Brian and Gloria's Medical Expenses

We are raising money to cover medical expenses for my parents Brian and Gloria Tinago who both live in Harare, Zimbabwe. Last year on November 25th, 2020 my mother Gloria was admitted to Avenues Hospital in Harare with severe abdominal pain and subsequent chest pains. She spent over two weeks in the hospital – one and a half weeks of them in the ICU. The doctors suspected a pulmonary embolism which resulted in several other serious health issues. At the same time, my dad Brian was unwell and he saw several specialists. He was diagnosed with stage 4 gastric cancer the day before Christmas. My mother is now recovering at home. She is on blood thinners and thankfully she can breathe on her own. My Dad continues to be in the fight of his life. The health care system in Zimbabwe is expensive and it’s set up in a way that you cannot receive any treatment or consultation (from either public or private health facilities or providers) without first making cash only payments in mostly US dollars, even for emergency cases. This makes it challenging to manage care and to cover the medical expenses. Health insurance is not always accepted by providers and health facilities, and even when it is accepted, it often will not cover most of the costs. Targeted therapy and immunotherapy were recommended as the best options for shrinking my Dad’s tumors. Unfortunately, test results showed that Dad was not a candidate for the targeted therapy. He was recently approved for immunotherapy which is his best chance of shrinking the tumors, but it is expensive. Each three-week cycle of treatment is US$6560 and he needs six total cycles. The insurance company has agreed to pay for US$1968 for each cycle which leaves an out of pocket cost of US$4592 for each cycle of treatment (US$27,552 total). We had a family health fund to prepare for emergency situations and we have since exhausted those funds due to both our parent’s medical bills over the past two months. My Dad wants to fight this cancer. My sisters and I are supporting him and my mother in every way we can. It’s a challenging time for everyone due to this pandemic and it’s taken a lot to ask for assistance because each of us is dealing with our own concerns. My parents have supported me and my sisters through everything and they have also helped others throughout their lives. I want to thank you in advance for your support whether it’s through prayers, thoughts, or donations. My parents don’t know that I have set up this fundraiser, but I’m certain their hearts will be full knowing there are people supporting them and thinking of them. We continue to have hope that we can get through this and we continue to be thankful for each day. Thank you again in advance!