Help Derek Fight
Help Derek, an 14 year old who was diagnosed with a brain tumor on November 6th, 2018 and his family by donating what you can.
Derek's diagnosis came one year to the month after his mother was diagnosed with breast cancer leading to double mastectomy.
Donations will help defray medical costs, travel costs to Mayo Clinic in Rochester Minnesota, caretaker, physical therapy, occupational therapy, copay, household bills and more.
The family found out on 10/20/21 that supplemental insurance will be cut off on 1/31/2022 due to South Dakota's refusal to expand Medicaid. This means that the family is responsible for $15,000 in co-pay every year. This is financially devastating to the family.
Insurance will no longer cover Derek's trips to Rochester to see his radiation oncologist so all trips to Mayo are 100% out of pocket for the family. Insurance decision was based on the fact that he is not receiving active Proton therapy and that "any radiation oncologist" can mark his progress now, there is no reason to travel to Mayo. They stopped paying a vital part of his care team.
Derek is a friend to everyone he meets. He loves his family, Lego, baseball, comic books, video games, bowling, golf and his dog Jeter. He is exceptionally smart and caring.
Derek underwent surgery to remove a tumor from the base of his skull Wednesday Nov. 7th 2018. The tumor was malignant. Derek has been diagnosed with Medulloblastoma. He completed 6 weeks of proton radiation therapy at Mayo Clinic of Rochester, Minnesota (4 hours from home) in January of 2019. Derek completed chemotherapy in December 2020 and now attends Physical Therapy to repair the damage done to his hands, fingers, ankles and feet from the chemotherapy. Derek will have MRI every 6 months moving forward and will need cognitive and psychological testing to track possible damage from the combination of proton radiation therapy and chemo.
Every January 1st the families insurance resets. So every little bit helps.
Help if you can. Share if you would.
#fightDerekfight