Helping Out The Phifer Family
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Like many people I know, my dear friend, Carrie, doesn’t like asking for help. But right now, she has nowhere else to turn.
Carrie married her high-school sweetheart, Greg, 19 years ago, and together, they have raised two beautiful children – their oldest daughter is now the mother of an adorable daughter herself, and their son is a senior at Mooresville High School.
Like many others, Greg and Carrie have worked very hard, always holding down jobs, practically their entire lives. But life has thrown them a few unexpected curveballs. And now, even though they’re both employed and Greg has medical insurance, they’ve found themselves against a wall.
Allow me to backtrack a bit: In 2009, at just 35 years old, Greg began struggling with pain and numbness in his left leg. Scans revealed a tumor on his lower spine that doctors believed to be benign, so Greg was given a choice of whether to remove it or leave it alone. To alleviate his pain, he elected to have it removed. Once seeing the tumor – which was extremely difficult to reach and encapsulated with nerves and blood vessels – surgeons at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center changed their minds, saying the tumor, in fact, appeared to be cancerous. They were able to remove 90 percent of it and, through an extremely complicated diagnosis, determined Greg most likely had lymphoma. After undergoing radiation therapy that year, follow-up appointments continued to reveal “activity” on Greg’s spine, but doctors said it could simply be “residual radiation.”
Six years later, in July 2015, Greg’s pain and numbness returned. Doctors discovered two spinal tumors. A month later, a biopsy baffled doctors, who eventually determined that Greg may be suffering from either a lymphoma recurrence or an extremely rare disease called Rosai-Dorfman – made even more rare by the fact that it was located in his central nervous system. Greg, at this point in excruciating pain, was referred to Duke University Hospital for further scans and a biopsy. Doctors there were also unable to make a diagnosis. They sent the biopsy tissue to the National Institute of Health in Bethesda, Md., where a nationally recognized lead pathologist, Eliane Jaffe, determined in November that Greg, in fact, was suffering from Rosai-Dorfman, a disease that isn’t cancer but is treated similarly through chemotherapy.
The team of doctors at Duke recommended Greg undergo five consecutive days of treatment every four weeks, for a total of six rounds of chemotherapy. Greg finished his second round of treatment on Dec. 31, 2015. Since his and Carrie’s daughter had delivered her child in Spring of last year, the family’s health-insurance deductible had been paid, and its additional out-of-pocket maximum had been reached, so Greg’s treatments in November and December were covered 100 percent by insurance.
But the deductible and out-of-pocket maximum were reset on Jan. 1, and that’s when serious financial troubles set in for the family. After fighting against it for some time, Carrie finally had to ask for help.
Simply put: the family must meet its $5,000 health insurance deductible for 2016, plus an additional $3,000 to meet the out-of-pocket maximum, before Greg can undergo his third of six rounds of chemotherapy. The doctors treating him do not carry the medicine, so it must be ordered at a cost of $1,000/day, or $5,000 for the full five days of one month’s treatment. Since the family’s deductible hasn’t been met for 2016, Greg and Carrie are responsible for coming up with $5,000 before the medicine for this month’s treatment can even be ordered. Once they’ve reached their annual deductible and out-of-pocket maximum, Greg’s remaining treatments – and any more of the family’s healthcare expenses this year – will once again be covered 100 percent. But for now, doctors are saying they cannot proceed with treatment unless or until the family finds $5,000 for the required medication by the end of this month.
Carrie isn’t upset at the doctors at all. She said she completely understands they are running a business and their hands are tied. But she simply doesn’t have a way to come up with the $5,000 to pay for the medicine by the end of this month. And Greg is under the gun. He needs to continue with his chemotherapy treatments on time. He has four remaining treatments, which means his rounds of chemotherapy are currently set to end in April, at the same time his short-term disability payments are scheduled to end. Even before that, on Feb. 1, those payments will be reduced to 60 percent of his usual pay, which means Carrie will be further financially burdened just to pay the family’s bills. Doctors have said if Greg does not complete his current treatment plan, he could be facing excruciating pain and even paralysis, which – considering Greg’s job is manual labor – would be detrimental to the family.
Like Carrie, I don’t typically ask for help. But these are people who are near and dear to my heart and are facing insurmountable, yet temporary, financial struggles through no fault of their own. Greg and Carrie have never walked around with a hand out. They’ve both worked HARD since we were practically kids to make it on their own and provide quality lives for their children. In addition to that, Carrie is always offering to help others. When my Daisy was pregnant, Carrie rushed to be by my side any time I needed a shoulder or a sounding board. One night, when I was home with the kids and couldn’t go with Daisy to the hospital during a routine pregnancy scare, Carrie jumped in her car and drove to the hospital to keep Daisy company. She stayed by her side, late into the night, until Daisy was discharged.
If I had $5,000, none of you would be reading this. It would be Carrie’s and Greg’s in a New York minute. But because I don’t have it to give, I’m reaching out to others to help me raise it for them. I know many families are suffering and struggling right now. This is one I know personally, and I just want to see them catch a small break. Consider helping me, won’t you? I know it would mean the world to them and that they will pay your generosity forward, in any way they can, once they’re settled. That’s just the kind of beautiful people they are. Thank you for considering!
