Medical and Funeral Expenses for Ginny Peterson
Donation protected
Family, friends, acquaintances and people who may not even know us…
I regret to start this by informing everyone that my mom, Ginny Peterson, passed away on July 8th, 2019 – coincidentally, this was also my (Kyle) 32nd birthday. This GoFundMe was being setup to help pay for medical expenses as she was back in the hospital on Sunday July 7th, however, before I was able to post on Monday she suddenly and quite unexpectedly passed away. I truly hope this helps my dad pay for both the medical and funeral expenses. He’s been extraordinary heart-broken since Monday, losing the love of your life is never easy, and he’s honestly concerned about numerous aspects of life right now – so if we can remove some of his burdens, that’d be awesome!
Early goal is $15,000, but if we can raise more than that - it'd mean the world to me and show my mom the impact she made on everyone directly or indirectly.
Oh, also, sorry if it’s a little lengthy – I might have a lot to say about my parents because they are extraordinary people .
Important Links:
Funeral (Lenmark) Home - https://www.lenmarkfh.com/obituaries/Virginia-Peterson-11/
Obituary - https://www.leadertelegram.com/obituaries/virginia-peterson/article_000a6025-556a-5213-bc59-a91251a1b4a6.html?fbclid=IwAR3mm5yGbgzWLfdA6fuP10OHDbQi1SZY5YE5o4hMilipiLPjG0Ew5Zfy2V8
Death Notice - https://www.leadertelegram.com/obituaries/death_notices/death-notices/article_baa02801-f250-5ebf-a71b-e9e0fa8fddd2.html
Introduction:
Hi! Thanks for coming to our page, which is being created to help crowdfund my parents with medical expenses. The only time I’ll mentioned myself directly, I’m Kyle Peterson (aka “the boy”), the son of Ginny and Darrel. I really wanted to create this to show support to my parents, financially and just in an overall presence for them, and to show how many people really do care.
As this is all about my parents and to help them out, let’s get this ball rolling with a little background about them!
Background on Parents:
My Mom – Her name is Virginia Peterson; she likes to go by Ginny though. She just turned 60 and at her surprise birthday party she insisted we should have just gotten her Culvers lol – speaks to her character, doesn’t like to make a big deal of anything nor be in the spotlight. She’ll genuinely put the needs of anyone else before her own. She was an exceptional teacher to her children for all of the “in-home” stuff – laundry, cooking, baking, cleaning, etc – to help prepare us for life after home. She’s a Rockstar in the garden, making a yearly flower garden at their house is one of her specialties. One last one, she is also a huge Packers fan and I have clear audible recall of her screaming “go, go, get in the endzone!” from the kitchen while doing dishes :).
My Dad – His name is Darrel Peterson. He is apologetically a Packers fanatic (hopefully this doesn’t deter anyone) and seeing the Packers win the Super Bowl in ’96 with Brett Favre was one of the few times I’ve seen him cry. He’s a sportsman, been hunting deer for a long time – but one of his favorites is just sitting in the hunting stand talking between him and the boy. He’s the type of person who enables you to spill out your heart and feelings, and won’t judge you about any of it.
Parents together – They’ve been married for nearly 35 years [if I’m incorrect I’ll get slapped on the back of the head later by dad], raised 3 kids (one of which was actually a dog – who was also their “favorite”), and have the largest and most kind hearts you would ever meet. They are the type of people who rarely ask for anything or for help, however, they will bend over backwards to help out family, friends and people they hardly know.
What’s the purpose of this?
I wanted to create an avenue to help my parents with medical expenses; they’ve done so much for our family, friends and other people – I wanted to see if I could swing some of that good karma back in their direction.
Medical expenses are always a tough pill to swallow, however, when both people on your medical plan each have deductibles exceeding $7,000 per year – this can become quite an overwhelming and frankly a nearly impossible expense to account for.
My initial goal is being set at $15,000, however, if that amount is achieved early, I would love to see how much could actually be raised to ease their burden now and in the future.
What are the health issues with Ginny?
