Help Fly Stranded Cancer Patient, My Mom, Home

Story

We have created this page because our family is in a medical and financial crisis, and we are in need of assistance with finances, suggestions, ideas, or resources. To give a brief summary of our situation, my mother, Sally, is a brain cancer patient who is receiving treatment from a clinic in Houston. Jan 22 of this year we went down to Houston for her to receive treatment from her clinic, and on the way home back to Maine, my mother was hospitalized in Memphis, Tennessee, where she has been for the past 5 weeks. She is non-ambulatory and is not able to fly on a commercial airline, and our only option for getting her home is an air ambulance, which her insurance will not cover. Although we have been in contact with many different non-profit organizations and charities, the lowest cost for getting her home that we have been able to find on an air ambulance is $18,000. She, along with me, my sister and my father, is stuck 1,400 miles from home. If you are interested in helping or if you know of any resources where we might be able to find help, please let us know. Below I’m going to explain her story in more detail. Cancer has been a part of my mother’s life ever since I can remember. In 2001 she was diagnosed with brain cancer. At the time she had 5 young children, the youngest of whom (me) was 2 years old. She had a craniotomy to remove the tumor, and she underwent radiation therapy and chemotherapy. In 2012 she had another craniotomy to remove a mass that was growing in her brain, followed by 15 months of chemotherapy. Once again in 2018 she began preventative chemotherapy, which lasted for 2 more years. It was in May of 2021 that my mother was diagnosed with a glioblastoma, one of the most malignant types of brain tumors, and the most deadly, with a survival rate of only 25% after one year. She was given a life expectancy of 6-12 months if she were to go forward with the chemotherapy treatment—and 3-6 months with no treatment. Unsatisfied with this prognosis, she and my father, Francis, decided to go down to Houston, Texas, to begin a trial cancer treatment from a cancer clinic down there. MRI's since she began treatment show that the tumor has been reduced in size significantly, and that its growth and activity have been slowed by the treatment. However, the treatment has been very hard on her, and over the summer and into the fall she began to lose mobility, eventually losing all ability to stand or walk on her own. She also lost the ability to chew and swallow properly, and had to get a PEG feeding tube. In December my mother became critically ill with a UTI, so my sister and I came home from Illinois to be with her, as she then needed 24/7 care. Since then, my mother has been in and out of hospitals in different cities since December 18th, only being in Maine for a total of 2 weeks in the past 3 months. Following a 3 week hospitalization in Boston during the Christmas holiday, our family left once again for Houston on January 22nd for her cancer treatment. After two weeks in Houston, my parents decided to stop in Memphis, TN, on the way back home to visit my brother, his wife, and their four children. What was supposed to be only a 2-day visit has turned into over a month, as she had to be hospitalized for a UTI, congestive heart failure, and possible blood clots in her legs. After a week in the hospital, she was having trouble breathing, and she was taken to the ICU and placed on a ventilator. About 10 days later she received a tracheostomy and was weaned from the ventilator, and she is now breathing on her own through her trach tube. She has taken a long time to wake up from the sedation from being intubated, but now she is awake every day, and she even smiles at us and watches TV. However, she is unable to move her body, talk, or respond in any way. The doctors at this hospital here in Memphis want to transfer her to a skilled nursing/rehab facility in Tennessee until she becomes well enough to travel. The problem with this is that she may never become well enough to travel, and may have to stay away from home indefinitely. That is why we want to bring her to a rehab facility in Maine. My mom is not currently able to fly on a commercial airline, and the doctors have no idea how long it will be before she is able to. However many more days God gives my mom, we want her to be able to live them out near the home that she loves in Maine, not 1,400 miles away in this strange city. She is not ambulatory, so she would need a special medical flight that has a stretcher and medical staff on board. Right now her only option is an air ambulance, and her insurance is not willing to pay for her travel back to Maine. We have been in contact with many different charities and organizations who transport cancer patients, but most are not able to transport a patient in her condition, as they do not have the appropriate aircraft. We received two estimates between $18,000-$19,000 for air ambulance transportation from bedside to bedside. This would get my mother home to Maine. My mother’s cancer treatment is not covered by insurance, as it is not FDA approved, meaning that my parents have had to pay out of pocket for this treatment. In addition to the cost of the treatment itself, there has been the cost of airline tickets to and from Houston, hotel rooms, rental cars, medical equipment for our home, prescription meds, hospital visits, and so much more. This has led to the depletion of almost all family savings. My father, my sister, and I have not been able to work in 3 months, as we have been almost constantly away from home with my mother. If we get her back to Maine, our whole family will be able to get back to work. Right now we are stuck here in Memphis, financially depleted, and facing the prospect of spending more months away from home. We are not able to earn any income, and we are living out of a suitcase while we wait for my mom to get better, not knowing if she will ever be well enough to travel back to Maine. It’s been 2 months since we have been in Maine, and all we want is to bring my mom back to her home state. If you can help us, a contribution of any amount would be greatly appreciated. We ultimately believe in the power of prayer. God has told us that in Him all things are possible (Mark 10:27), and we are relying on that promise as we are faced with a situation that seems quite impossible. Also, if you are aware of any organizations that may be able to help, or if you have any suggestions, we would greatly appreciate that information.