Canadian Family in Medical Crisis - UPDATED FEB. 3

UPDATE FEB. 3 - thanks to all of you, Mark and Gary arrived in Burnaby last Monday night. The 10 hour drive took three days due to their medical conditions. A former Vancouver colleague who I have not seen since 1987 completely set up their Burnaby apt. A stranger on the internet in Calgary spent three days helping me completely empty the Calgary apartment. Another dear friend took two massive loads to the dump. YOU all donated the funds to get this done. We cannot emphasize enough how you have ALL assisted us in our family crisis, we could not have made this monumental move without all of you.

Our next steps are:

1. to find medical help for Mark in Vancouver. There are specialists there who treat severe and complex throat injuries and the autoimmune syndromes that he has, we just need to get in to see them. There are no AB doctors who would help us.

2. We got a second mortgage on the Calgary house approved to pay off some of the medical debt BUT we need a lawyer in Calgary who will assist us with completing the paperwork.

DO YOU KNOW ANY CALGARY LAWYER WHO WOULD GIVE US A BREAK ON FEES?

3. We need to get some help for Mark and Gary in BC, neither have had a bath/shower for three years due to illness/disability. We are hoping we can get some financial assistance and home care for them. Their rent in Calgary was $1150 and in Burnaby it's $1795. They do not have a car so all food is ordered online by Norah from Calgary and she cannot see which items might be on sale.

Once again thank you all for your kindness and generosity. I have adopted a quote from Churchill to get me through these difficult days, NEVER NEVER NEVER GIVE UP. Peace and love from, Norah, Gary and Mark.

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JAN. 18 - WE NEED HELP - thanks to an amazing friend we have an apartment in Vancouver and it is full of furniture. However Gary is hospitalized in Calgary and unable to get himself and Mark to Vancouver. Gary went into hospital 8 days ago to have a stoma placed prior to his cancer treatments and surgery. There were complications and he remains in hospital. Now we are paying for rent in both cities and expenses are piling up. Gary has been Mark's primary caregiver for three years so while Gary is in the hospital Norah has been working FT, taking care of Mark and visiting Gary in hospital. Mark has hit an all time low. The reality of being SO sick now for over three years makes him think that his life is over. Mark was an avid traveler and enjoyed sports and has now been bedridden since Dec. 2021. If you know Mark please send him best wishes, if you can.

Our situation has reached a peak crisis. Norah visited her doctor yesterday who gave her two weeks off work to try to get Mark to Vancouver and totally clean out everything from their Calgary apartment while Gary is still in hospital. Norah has a meeting Monday to try and consolidate some of the debt accumulated all from Mark's medical care. However, in the meantime, we still ask if you could donate $20 and share our plea with anyone else who might be able to help us. We will have to pay for services like moving furniture, car rental, accommodation enroute, cleaning the Calgary apartment, etc. Due to the large medical debts and living expenses in two cities, it is becoming clear that we will have to sell our last remaining asset the Calgary house pretty quickly in the next few months.

THANK YOU to everyone who is helping us in this crisis. I truly hope that we can report some positive news in the coming months as we seek healthcare for Mark in BC. Gary's Calgary doctors do have BC contacts to continue his cancer treatments. Sincerely, Norah, Gary and Mark

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UPDATE DEC. 27 - searching for the least expensive 1 bedroom apartment in Vancouver has been difficult. It looks like the one available is $2040 with a $1020 deposit. That $3000 is due immediately. We now realize that Gary is too sick to drive a U-Haul and we don't have anyone to load it here or unload it in BC. So I have quotes from moving companies to move the basics and they are all around $2500. Then we will have to rent a car to get Gary and Mark there, plus pay for the drop off fee. We will have to put Gary and Mark up in an AirBNB somewhere in between while the furniture travels out. Unfortunately we need a little more help fundraising.

We know everyone is so broke at Christmas, if you would not mind sharing this GoFundMe to as many people as you can, we are just asking if anyone can donate $20 to help us move. Our family and friends you have been SO generous and we really hate to ask for more help, but we just cannot do this on our own. Thank you all for your kind words as well, sincerely, Norah, Gary and Mark.

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UPDATE DEC. 16 - Thank you SO much for your amazing help. By the end of this week we will have enough money to pay a deposit and one month's rent on a Vancouver apt. We are thinking we can move Mark and Gary's belongings in a U-Haul (about $700) if Gary is well enough to drive it. Gary has cancer and the AB doctors said he needed radiation and surgery two months ago, but we are so distressed that nothing has been planned yet. Mark is SO sick as well. We MUST get them to BC for medical help ASAP. We will still need help packing and moving.