Ginny has been a super healthy, rarely sick woman, the majority of her life - however, this changed late 2018. What started as a simple ear infection quickly spiraled into a whole host of Emergency Room visits, complications and numerous days admitted to the hospital. Now, Ginny has been having a number of similar issues again which is both frightening from a health perspective but also can be financially crippling.
To provide some context of Ginny’s health journey over the last 6+ months, for a Quick Snapshot of what’s going on – see the Summary Section Below. For a more detailed summary, see the Detailed Section below for a reverse chronological sequence of events – so most recent will be at top of the list and for each month the days will go in chronological order:
Quick Snapshot Summary:
*Updated* - After an overnight visit, which she seemed normal on Sunday night, she went into Cardiac Failure and became unresponsive. Doctors tried to resuscitate her from approximately 7:00 AM to 7:40 AM. At 7:40 AM on Monday July 9th, 2019, her peaceful and inspiring spirit left this world.
Currently – Ginny is in Rochester Minnesota at the Mayo Clinic due to further complications of her heart and breathing issues.
Ginny was diagnosed with two auto-immune diseases in December 2018 (Sjogrens and Raynaud’s). Her case of Sjogren’s was exceptionally rare, as it caused fluid to build up around both her heart and lungs. In addition to these syndromes, she also spent several days in and out of the hospital (even on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day) due to her heart and breathing difficulties. Among a whole host of other components, these visits lead to the removal of fluid numerous times from around her heart and lungs to aid in her recovery. She’s had a very long 6+ months of doctor’s visits, tests, admittance to hospitals and a wide variety of emotions (going from potentially battling cancer, to Tuberculosis, to heart failure).
So, I’d just like to take the time to let her know that I’m thinking about her and I’m here to help both of my parents as much and in whatever way possible.
Detailed Summary
-- So, mom took EXCEPTIONALLY detailed notes for all things medical, which made this much easier for me to follow her bread trail of a medical journey the last 8 months!
July – 2019
July 8th – Early Monday morning Ginny became unresponsive and went into Cardiac Failure. Doctors battled for approximately 40 minutes, attempting to resuscitate her; however, she peacefully past to be with her twin sister (Louise), mother (Jean Ming) and father (LeRoy Ming). She was the foundation of our family; if you think about a house, the foundation is the key and most important part of the home - that's exactly what she was to our family and so many more.
July 7th - Ginny was taken, by Darrel and Gary Peterson (father in law), to Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota due to worsening effects of the shortness of breath and chest/heart pain. Was admitted to the Cardiac Wing in the hospital after an Emergency Room visit. Waiting on CT scan and other test results to further narrow down what is causing these problems.
Ginny continued having extreme shortness of breath as well as chest pains into this month. Went into the doctor to discuss these new conditions – plan is set forward that if conditions worse to skip the Emergency Room in Eau Claire and go to Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota (if possible).
July 3rd – Had an EKG at the doctor, due to shortness of breath. Food continues to not be appetizing.
July 5th – Heart failure on right side of heart, this side of the heart is very large currently. If unable to walk more than 10 feet, go to the Rochester Emergency Room.
June – 2019
June 24th – Called primary doctor regarding difficulty breathing and shortness of breath while walking – also having difficulty breathing while laying down in bed. Food beginning to not taste good again.
June 25th – Doctor called with findings from visit – xrays looked good. Blood work showed kidney and liver function as normal, however, heart is showing movement toward heart failure.
June 27th – Doctor visit, regarding difficulty breathing. Received a temporary handicapped parking card for 6-months to help with traveling.
June 28th – Had an Echocardiogram, identified the right side of heart was enlarged again. Was allowed to go home.
May – 2019
May 22nd – Doctor visit due to shortness of breath while walking, CT scan of chest regarding the shortness of breath. Lungs sounded and looked good, CT results identified no fluid around heart or lungs.
January – 2019
January 3rd – Doctor office visit – checkup due to December. Ginny is a sort of rare case – typically with Sjogren’s Syndrome, fluid typically envelops the heart whereas with Ginny it tended to surround the left lung. Good news – ultrasound from the Uterus came back with normal levels, so no further concerns there.
