Ray's Medical Expenses
Donation protected
My husband, Ray, and I live in a small quiet town in Alabama. We adopted 3 of our grandchildren ages 4, 9 and 11, that needed a good, safe and stable home. We have a mentally challenged adult daughter who lives with us, 3 adult children, (1 in North Carolina, 1 in Virginia and 1 in Texas) and 12 grandchildren. We have both had to retire early due to physical disabilities. We are active in our church and community, helping where we can.
Ray was diagnosed with leukemia in March of 2011. He takes a specialty medication called Sprycel for his leukemia, which is a very expensive, over $10,000 a month. In November of 2013 we learned that his body wasn't producing the IgG antibodies due to the leukemia. He has to go and have an IgG infusion once a month, which is also very expensive. He was able to work until June of 2014 when he had neck surgery and he was unable to return. He has had a total of 22 surgeries in his life. Some of which were removal of a kidney due to kidney cancer, removal of a section of his Sigmoid Colon due to ischemic colitis, multiple back and neck disc surgeries, to name a few. He now has a pain pump to help control his chronic neck, shoulder and arm pain. The pain pump has to be refilled about every 6 weeks or less, depending on the amount he has to use. He is disabled and unable to work after serving over 40 years in law enforcement.
He was awarded disability this year and has to go on Medicare in November. The cost of his Sprycel puts him into a catastrophic category for drug cost with the first order. This means with the drug cost of about $32,000 for a 3 month supply we will be responsible for about $10,562 for the first order, and then 5% of the cost there after, (which is over $500 a month), as according to an AARP representative. He will have to pay this in November of this year and then again the first of next year. Then this will repeat the first of each year, calculated by the cost of the medication and the insurance guide lines. He has to have this medicine to live, without it his leukemia would mutate and there would be no way to treat it.
Being on a fixed income with a tight budget, we do not have the money to pay for this life-saving medication. We do not have the money for the initial payment, nor do we have the money needed for the copayments. We have been fairly independent until now. He will have to take this medication for the rest of his life. Plus he has 9 other medications that he takes in which we do not know the cost of at this time. There is not a way to calculate our cost of these medications for the years to come. So I want to raise enough to cover the cost of this medicine for the rest of this year and next year.
I do not want to lose my husband. Our precious young children, who already have been through enough, and our mentally challenged daughter need him in their life. They need their dad. He will be terribly missed by our older children and our grandchildren. He is a wonderful father, husband and friend. He has spent most of his life serving others and now he needs your help. Please, your help will assist in keeping him alive which will be greatly appreciated by me, his family and friends. Thank you in advance for your consideration in this urgent matter.
Ray was diagnosed with leukemia in March of 2011. He takes a specialty medication called Sprycel for his leukemia, which is a very expensive, over $10,000 a month. In November of 2013 we learned that his body wasn't producing the IgG antibodies due to the leukemia. He has to go and have an IgG infusion once a month, which is also very expensive. He was able to work until June of 2014 when he had neck surgery and he was unable to return. He has had a total of 22 surgeries in his life. Some of which were removal of a kidney due to kidney cancer, removal of a section of his Sigmoid Colon due to ischemic colitis, multiple back and neck disc surgeries, to name a few. He now has a pain pump to help control his chronic neck, shoulder and arm pain. The pain pump has to be refilled about every 6 weeks or less, depending on the amount he has to use. He is disabled and unable to work after serving over 40 years in law enforcement.
He was awarded disability this year and has to go on Medicare in November. The cost of his Sprycel puts him into a catastrophic category for drug cost with the first order. This means with the drug cost of about $32,000 for a 3 month supply we will be responsible for about $10,562 for the first order, and then 5% of the cost there after, (which is over $500 a month), as according to an AARP representative. He will have to pay this in November of this year and then again the first of next year. Then this will repeat the first of each year, calculated by the cost of the medication and the insurance guide lines. He has to have this medicine to live, without it his leukemia would mutate and there would be no way to treat it.
Being on a fixed income with a tight budget, we do not have the money to pay for this life-saving medication. We do not have the money for the initial payment, nor do we have the money needed for the copayments. We have been fairly independent until now. He will have to take this medication for the rest of his life. Plus he has 9 other medications that he takes in which we do not know the cost of at this time. There is not a way to calculate our cost of these medications for the years to come. So I want to raise enough to cover the cost of this medicine for the rest of this year and next year.
I do not want to lose my husband. Our precious young children, who already have been through enough, and our mentally challenged daughter need him in their life. They need their dad. He will be terribly missed by our older children and our grandchildren. He is a wonderful father, husband and friend. He has spent most of his life serving others and now he needs your help. Please, your help will assist in keeping him alive which will be greatly appreciated by me, his family and friends. Thank you in advance for your consideration in this urgent matter.
Organizer and beneficiary
Pamela Disbrow Baxley
Organizer
Blountsville, AL
C. Ray Baxley
Beneficiary
