Dad has prostate cancer but has #MoreLifeToLive.

Hello, my dad Jaydee Ward has prostate cancer. In July 2023 he received a TURP surgery as he was unable to urinate freely which caused severe pain and bladder urgency. I was able to take time off from work and be there for him post surgery, and for a few days as he recovered- at the time we thought he just had an enlarged prostate which is common in old age. A month following the procedure on his birthday he received the call that he had prostate cancer. He is completely disabled and at the time of diagnosis he had dual insurance coverage through Utah Medicaid and Medicare. In December 2023 he received a notice from the state of Utah stating that he would no longer be covered by Medicaid unless he paid a $546 insurance spend down as his “income was too high”. My dad’s only income is ~$1600 a month from social security because of his complete disability and medical conditions. You are likely aware that inflation has caused the price of everything to go up- and the money he receives goes to his utilities (propane, electric, water, sewer) in addition to his phone bill, property insurance, and gas to drive to his doctors appointments 2.5 hours away from where he lives. Unfortunately because of my immediate family and financial obligations I am unable to pay the monthly insurance spend down for him.

With any donations received I plan to use them to get him the medical care he needa and move him to Augusta, Georgia where I live. Currently dad lives in Manila, UT which is 2.5 hours from any major hospital. I will relocate dad to Augusta so that he can receive treatment at Augusta Health Cancer and Blood Disorders center and have the support network he needs. Dad is tired, and doesn’t want to be in pain anymore. I hope if the funds are available for treatment he will have hope and choose to live. I am not ready to lose him.

Dad spent his youth fishing, hunting, wrestling, and playing football. During his senior year he was the star defensive lineman for the Davis Darts in Kaysville, Utah. Near the end of the season he broke his leg in half which abolished any hopes he had of a college football scholarship which he was awarded prior to the accident.

I am his daughter, Jadie Graham, but I

go by Jay. I am an active duty Army Veteran, novice strength trainer, dog mom, and daddy’s girl. My dad raised me and my sister Aspen as a single father beginning when I was three years old. He was a welder his entire life and the hard labor of his occupation broke his body trying to provide for his girls. We never had much money, but he did the best he could with what he had. As children we would spend our summers goose hunting with him in the Wasatch Mountains, training bird hunting dogs, and fishing at the Flaming Gorge in Utah and Wyoming. He never dated anyone or took another wife because he didn’t want us to feel as if we were competing with a stepmom for his love. He sacrificed a life that could have been filled with companionship, riches from working major pipelines, and the freedom of the mountains and lakes he loved so much but instead did the best to be a present father.

Now my sister and I are grown, he is free to do the things he always dreamed of but is hindered by money, and a broken body. I want my dad to be treated and I want him to fight to live, but if he does not have the will because his pain and illnesses are so severe I just want to be able to give him the experiences he missed and more time. Please give me and my sister Aspen this last wish, he sacrificed and toiled his entire life for us, so it is only fair we can give back for the time he has left.