January 4th – First relatively “pain free” day in some time – breathing was easier and not nearly the discomfort which there has been for some time.
January 8th – Ophthalmology appointment.
January 10th – Echocardiogram – tech identified Ginny had made a great recovery to this point.
January 17th – EKG & Doctor visit – tests showed things were looking good and getting back to normal.
There were a few more doctors appointments in January, however, things started looking much better.
December – 2018
December 5th – Doctors appointment to go over prior tests and run additional tests (strep, blood, etc).
December 6th – Had an echocardiogram performed. Echocardiogram identified fluid around lung and suspected pneumonia. Pulmonologist appointment to follow.
December 10th – Emergency Room trip due to shortness of breath, chest pains, muscle weakness, not hungry, feeling tired. Had a CT scan, EKG and Chest x-ray performed – which identified more fluid around heart and lungs. Was admitted to the hospital – saw a cardiologist. Drained fluid from around heart & lungs to ease burden on organs.
December 11th – Still in hospital, taken off oxygen in the morning as this level had returned to a more normal range. Had more fluid drained from around lungs. Got to go for walk, very short still due to muscle fatigue and shortness of breath.
December 12th – Doctors would like Ginny to be off of work until at least after Christmas vacation is over, to allow body to heal up more.
December 13th – Doctors identify one condition which Ginny has, an auto-immune disorder called Sjorgren’s Syndrome. Scheduled a Rheumatologist for follow-up to discuss this further.
December 17th – Visit the doctors again, had a chest x-ray to see how the fluid levels were doing in the chest cavity, more fluid is starting to build back up. Admitted to the hospital.
December 18th – Have more fluids drained from lung. Another condition is identified in addition to the Sjogren’s Syndrome, this one is called Raynaud’s Syndrome. Closed Ginny off into an isolation room due to tests performed for Tuberculosis – more pain and struggling to breath.
December 19th – Doctor identified that the right side of heart is not functioning properly and suggestion is to have this checked at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota or Eau Claire for additional tests.
December 22th – Additional tests and discharged from hospital.
December 24th -Readmitted to hospital due to shortness of breath, new battery of tests run. Stayed in hospital.
December 25th – Got to spend Christmas in the hospital – everyone’s dream! However, was released mid-day!
November – 2018
Everything starts somewhere, and this journey began with getting a simple cold and subsequent ear infection on November 5th – which later trigger her Sjogren’s to kick in.
On November 14th - Ginny went into the doctor as conditions of her cold continued to linger and get worse. Doctor identified that Ginny had a left ear infection – prescription medication.
November 15th - Left eardrum ruptures during the night. Approximately 4:00 PM started getting chest pains, back pain and shortness of breath.
November 16th - Called nurse due to chest pain and shortness of breath – told to get to the Emergency Room as soon as possible. Had multiple test (e.g. – EKG, blood, CT scan, etc). Prescribed medication and discharged.
November 19th and 23rd - OBYGN visits due to concerns over cancer.
November 28th – Went back into doctor and had additional tests run (blood, chest x-ray, EKG). ER visit on the 16th identified slight enlargement of heart.
November 30th – Ultrasound performed on uterus to identify any potential concerns for cancer/tumors.
What are the health issues with Darrel?
In 2004, Darrel was diagnosed with brain cancer and had a significantly large tumor growing in the occipital lobe of his brain. He was originally given a prognosis of less than 6 months to live, however, he was afforded the opportunity to participate in a trial – this form of treatment is successfully used as a treatment for this type of brain cancer too!
Darrel had a couple of craniotomies to remove as much of the tumor as the doctors were capable to remove, it had “spider-webbed” out in his brain so this was also challenging. Subsequently he came away from these surgeries permanently losing areas of his vision and needing continuous medicine to prevent seizures or reduce the possibility of occurrence. In addition to surgeries, he also had to undergo chemotherapy and radiation.
