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Ted's Cancer Treatment Fund

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I’m going to be as short as I possibly can and right to the point.

My parents have had a really rough few years. They owned a small delicatessen and catering business in Philadelphia for nearly 9 years. That may sound grand; however, I can tell you it never really took off.

My father quit his job, took out a second mortgage, and with my mother, pursued their dreams of owning and operating a deli and catering business. Since they opened, it’s always been able to keep the lights on both at store and at home, but around six months ago, my mother and I had to find second jobs. My mother and father worked, open till close, every single day since the store opened and haven’t had a vacation since the summer prior to opening in 2006.

I've been at home on the two separate occasions when the energy company came to shut off our electricity, and the gas company to shut off our gas. My father, too ashamed to really tell me that the business was failing to make ends meet, finally admitted that things weren’t going too well;

He had emptied any savings and retirement money he had and put it into the deli.

He owed four months back rent to the landlord, and close to $30,000 in other various debts. 

On top of that, my sister and I had to scrap up money to pay the missed mortgage payments at home to avoid foreclosure.

In January, my father, now 75 years old, started going in and out of the hospital for various urinary troubles, and, after several ER visits and a few weeks in the hospital, he was diagnosed with Stage 2 cancer of the bladder, as well as 7 or 8 partial blockages around his heart.

My mother worked every day, open till close, at the deli by herself with her one other employee for two weeks before my father finally decided to throw in the towel and file for bankruptcy -- which is going to cost $2,800 in lawyer's fees before officially being able to file.

Luckily, the landlord has yet to evict us, though they aren’t operating anymore; however, he may still attempt to collect the money from my parents they don’t have, and he even threatened to put a lien on our house.

James Theodore "Ted" Killen, has worked since he was 12 years old; from newspaper delivery boy, to sailing on oil tankers for Sun Oil Co., and leading a team of ROTC recruiters during the U.S. Army’s “Be All You Can Be” campaign. He’s seen so much through his work, and has nothing in his late age to enjoy any of his retirement. 

It hurts deeply to hear your father say that he’ll never be able to enjoy his “retirement,” and admit guilt and shame for not being able to help me purchase my first car, or be able to co-sign my final student loan to travel to Los Angeles for a summer internship program to pursue my dreams.

I am starting this Go Fund Me on his behalf, and, being someone that has a hard time openly ask for others’ hard-earned money, I’m only asking for a little to help alleviate the medical costs of his radiation and chemotherapy. His chemo (once a week) will cost $90 out-of-pocket, and the radiation will be $60 every day (5 days a week) for the 6 and 1/2 weeks of his treatment.  We’ll figure the rest out, I know it.

I wish I could do more for him myself, since he's done so much for me. I know that, given the opportunity to pursue my dreams through my internship in the summer, I can take the necessary steps to finally helping my father enjoy his retirement; though a long shot – I at least owe him the effort.
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Donations 

  • Anonymous
    • $50 
    • 9 yrs
  • Anonymous
    • $20 (Offline)
    • 9 yrs
  • Outback Steakhouse Fundraiser
    • $500 (Offline)
    • 9 yrs
  • T-Shirt Fundraiser
    • $1,357 (Offline)
    • 9 yrs
  • Kathleen Francis
    • $100 (Offline)
    • 9 yrs
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Organizer

Chris Killen
Organizer
Philadelphia, PA

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