back home to continue his treatment locally. We moved back home and he applied for disability. We finally got an approval. Finally! After a year of scraping by, never-ending medical bills and copays, travel expenses, simultaneously paying for our house and RV campsite, there was a light at the end of the tunnel. Disability wouldn't cover all of our bills, but it would allow us to make the little bit of retirement money that we had left last us a while and give us some time to breathe. Some time to focus on Robert's health and not stress 24/7. We thought we had made it.
We were wrong.
And here I am, helpless again, spending all of my time and effort to take care of him and our toddler, unable to do anything to help. I had ramped my design business back up, then this pandemic reared its ugly head and no one wants design work. No one is advertising. I had planned to start nannying and pet sitting when Robert's immune system bounced back after chemo, hoping to at least help cover some of our bills. Thanks to this virus I can't even grocery shop for our family in fear of bringing the virus home to my immunocompromised husband, let alone watch someone else's kids or animals for money.
The cancer has taken a huge toll on Robert physically, mentally and emotionally. Getting up and out of bed is a huge task for him some days. The doctors have given him single digit months of time left. The added financial stress that has come with his cancer diagnosis is too heavy a burden for him to carry. So here we are.
Our retirement money is gone and all of our savings. We struggle month to month to make our bills and pay for medical treatments. We're putting groceries on what credit cards we have left. We're ignoring the pile of medical bills. We've deferred all of the bills that we can, but we're still falling short.
Any little bit helps. God willing, Robert will beat this and a year from now we will be in the position to pay it forward, but that is a long shot as the cancer has recently spread to his lungs and liver.
Thanks for listening, for caring, for wishing and praying, for loving our family through this last year. Hopefully we're almost to the finish line. We can only take so much more.
After 4 rounds of hard core chemo and week-long hospital stays, Robert was too sick to continue working. Living in the camper became too hard as he continued to get sicker, and we decided to come back home to continue his treatment locally. We moved back home and he applied for disability. We finally got an approval. Finally! After a year of scraping by, never-ending medical bills and copays, travel expenses, simultaneously paying for our house and RV campsite, there was a light at the end of the tunnel. Disability wouldn't cover all of our bills, but it would allow us to make the little bit of retirement money that we had left last us a while and give us some time to breathe. Some time to focus on Robert's health and not stress 24/7. We thought we had made it.
We were wrong.
And here I am, helpless again, spending all of my time and effort to take care of him and our toddler, unable to do anything to help. I had ramped my design business back up, then this pandemic reared its ugly head and no one wants design work. No one is advertising. I had planned to start nannying and pet sitting when Robert's immune system bounced back after chemo, hoping to at least help cover some of our bills. Thanks to this virus I can't even grocery shop for our family in fear of bringing the virus home to my immunocompromised husband, let alone watch someone else's kids or animals for money.
The cancer has taken a huge toll on Robert physically, mentally and emotionally. Getting up and out of bed is a huge task for him some days. The doctors have given him single digit months of time left. The added financial stress that has come with his cancer diagnosis is too heavy a burden for him to carry. So here we are.
Our retirement money is gone and all of our savings. We struggle month to month to make our bills and pay for medical treatments. We're putting groceries on what credit cards we have left. We're ignoring the pile of medical bills. We've deferred all of the bills that we can, but we're still falling short.
Any little bit helps. God willing, Robert will beat this and a year from now we will be in the position to pay it forward, but that is a long shot as the cancer has recently spread to his lungs and liver.
Thanks for listening, for caring, for wishing and praying, for loving our family through this last year. Hopefully we're almost to the finish line. We can only take so much more.
Organizer
Robert Bailey
Organizer
Hendersonville, TN