To this date Darrel has fortunately not has his tumor, or as he likes to call it – “little friend”, grow any further. However, he has had semi-annual and annual MRI scans to ensure if the tumor does become active again, doctors can try to treat as soon as possible before it would worsen.
Darrel also had neck fusion surgery from car accidents prior to all of this, so he’s been a hurtin’ unit for some time. Except! He does a great job of always having a positive attitude, mindset, and appreciation for life!
What’s the numbers breakdown?
My dad and I are both numbers guys, so let’s put this all into context of how effectively we can achieve such goals. Firstly, my wife Moriah and I are contributing $500 to get this started – “you can’t make change possible without sacrificing for those around you” is what my mom would say and exemplify. A quick story about our $500 – Moriah and I are currently saving for a house to purchase next year and this is coming directly out of that savings – so this is our sacrifice. If you’d like to say something about your donation and what you might be sacrificing too, that’d be kind of cool! We truly and deeply care about my parents and want to help them in any way we can.
So, I challenge everyone – put off on purchasing that fancy new gadget or maybe trim back on those spending sprees and help someone in need.
Next, let’s take a look at how contributions can help:
$500+ - 30 donations at or above and we’d hit our goal super-fast! (I might hunt down all the people that give this and give them a huge hug too!)
$250 – 60 donations.
$100 – 150 donations.
$50 – 300 donations.
$25 – 600 donations.
Another added incentive – every $25 raised, I’ll personally be doing 5 pushups and 5 sit-ups. Might even get Moriah (my wife) to video tape the torture that you all will inflict on me! My parents both love Saturday Night Live so to borrow a tagline from Hanz and Franz , “we just want to pump *clap*, you up!”
I regret to start this by informing everyone that my mom, Ginny Peterson, passed away on July 8th, 2019 – coincidentally, this was also my (Kyle) 32nd birthday. This GoFundMe was being setup to help pay for medical expenses as she was back in the hospital on Sunday July 7th, however, before I was able to post on Monday she suddenly and quite unexpectedly passed away. I truly hope this helps my dad pay for both the medical and funeral expenses. He’s been extraordinary heart-broken since Monday, losing the love of your life is never easy, and he’s honestly concerned about numerous aspects of life right now – so if we can remove some of his burdens, that’d be awesome!
Early goal is $15,000, but if we can raise more than that - it'd mean the world to me and show my mom the impact she made on everyone directly or indirectly.
Oh, also, sorry if it’s a little lengthy – I might have a lot to say about my parents because they are extraordinary people .
Important Links:
Funeral (Lenmark) Home - https://www.lenmarkfh.com/obituaries/Virginia-Peterson-11/
Obituary - https://www.leadertelegram.com/obituaries/virginia-peterson/article_000a6025-556a-5213-bc59-a91251a1b4a6.html?fbclid=IwAR3mm5yGbgzWLfdA6fuP10OHDbQi1SZY5YE5o4hMilipiLPjG0Ew5Zfy2V8
Death Notice - https://www.leadertelegram.com/obituaries/death_notices/death-notices/article_baa02801-f250-5ebf-a71b-e9e0fa8fddd2.html
Introduction:
Hi! Thanks for coming to our page, which is being created to help crowdfund my parents with medical expenses. The only time I’ll mentioned myself directly, I’m Kyle Peterson (aka “the boy”), the son of Ginny and Darrel. I really wanted to create this to show support to my parents, financially and just in an overall presence for them, and to show how many people really do care.
As this is all about my parents and to help them out, let’s get this ball rolling with a little background about them!
Background on Parents:
My Mom – Her name is Virginia Peterson; she likes to go by Ginny though. She just turned 60 and at her surprise birthday party she insisted we should have just gotten her Culvers lol – speaks to her character, doesn’t like to make a big deal of anything nor be in the spotlight. She’ll genuinely put the needs of anyone else before her own. She was an exceptional teacher to her children for all of the “in-home” stuff – laundry, cooking, baking, cleaning, etc – to help prepare us for life after home. She’s a Rockstar in the garden, making a yearly flower garden at their house is one of her specialties. One last one, she is also a huge Packers fan and I have clear audible recall of her screaming “go, go, get in the endzone!” from the kitchen while doing dishes :).
