Hello, I'm Arne.

My life took an unforeseen turn when I was diagnosed with stage 4 larynx cancer, a battle that has left me not only profoundly altered physically but also facing insurmountable financial demands within our healthcare system

I am in recovery from stage 4 larynx cancer and major surgery which removed my larynx (voicebox) and the base of my tongue which was then rebuilt using a flap of muscle from my left shoulder and an artery from my leg.

This surgery was in October of 2024 but i had been increasingly ill for a year prior and had a non-engaged doctor a doctor whose complacency nearly cost me my life.

I had convinced myself that I had a severe bronchial infection.

When I saw this doctor he looked into my throat but was so casual about it that he took my mention of a bout of pneumonia years before more seriously and simply sent me to have lung X-rays.

I became increasingly sick and when I called to get another appointment I was told the dr could not see me and this was providential because I was then sent to another doctor who realized the gravity of this and immediately referred me to an ENT specialist.

When I went to this doctor he took only five minutes to scope my throat and pronounced that I needed to go to ER immediately as a tumor had grown so large that it was in imminent danger of cutting off my airway ! No wonder I couldn't talk for 5 minutes o the phone without becoming very short of breath.

I went home, grabbed some stuff in panic went to ER. This began a two month ordeal in hospital as I was immediately given a tracheotomy ( hole in my throat to allow me to breathe ) and then waited for the biopsy which was positive and was scheduled for surgery about a month later.

When the day came I was in surgery for 13 hours .The surgical team, impressively skilled, saved my tongue – a horrifying prospect I truly faced.

I was told they believed they got all of the cancerous tissue but the reality was that I now had lost my voice and my throat architecture was forever altered as I became a neck breather and all connection of my nose and mouth to my lungs was terminated so I now have no air to blow or spit (!) or anything. These immense changes are diffcult for normal breathers to comprehend.

My throat is so disfigured by this surgery and subsequent month of daily radiation, that I have had to learn to swallow a new way. I was taking all nutrients through a stomach tube until only a few months ago and continue to have great difficulty swallowing sometimes to the point of not being able to swallow at all which is a panic inducing situation . I will never eat normally again and still rely wholly on liquid nutrition. I have lost all body fat and muscle mass and have lost weight to less than a hundred pounds at times .

Along this challenging journey, I lost my car. Being so sick and distracted from daily realities, I've only recently realized my property taxes are far in default, threatening my home.

I have only my Social Security deposit to survive and it is sadly lacking in our economy.

I have resorted to having to use "payday" type small loans to survive the months. These are welcome, but are a trap that becomes an endless cycle of having automatic payments taken out of my SS at he beginning of every month and even many have two payments due a month which puts me in a situation where I am taking small loans repetitively to pay the others ! This has gotten unmanageable.

I live in a manufactured home community which is very nice but the space rent keeps going up with the corporate management decisions . When first it was a reasonable $700 or so, is now over $1100.

I need to eliminate these interminable loans and am getting frequent reminders that I still owe money on a car loan even though the car has been repossessed while I was in hospital.

I have skills and knowledge that would allow me to make money above my Social Security, but I haven't been able to anything at all until fairly recently and even now, my health maintenance routine takes much of my days . For example I have to put on a pneumatic vest and head piece twice day to treat lymph buildup in my neck and shoulders due to the removal of two lymph nodes in my neck.

My need for nourishment soley via liquid forces me to have to have a large container of the mixture and drink it constantly all day and at times during the night. I am having to pay for these expensive protein powder products and other food additives now that the tube feeding formula prescription has lapsed.

My health insurance copays are piling up and recently the company changed the system it is contracting with and going to the surgeon whom I owe my life to is now much more expensive as are the regular scans for any sign of returning cancer. I was shocked to see the copay for the last scan was $300 !

It's with immense difficulty and a deep sense of pride that I've come to this point. If my health allowed, I would be working, applying the skills I've honed over decades. But my current debilitated state prevents me from doing enough to make a difference on my own..

I had been approached about a job with a local marine store right before I got sick and was scheduled to meet with the manager who was thrilled to have a person like me who has a 30 year plus history of being in the Seattle yacht repair and maintenance industry and ran my own business for many of those years. I began having the sore throat at that same time and I was concerned I might have something contagious, so I called the manager and canceled and the rest is now a sad history.

I have been selling almost all of my lifelong collection of guitars and musical and studio gear, but anything of real value is now gone . I continue to try selling anything I can, but the income is sporadic and is becoming less.

This is a much stronger and more impactful version, Arne. You've incorporated many of the suggestions effectively. The flow is good, and the emotional impact is palpable.

Here are a few more minor suggestions to consider for an even greater impact, focusing on clarity, conciseness, and maximizing the reader's understanding of your critical needs:

Pacing and Paragraphing: Some paragraphs are quite long. Breaking them down into smaller, more focused units can improve readability, especially on screens.

Emphasis on "2024" surgery: You mention "October of 2024" for a surgery that, based on the current date, would have been in the past. This might be a typo for "2023" or earlier. If it's 2024 and in the future, it might confuse readers. If it's a typo, changing it to the correct year would be helpful.

Clarity on "non-engaged doctor" and "complacency": You used both phrases. While both are clear, you could pick one or combine them more smoothly.

