A Miracle for Sarah: Help Her Stay Independent!

I met Sarah Lampert quite randomly. We were both from out of town, living in a hotel while supporting our husbands who were working through medical issues. Though wheelchair-bound with lower limb paralysis she exuded a fierce, independent spirit (coupled with a wicked sense of humor). We initially bonded over our mutual love for public education and a desire to serve kids, but within a short time we began to share in each other’s joys and sorrows: My husband had just received the gift of life through a kidney transplant; Sarah's husband, Darryl, a death sentence.

Sarah is a teacher who has dedicated her life to her students. She and her husband Darryl have no children "of their own" but together they have impacted thousands of young lives through Sarah's dedication to her vocation. Sarah has spent her life teaching our future generations, but in August of 2021 she was diagnosed with a neurodegenerative disease that has slowly been worsening. She has gotten by with her incredible work ethic and Darryl's support and assistance, though her disease progression and the accompanying spasticity have increased leaving her with lower limb paralysis and an increased need for Darryl's assistance (which he joyfully offers). Not only has Darryl been Sarah's right hand, but he'd also begun building the dream house that would allow Sarah to have the in-home physical therapies to help maintain what little mobility she had left. The home would be the game-changer for them. Until December 2021 when a new game-changer appeared.

Around August of 2021, Sarah’s health and mobility was on the decline, necessitating a very expensive but necessary surgery to combat the debilitating effects of spasticity she suffered with continuously. Finally receiving the surgery in December of '21, she fought through the recovery with the goal of returning to her classroom by January of ’22. As always, Darryl’s care and support helped Sarah move toward her goal of returning to her students for the Spring semester; but just as Sarah was discharged from the hospital Darryl fell ill. What appeared to be a case of COVID accompanying some painful digestive issues revealed itself to be Poorly Differentiated Neuroendocrine Carcinoma, eating its way through Darryl's body. To make things worse, before Sarah and Darryl could even process this devastating news and adjust to the rigors of chemotherapy, the contractor who had taken nearly $200,000 from them to build their home disappeared, leaving them deeply indebted to subcontractors and without resources to make it right. Increasingly burdened by these new circumstances, Sarah lost even more ground and required more intensive physical therapies to try to maintain some normalcy and continue teaching - the only bright spot in a quickly deteriorating situation. Though the leadership in her school district did what they could to support her, the limitations of her insurance plan made it clear that she would not get the services she needed, and would ultimately be forced into Disability.

Sarah will soon be facing life alone, with no way to get the services she needs to halt her degeneration and no hope of returning to teaching. She has no home of her own and is quickly losing what little independence she has left. BUT SHE IS A FIGHTER, and for what little time she may still have Darryl at her side, I believe many of us can come together to provide some hope for Sarah and some peace of mind for Darryl. Sarah needs to cover medical bills, she needs to access therapies, and she needs some hope. She refers to this last year as the "Great Decline" and, in her own words:

"In our world, The Great Decline means I am losing my ability to function. My husband is dying. We lost our money and the only plan we had for my independence and safety. And the system that is designed to support us when we need it to…is irreparably broken.

But tonight I will cherish the snoring guy right next to me. There’s nobody in this world I would rather be going through this with. There’s no greater gift than time together. There’s no moment to take for granted. I will cuddle up to the most wonderful man on the planet and for a few moments just daydream fondly of the previous times. Times before we were in financial ruin. Times when we thought we had the rest of our lives together and that meant a long time. Times when we would complain about the day-to-day stressors as if they were a big deal, not knowing how much worse things could and absolutely would become. Times without pain or medication. Times when we would look excitedly toward the future. I miss those times.

Please help us."

I have set the goal for $500,000 which would allow Sarah to live out the rest of her life independently. With a proper home and proper therapies, she may even be able to continue to touch young lives which will be the only joy left once she loses the partner with whom she has shared her whole life.

At the very least, I hope together we might cover the cost of a modest home (+/- $180,000 – the amount stolen from them by an unscrupulous contractor), and home therapy and care not covered by private insurance or Medicare disability (+/- $25,000). If nothing changes dramatically in the next few months, and without adequate insurance coverage through her job to get the therapy she needs, she will be declining, subject to a system that demands she cover all of her own medical expenses until she is either completely destitute (and fully dependent on the state) OR survives a two-year waiting period to get on Medicare. The out-of -pocket expense for the most basic care over the two years is estimated at $40,000.

Can you help?