Nicole & Emily's College Fund

Thank you for visiting. Please read through; it looks lengthy but is a quick read

My name is Otto Ladensack. I am a devoted father and husband. My daughters were born in 1999 and 2001. I used to play with my girls every day. We played outside daily and I was proud that I made my girls smile all the time. They relied on me. They were used to dad pulling them in their wagon, building snowm.en, riding bikes, and taking pictures they could cherish in later years.

Then in 2004 I developed ulcerative colitis. It was an aggressive case. We tried steroids throughout the first year but every time I was taken off them I went back to being too sick to get out of bed. My doctor reached the conclusion that if I did not remove my entire colon, I was likely to develop cancer. 

I survived but ended up disabled. I had my colon removed and had to wear an ileostomy bag for half a year. After my insides healed there was another surgery to restore my internal “plumbing”. This would be the beginning of a long road of gradual improvement. I was on as many as 16 medications. We had decent insurance but the copays alone were bankrupting us. 

I lost a lot and at just 36 years of age. I had become disabled and was bedridden for a year. 

What bothers me most though is looking at old pictures of my daughters. We were so joyful and they relied on me because they knew they could. Then the pictures stopped; our outdoor fun had to be shelved for a later time; and my girls, Em and Nikki saw me deteriorate in so many ways.

My daughters’ classmates knew about our situation and my children talked about my extended hospital stays. Unfortunately my little girls were told by their classmates that I was dying and that they weren’t being told the truth. My oldest was 6 years old and was terrified.

My wife tried to get them in to visit me, so they could be reassured that I was okay, but was often told by staff that children weren’t allowed. Now Nikki is 16 and she is still affected by my poor health. She learned that I might not always be there, at too young an age.

Em, my younger daughter, ended up staying back a year and still has some learning difficulties. This is largely because I wasn’t able to help Emily with her work and often couldn’t care for her as attentively as I should have.

All I can do now is make their futures better where I can. We’ve managed to climb out of the huge debt my disease created but were forced to use up their college fund.

I hope to fix that. I can’t undo the past but I can try to provide them with a successful and happy future. My girls work hard in school. They take pride in making the honor roll on a continual basis.

My girls are 14 and 16 now and I hope to raise at least enough money to cover each of my daughter’s first year's tuition. I conservatively estimate this will cost us $20,000.

It is sad that their lives were turned upside down at such a vulnerable age. I can’t change that but am willing to humble myself to improve their lives now and in the future.

Any funds that go beyond our goal will be donated to the Durham Rescue Mission. Thank you.