Suggested Edits for Consideration:

Here's a revised version incorporating these thoughts, with specific changes highlighted for you to review:

Hello, I'm Arne.

My life took an unforeseen turn when I was diagnosed with stage 4 larynx cancer, a battle that has left me not only profoundly altered physically but also facing insurmountable financial demands within our healthcare system.

I am in recovery from stage 4 larynx cancer and major surgery which removed my larynx (voicebox) and the base of my tongue. It was then rebuilt using a flap of muscle from my left shoulder and an artery from my leg.

This surgery was in October of 2024 (***Please double-check this year!***). I had been increasingly ill for a year prior, but a doctor's complacency nearly cost me my life. I had convinced myself that I had a severe bronchial infection. When I saw this doctor, he casually looked into my throat but took my mention of an old bout of pneumonia more seriously, simply sending me for lung X-rays.

I became increasingly sick. When I called for another appointment, I was told the doctor couldn't see me. This proved providential, as I was then sent to another doctor who immediately realized the gravity of my condition and referred me to an ENT specialist. Within five minutes, this specialist scoped my throat and pronounced that I needed to go to the ER immediately. A tumor had grown so large it was in imminent danger of cutting off my airway! No wonder I couldn't talk for five minutes on the phone without becoming very short of breath.

I went home, grabbed some essentials in a panic, and headed to the ER. This began a two-month ordeal in the hospital. I was immediately given a tracheotomy (a hole in my throat to allow me to breathe) and then waited for the biopsy, which was positive. Surgery was scheduled about a month later.

When the day came, I was in surgery for 13 hours. The surgical team, impressively skilled, saved my tongue – a horrifying prospect I truly faced. They believed they got all the cancerous tissue, but the reality is that I now have lost my voice. My throat architecture is forever altered as I became a neck breather. All connection of my nose and mouth to my lungs was terminated, so I now have no air to blow, spit, or anything.

My throat is so disfigured by this surgery and subsequent month of daily radiation that I have had to learn to swallow in a new way. I was taking all nutrients through a stomach tube until only a few months ago. I continue to have great difficulty swallowing, sometimes to the point of not being able to swallow at all, which is a panic-inducing situation. I will never eat normally again and still rely wholly on liquid nutrition. I have lost all body fat and muscle mass, and my weight has dropped to less than a hundred pounds at times.

The Financial Strain

Along this challenging journey, I lost my car. Being so sick and distracted from daily realities, I've only recently realized my property taxes are far in default, threatening my home.

I have only my Social Security deposit to survive, and it is sadly lacking in our current economy. I've resorted to using "payday" type small loans to get by each month. While initially a welcome relief, these loans have become a trap. They create an endless cycle of automatic payments taken from my Social Security at the beginning of every month, with many even having two payments due monthly. This forces me to take repetitive small loans to pay off the others, a situation that has become completely unmanageable.

I live in a manufactured home community which is very nice, but the space rent keeps going up due to corporate management decisions. What was once a reasonable $700 or so is now over $1100. I desperately need to eliminate these interminable loans. To add to the burden, I'm still receiving frequent reminders that I owe money on a car loan, even though the car was repossessed while I was in the hospital.

My Daily Battle and Hope for the Future

I have skills and knowledge that would allow me to earn money beyond my Social Security, but I haven't been able to do anything at all until fairly recently. Even now, my health maintenance routine takes up much of my days. For example, I have to put on a pneumatic vest and headpiece twice a day to treat lymph buildup in my neck and shoulders due to the removal of two lymph nodes. My need for nourishment solely via liquid forces me to have a large container of mixture and drink it constantly all day and at times during the night. I am now having to pay for expensive protein powder products and other food additives since the tube feeding formula prescription has lapsed.

My health insurance copays are piling up. Recently, the company changed its contracting system, making visits to the surgeon whom I owe my life to much more expensive, as are the regular scans for any sign of returning cancer. I was shocked to see the copay for the last scan was $300!

It's with immense difficulty and a deep sense of pride that I've come to this point. If my health allowed, I would be working, applying the skills I've honed over decades. But my current debilitated state prevents me from doing enough to make a difference on my own.

Just before I got sick, I had been approached about a job with a local marine store. I was scheduled to meet with the manager, who was thrilled to have someone with my 30-year-plus history in the Seattle yacht repair and maintenance industry, where I ran my own business for many years. I began having the sore throat at that same time. Concerned I might have something contagious, I called the manager and canceled, and the rest is now a sad history.

I have been selling almost all of my lifelong collection of guitars and musical and studio gear, but anything of real value is now gone. I continue to try selling anything I can, but the income is sporadic and becoming less.

My Urgent Appeal

I am reaching out to all of you because I need help to surmount what has become an unmanageable cycle of medical debt and other mounting financial burdens that now threaten to have my home taken by overdue taxes. I will also need a lawyer for the tax issue, which is yet another expense I cannot afford.

I need money desperately, but no matter the amount, there is nothing material that will alleviate my suffering and the profound changes to my body that will be my new reality. Your generosity is not just about financial relief; it's about providing a lifeline.

Thank you for reading through this long tale and for any generosity you can summon.

Arne Nordwall