-Jaime Gatton
Carrie married her high-school sweetheart, Greg, 19 years ago, and together, they have raised two beautiful children – their oldest daughter is now the mother of an adorable daughter herself, and their son is a senior at Mooresville High School.
Like many others, Greg and Carrie have worked very hard, always holding down jobs, practically their entire lives. But life has thrown them a few unexpected curveballs. And now, even though they’re both employed and Greg has medical insurance, they’ve found themselves against a wall.
Allow me to backtrack a bit: In 2009, at just 35 years old, Greg began struggling with pain and numbness in his left leg. Scans revealed a tumor on his lower spine that doctors believed to be benign, so Greg was given a choice of whether to remove it or leave it alone. To alleviate his pain, he elected to have it removed. Once seeing the tumor – which was extremely difficult to reach and encapsulated with nerves and blood vessels – surgeons at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center changed their minds, saying the tumor, in fact, appeared to be cancerous. They were able to remove 90 percent of it and, through an extremely complicated diagnosis, determined Greg most likely had lymphoma. After undergoing radiation therapy that year, follow-up appointments continued to reveal “activity” on Greg’s spine, but doctors said it could simply be “residual radiation.”
Six years later, in July 2015, Greg’s pain and numbness returned. Doctors discovered two spinal tumors. A month later, a biopsy baffled doctors, who eventually determined that Greg may be suffering from either a lymphoma recurrence or an extremely rare disease called Rosai-Dorfman – made even more rare by the fact that it was located in his central nervous system. Greg, at this point in excruciating pain, was referred to Duke University Hospital for further scans and a biopsy. Doctors there were also unable to make a diagnosis. They sent the biopsy tissue to the National Institute of Health in Bethesda, Md., where a nationally recognized lead pathologist, Eliane Jaffe, determined in November that Greg, in fact, was suffering from Rosai-Dorfman, a disease that isn’t cancer but is treated similarly through chemotherapy.
The team of doctors at Duke recommended Greg undergo five consecutive days of treatment every four weeks, for a total of six rounds of chemotherapy. Greg finished his second round of treatment on Dec. 31, 2015. Since his and Carrie’s daughter had delivered her child in Spring of last year, the family’s health-insurance deductible had been paid, and its additional out-of-pocket maximum had been reached, so Greg’s treatments in November and December were covered 100 percent by insurance.
But the deductible and out-of-pocket maximum were reset on Jan. 1, and that’s when serious financial troubles set in for the family. After fighting against it for some time, Carrie finally had to ask for help.
Simply put: the family must meet its $5,000 health insurance deductible for 2016, plus an additional $3,000 to meet the out-of-pocket maximum, before Greg can undergo his third of six rounds of chemotherapy. The doctors treating him do not carry the medicine, so it must be ordered at a cost of $1,000/day, or $5,000 for the full five days of one month’s treatment. Since the family’s deductible hasn’t been met for 2016, Greg and Carrie are responsible for coming up with $5,000 before the medicine for this month’s treatment can even be ordered. Once they’ve reached their annual deductible and out-of-pocket maximum, Greg’s remaining treatments – and any more of the family’s healthcare expenses this year – will once again be covered 100 percent. But for now, doctors are saying they cannot proceed with treatment unless or until the family finds $5,000 for the required medication by the end of this month.
Carrie isn’t upset at the doctors at all. She said she completely understands they are running a business and their hands are tied. But she simply doesn’t have a way to come up with the $5,000 to pay for the medicine by the end of this month. And Greg is under the gun. He needs to continue with his chemotherapy treatments on time. He has four remaining treatments, which means his rounds of chemotherapy are currently set to end in April, at the same time his short-term disability payments are scheduled to end. Even before that, on Feb. 1, those payments will be reduced to 60 percent of his usual pay, which means Carrie will be further financially burdened just to pay the family’s bills. Doctors have said if Greg does not complete his current treatment plan, he could be facing excruciating pain and even paralysis, which – considering Greg’s job is manual labor – would be detrimental to the family.
Like Carrie, I don’t typically ask for help. But these are people who are near and dear to my heart and are facing insurmountable, yet temporary, financial struggles through no fault of their own. Greg and Carrie have never walked around with a hand out. They’ve both worked HARD since we were practically kids to make it on their own and provide quality lives for their children. In addition to that, Carrie is always offering to help others. When my Daisy was pregnant, Carrie rushed to be by my side any time I needed a shoulder or a sounding board. One night, when I was home with the kids and couldn’t go with Daisy to the hospital during a routine pregnancy scare, Carrie jumped in her car and drove to the hospital to keep Daisy company. She stayed by her side, late into the night, until Daisy was discharged.
If I had $5,000, none of you would be reading this. It would be Carrie’s and Greg’s in a New York minute. But because I don’t have it to give, I’m reaching out to others to help me raise it for them. I know many families are suffering and struggling right now. This is one I know personally, and I just want to see them catch a small break. Consider helping me, won’t you? I know it would mean the world to them and that they will pay your generosity forward, in any way they can, once they’re settled. That’s just the kind of beautiful people they are. Thank you for considering!
-Jaime Gatton
Organizer
Carrie Alley Phifer
Organizer
Mooresville, NC