My Dad – His name is Darrel Peterson. He is apologetically a Packers fanatic (hopefully this doesn’t deter anyone) and seeing the Packers win the Super Bowl in ’96 with Brett Favre was one of the few times I’ve seen him cry. He’s a sportsman, been hunting deer for a long time – but one of his favorites is just sitting in the hunting stand talking between him and the boy. He’s the type of person who enables you to spill out your heart and feelings, and won’t judge you about any of it.
Parents together – They’ve been married for nearly 35 years [if I’m incorrect I’ll get slapped on the back of the head later by dad], raised 3 kids (one of which was actually a dog – who was also their “favorite”), and have the largest and most kind hearts you would ever meet. They are the type of people who rarely ask for anything or for help, however, they will bend over backwards to help out family, friends and people they hardly know.
What’s the purpose of this?
I wanted to create an avenue to help my parents with medical expenses; they’ve done so much for our family, friends and other people – I wanted to see if I could swing some of that good karma back in their direction.
Medical expenses are always a tough pill to swallow, however, when both people on your medical plan each have deductibles exceeding $7,000 per year – this can become quite an overwhelming and frankly a nearly impossible expense to account for.
My initial goal is being set at $15,000, however, if that amount is achieved early, I would love to see how much could actually be raised to ease their burden now and in the future.
What are the health issues with Ginny?
Ginny has been a super healthy, rarely sick woman, the majority of her life - however, this changed late 2018. What started as a simple ear infection quickly spiraled into a whole host of Emergency Room visits, complications and numerous days admitted to the hospital. Now, Ginny has been having a number of similar issues again which is both frightening from a health perspective but also can be financially crippling.
To provide some context of Ginny’s health journey over the last 6+ months, for a Quick Snapshot of what’s going on – see the Summary Section Below. For a more detailed summary, see the Detailed Section below for a reverse chronological sequence of events – so most recent will be at top of the list and for each month the days will go in chronological order:
Quick Snapshot Summary:
*Updated* - After an overnight visit, which she seemed normal on Sunday night, she went into Cardiac Failure and became unresponsive. Doctors tried to resuscitate her from approximately 7:00 AM to 7:40 AM. At 7:40 AM on Monday July 9th, 2019, her peaceful and inspiring spirit left this world.
Currently – Ginny is in Rochester Minnesota at the Mayo Clinic due to further complications of her heart and breathing issues.
Ginny was diagnosed with two auto-immune diseases in December 2018 (Sjogrens and Raynaud’s). Her case of Sjogren’s was exceptionally rare, as it caused fluid to build up around both her heart and lungs. In addition to these syndromes, she also spent several days in and out of the hospital (even on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day) due to her heart and breathing difficulties. Among a whole host of other components, these visits lead to the removal of fluid numerous times from around her heart and lungs to aid in her recovery. She’s had a very long 6+ months of doctor’s visits, tests, admittance to hospitals and a wide variety of emotions (going from potentially battling cancer, to Tuberculosis, to heart failure).
So, I’d just like to take the time to let her know that I’m thinking about her and I’m here to help both of my parents as much and in whatever way possible.
Detailed Summary
-- So, mom took EXCEPTIONALLY detailed notes for all things medical, which made this much easier for me to follow her bread trail of a medical journey the last 8 months!
July – 2019
July 8th – Early Monday morning Ginny became unresponsive and went into Cardiac Failure. Doctors battled for approximately 40 minutes, attempting to resuscitate her; however, she peacefully past to be with her twin sister (Louise), mother (Jean Ming) and father (LeRoy Ming). She was the foundation of our family; if you think about a house, the foundation is the key and most important part of the home - that's exactly what she was to our family and so many more.
July 7th - Ginny was taken, by Darrel and Gary Peterson (father in law), to Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota due to worsening effects of the shortness of breath and chest/heart pain. Was admitted to the Cardiac Wing in the hospital after an Emergency Room visit. Waiting on CT scan and other test results to further narrow down what is causing these problems.
