Help for the Cummings Family

Eric Cummings went to be with Jesus after a long fought battle on 5/9/21. We got to see God give him a miracle and the gift of new lungs and have more time with those that loved him. He leaves behind a wife and daughter, and now this GoFundMe is for them. Unfortunately, there was no life insurance. We are fundraising to cover the costs of the Celebration of Life, cremation, and to give Cyndi some room to breathe. It's been a long journey from initial diagnosis of IPF to transplant, to a long battle with infection. She is beyond exhausted and just needs time to focus on healing for herself and her daughter.  They are so thankful for all the help that has gotten them to this moment, and just need a bit more to get them through this part of the journey. 

Rereading Cyndi's words below - "We continue to trust our Lord Jesus Christ each day for our every need. We have never been on a journey like this one before but we continue to know that He loves us, He will never leave us or forsake us and we will find the courage through Him to embrace the unknown in the days ahead. " I see how they have trusted him so completely through this and been such an amazing testimony to all of us. 


Dear family & dear friends,

It has been almost 3 months since Eric and our family received the life altering diagnosis that Eric has Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis (IPF). I would like to say that we are learning and adapting to our “new normal” with Eric’s health but it really is a day to day evaluation of what Eric is dealing with in regard to fatigue, coughing jags and his oxygen levels. He can have a decent day where he pushes through to take Casey to school, do daily errands and meet with a friend, family member or our pastor for coffee/lunch for encouragement and then he is down for the count for the next day where he needs to sleep a significant portion of the day. He is now taking Esbriet which is one of two FDA approved drugs. We are fortunate he can take this drug but the side effects so far are that his fatigue has exponentially grown. The rate of Eric’s lungs being able to transfer gases from inhaled air (O2) to the red blood cells through the alveoli sacs is at 40%. 80% + is considered normal. Once Eric decreases to 30% the doctors will begin moving Eric through the qualification process for a lung transplant.

 I share all this to let you know what Eric’s body is going through and because of this his inability to work. And believe me, he so wants to be working. We are in the process of applying for disability insurance. IPF is a disease on the Compassionate Allowance list so he should automatically qualify for benefits but it is a long process to complete and we have been told it can be a difficult road to be approved. Once he is approved for these benefits financially we should be in better shape but we are now at a point where next month fully paying our bills is going to be a challenge not to mention needing to pay for expenses that go along with our visit to Eric’s mother in June to Kansas which is a super important visit for our family to take. I am so thankful for the job I have with Tigard-Tualatin School District and our medical insurance for Eric has been a lifesaver. There are so many things we are so grateful for in the meals that have been provided for us (and funny how timely they have been on really tough days), friends who have supported us in really practical ways, and the God moments through people who are caring, encouraging and providing for us. This is such a humbling time for our family where we are needing financial assistance to help bridge the gap until we can get on better footing with the disability insurance. We continue to trust our Lord Jesus Christ each day for our every need. We have never been on a journey like this one before but we continue to know that He loves us, He will never leave us or forsake us and we will find the courage through Him to embrace the unknown in the days ahead.  

~Cyndi
 
Mealtrain - https://mealtrain.com/825o54