Frank’s Fight

Hi my name is Liza Lake and just wanted to tell you a little bit of what has been going on in my family’s life since November. In October of 2022, my grandmother had fallen and had to go to the hospital and have a hip replacement. From the hospital she went to rehab and from there it was a constant cycle of going back and forth between hospital and rehab due to her injury and other medical issues. In November, the doctors made the decision that my grandmother was not physically capable of living in her own. My parents decided that the best decision was to bring her to my house and so they built a room for her in my house. Due to that there were a lot of extra costs.

In the meantime, my dad had lost all feeling and movement in his arm and since September had thought that it was a really bad pinched nerve or slipped disc in his neck. In December, after a few months of seeing a chiropractor, he went for an MRI. What the MRI showed was something none of us were expecting. The results showed that my dad had a 7 inch tumor on the back of his lungs that was pushing on many nerves in his neck as well as wrapped around an artery. This is when my dad was diagnosed with a Pancoast Tumor which is a form of Lung Cancer.

Since my dad is unable to use his arm and hand, he had no choice but to take time off from work and go through treatment. Not knowing how long this journey would be my dad went on disability. There were many appointments before my dad was able to start treatment. While waiting to go through treatment both my mom and dad worked tirelessly to take care of my grandmother to make sure she was well taken care of.

Those of you who know my dad know that he will do anything for the people that he loves and even most time just do things for people to help them. He is a very caring and giving man who never asks for anything in return for anything that he does. He is extremely hardworking and before he got diagnosed he was constantly working or helping others fix their cars or anything that he could help with.

My dad finally started treatment in January, going through both chemotherapy and radiation everyday for 7 weeks. The day after he started treatment, my mother and I found my grandmother in her room and found that she had passed away. Since then there have been even more costs to cover the funeral as well as other medical bills that she had. My grandmother owned a house in New Hampshire and learned shortly after she passed that a pipe burst in her house that caused about 3” of water to build up in the basement and on the main floor. This has caused a lot of damage in the house that is now more of a cost.

My parents never ask for anything from anyone and especially money. Since it has seemed like one thing after the other happening since October, I have just seen my parents take hit after hit with everything going on. With my dad’s medical bills, bills from my grandmothers’s house, the cost of house damage, and just our family’s everyday bills, the costs are just adding up. They are at a point now where they are not sure what is going to happen next and are worried that our own bill payments will be at risk. Even now, both my parents refuse to ask for help with anything despite knowing that they are terrified that everything we have is at risk.

I myself don’t ask for much but I am really not sure what to do or where to go. So, I felt that this was my only option. My brother and sister and I all work and are helping as much as we can but it just seems like things are piling up.

That being said, please do not feel obligated to contribute but know that anything will help and will be much appreciated. Thank you for reading this if you are able to contribute, thank you. I know it will mean the world to my parents especially.