If you can share this GoFundMe with anyone please tell them we are only asking for $20 donations. We know how hard this is at Christmas and we truly value all your help. We will not have enough money to buy a car but if Mark and Gary are right in Vancouver then they will take taxis to doctors' appointments, that is the only time they leave their apt. Bless everyone who is helping by donating and sharing our story, sincerely, Norah, Gary and Mark

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After trying everything possible to find medical help for our son in Alberta, as a last resort we have decided to split up our family to move our son Mark and his father Gary to BC. Mark is 37 years old and has been critically ill now for three years. He is suffering from COVID (2020), a life altering reaction to the COVID-19 vaccine causing four autoimmune syndromes (2021) and a serious accident with throat injuries (2022).

What we have done. We have begged and pleaded for help for Mark to over 100 AB doctors, to the AHS CEO, CMO, AB Medical Assn, the CPSA, and every health and social agency in the province. We have begged politicians from the premier down for help, both UCP and NDP. When we begged the AB Minister of Health for help in 2024, she emailed us the link to lodge complaints against doctors. That is NOT what we were seeking. The ONLY doctor who has helped us in any way is Norah’s endocrinologist. She recently referred Mark to two AB specialists who maybe be treating syndromes caused by COVID and the COVID vaccine. One in Edmonton but he has a 12-month waiting list, the second in Calgary and when we called for an appt his clinic advised he is now private, does not take new patients, but will do a virtual consultation for $1200 for one hour.

Since 2022, we have now spent over $165,000 on diagnostic testing and three US surgeries. Mark has been too sick to work since Dec. 2020. We have over $50,000 in credit card debt and we are struggling to keep up with the minimum payments. We are waiting on one doctor in Calgary to provide more information to the provincial government that could see us recover $57,000 of U.S. surgery costs but there is no timeline on that, and no guarantee we would be able to get it. We have remortgaged our house and sold our two low mileage newer cars to pay for the surgeries. Though the move will be extremely difficult as Mark and his father Gary age 78 are both so ill, but we have run out of any other options. Gary has cancer and is awaiting radiation and surgery. Mark has now been 95% bedridden since Nov. 2021.

In Canada you are not supposed to lose everything you have to pay for healthcare.

Why we think we can get help for Mark in BC. It is clear to us now that there are no doctors in AB that have the current knowledge, expertise, or medical tools to help us. We know that doctors in BC have treatments, medications and surgery skills to treat Mark. We took Mark there in 2022 and got an appointment with a Vancouver specialist who saw Mark and ordered specialized testing from UBC, all for us from out of province, and fortunately at no cost to us. That specialist referred Mark to other experts to treat him but sadly all those doctors said they could not take AB patients. We should have tried to move to BC then, but we thought we could not afford that.

In AB Mark’s mother Norah, age 70, works full time, and Mark and his dad have a nice two bedroom apt for $1150/month. The very cheapest one bedroom in Vancouver is about $1700/month. Norah brings Gary and Mark groceries and meals every day. Splitting up our family will be very challenging, but we have no other options now.

It is our dream to get Mark back some semblance of his life before COVID. He was a university business grad, an avid traveler, an international hockey scout, and walked 2 hours a day with his beloved dog Bandit. We will try everything in our power to help Mark. Things are so bad for Mark that he now feels his only option if he stays in Alberta is Medically Assistance In Dying (MAID).

What we need help with. We know the holidays are very busy and very expensive for everyone, but we must act to move Gary and Mark. Mark has now been in bed for three years, and in agony from the throat injury for 2.5 years. Our closest friends and family have valiantly helped us for three years but now we need more help.

We need to get Gary and Mark to Vancouver ASAP. We hope we can buy a used car for about $4000. Norah is driving a decent $3500 car that she found online (no snow tires). We have to move some furniture and personal items, not a lot. One bed, one couch (which Mark has to sleep on as he cannot lie flat and breathe), one table, one TV, and possibly two bureaus. Bags of clothes and a box of dishes.

So we are appealing for help one last time. Do you know any moving companies that might help us out? Do you know anyone selling a reliable used car?

We know we will have to pay rent in two places probably for at least one month as logistically it is difficult for them to travel. Mark has to be all propped up in the back of a vehicle as the car movement causes severe neck stabbing. We need help packing and cleaning once they move out.

We are so broke that we would like to try to raise $10,000 to get this move done. Once Gary and Mark are in Vancouver, they will not have Norah to take care of them so that means online grocery orders etc. Once they are settled in Vancouver Norah will look for a second job in Calgary to pay down our credit card debt.

We were thinking if everyone who reads this emergency plea could donate $20 to help us, and if we could find 500 people willing to do that, then we could make this happen ASAP. Please share our story with any friends that you can.

Possibly people know of churches or organizations that are helping people out right now.

If you can help us in any way As soon as we have money for a deposit, we will secure an apt in Vancouver.

We are devastated that Mark’s life has taken such a tragic turn and we sincerely appreciate all help that you can offer. We have not celebrated birthdays or holidays since 2021. We are hoping that 2025 can be better for Mark, sincerely, Norah, Gary and Mark.

(photos of Mark before COVID and in 2023)