Bethany’s Medical Expenses

***UPDATE*** (June 2023) As most of you know, Beth has been fighting a very aggressive cancer since 2019 and she has fought bravely. Earlier this week, we received some hard news. Beth’s cancer is no longer treatable. We have been in the hospital at MD Anderson in Houston for over a week now and should be discharged home to hospice in Ohio tomorrow (6/18). Given all of the circumstances ranging from illness to facing this hard news, Beth is doing much better since we’ve been admitted a week ago. She is ready to be out of the hospital and at home. From the bottom of Beth and I’s hearts we want to thank each one of you who has sent us cards, texts, calls, financial support, visits and the like. We could not have made it this far alone. If you would like to help us, our biggest need is finances. The only way the doctors felt comfortable discharging Beth to such a far distance was via an air ambulance. These are not covered under insurance and our trip home will cost about $30,000. But it is worth every penny for Beth to be able to spend her remaining time, however long that is, around her loved ones. Again, thank you all so much in walking this journey with us. We have never, for once, felt alone.-Mike***UPDATE*** (April 2023) Thank you all for your continued support of us. If you’ve landed on this page, you’ve probably heard the news that Beth’s cancer has spread to her right arm. After 8 rounds of radiation treatment, she is having surgery to remove the tumor and stabilize her bone. The tumor, essentially, broke it. This will not “cure” the area, the goal of surgery is to give her the ability to walk again and buy time. The tumor will grow back. After the recovery from this surgery, we will be switching hospitals and moving to Houston, TX. MD Anderson is the #1 cancer hospital in the US and offers some incredible clinical trials. We are very fortunate to have family that lives in the area and will be housing us during this time. We have realized that the only way for Beth to beat this thing is to find a treatment that actually works. It has been proven time over time that surgical intervention does not do away with it. We’ve tried every standard treatment in the book and haven’t had any luck. However, we are hoping that the specific clinical trial that she is eligible for in Houston will be just what we need. This clinical trial will require a 3 week stay in the hospital. They will take some of her blood and biopsy her tumor. Then, they will work some magic in a lab to attempt to train her T cells (immune system) to recognize the tumor as something it should be fighting/killing. After 4 weeks in the lab, we’ll go to the hospital for 3 weeks to have the newly “trained” blood put back into her body and hopefully those T cells will influence her other T cells to put on a full out attack on her cancer. This whole process, once recovered from surgery will take about 2 months. I have left my job to be as supportive to Beth as I can be and do not plan on working full time again until we’re in a stable place. You all came through for us big time last year and having the financial support to pay off medical debt lowered our stress levels so much. So if you’re able, any donations you can provide will help us with our cost of living over the next year or two. Mike ————-————————— (March 2022) Hi all, As many of you know, Beth will be having a major surgical procedure performed on March 11th. A little bit of history… In 2019, Beth was diagnosed with Metastatic Melanoma in her left hip. It has been a bizarre case from the beginning that has stumped nearly every doctor she has seen. The cancer has attached itself to bone which is rare for Melanoma. Over the last two and a half years, she has received countless treatments (including some experimental) and multiple surgeries in an attempt to eradicate the cancer and bring back stability in her hip. Some surgeries were more successful than others, but the problem is that the tumor keeps growing back, as Melanoma often does. At this point, the disease has done enough irreparable damage that any path forward while keeping her leg simply doesn't make sense. From both a cancer treatment perspective and her quality of life, the difficult decision has been made to proceed with a hemipelvectomy and leg amputation surgery. This means that she will lose half of her pelvis and entire left leg. Both Beth and I have gone through the gamut of emotions, but we are very hopeful and excited for what this surgery will bring. It won't cure the disease, but it will give her a better chance of maintaining it and potentially going into remission (you can never "beat" Melanoma). It also will drastically improve her quality of life by helping to reduce chronic pain. A surgery of this magnitude will be expensive because it will include costs beyond the surgery itself. There will be a lengthy hospital stay, lodging for me to be nearby, rehab to follow, and eventually a prosthesis and other equipment to help mobilize Beth. We both struggle to ask for help, but it has become clear to us after getting the word out about this surgery just how much people want to help. So, we are asking for your help. We love all of you dearly, whether you are in a place to help financially or not. We know we have been prayed for and thought about often by many of you. We ask that you would keep doing so. We will do our best to keep everyone updated with the aftermath of the surgery. Thank you for being so supportive, Mike