Ginny continued having extreme shortness of breath as well as chest pains into this month. Went into the doctor to discuss these new conditions – plan is set forward that if conditions worse to skip the Emergency Room in Eau Claire and go to Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota (if possible).
July 3rd – Had an EKG at the doctor, due to shortness of breath. Food continues to not be appetizing.
July 5th – Heart failure on right side of heart, this side of the heart is very large currently. If unable to walk more than 10 feet, go to the Rochester Emergency Room.
June – 2019
June 24th – Called primary doctor regarding difficulty breathing and shortness of breath while walking – also having difficulty breathing while laying down in bed. Food beginning to not taste good again.
June 25th – Doctor called with findings from visit – xrays looked good. Blood work showed kidney and liver function as normal, however, heart is showing movement toward heart failure.
June 27th – Doctor visit, regarding difficulty breathing. Received a temporary handicapped parking card for 6-months to help with traveling.
June 28th – Had an Echocardiogram, identified the right side of heart was enlarged again. Was allowed to go home.
May – 2019
May 22nd – Doctor visit due to shortness of breath while walking, CT scan of chest regarding the shortness of breath. Lungs sounded and looked good, CT results identified no fluid around heart or lungs.
January – 2019
January 3rd – Doctor office visit – checkup due to December. Ginny is a sort of rare case – typically with Sjogren’s Syndrome, fluid typically envelops the heart whereas with Ginny it tended to surround the left lung. Good news – ultrasound from the Uterus came back with normal levels, so no further concerns there.
January 4th – First relatively “pain free” day in some time – breathing was easier and not nearly the discomfort which there has been for some time.
January 8th – Ophthalmology appointment.
January 10th – Echocardiogram – tech identified Ginny had made a great recovery to this point.
January 17th – EKG & Doctor visit – tests showed things were looking good and getting back to normal.
There were a few more doctors appointments in January, however, things started looking much better.
December – 2018
December 5th – Doctors appointment to go over prior tests and run additional tests (strep, blood, etc).
December 6th – Had an echocardiogram performed. Echocardiogram identified fluid around lung and suspected pneumonia. Pulmonologist appointment to follow.
December 10th – Emergency Room trip due to shortness of breath, chest pains, muscle weakness, not hungry, feeling tired. Had a CT scan, EKG and Chest x-ray performed – which identified more fluid around heart and lungs. Was admitted to the hospital – saw a cardiologist. Drained fluid from around heart & lungs to ease burden on organs.
December 11th – Still in hospital, taken off oxygen in the morning as this level had returned to a more normal range. Had more fluid drained from around lungs. Got to go for walk, very short still due to muscle fatigue and shortness of breath.
December 12th – Doctors would like Ginny to be off of work until at least after Christmas vacation is over, to allow body to heal up more.
December 13th – Doctors identify one condition which Ginny has, an auto-immune disorder called Sjorgren’s Syndrome. Scheduled a Rheumatologist for follow-up to discuss this further.
December 17th – Visit the doctors again, had a chest x-ray to see how the fluid levels were doing in the chest cavity, more fluid is starting to build back up. Admitted to the hospital.
December 18th – Have more fluids drained from lung. Another condition is identified in addition to the Sjogren’s Syndrome, this one is called Raynaud’s Syndrome. Closed Ginny off into an isolation room due to tests performed for Tuberculosis – more pain and struggling to breath.
December 19th – Doctor identified that the right side of heart is not functioning properly and suggestion is to have this checked at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota or Eau Claire for additional tests.
December 22th – Additional tests and discharged from hospital.
December 24th -Readmitted to hospital due to shortness of breath, new battery of tests run. Stayed in hospital.
December 25th – Got to spend Christmas in the hospital – everyone’s dream! However, was released mid-day!
November – 2018
Everything starts somewhere, and this journey began with getting a simple cold and subsequent ear infection on November 5th – which later trigger her Sjogren’s to kick in.
On November 14th - Ginny went into the doctor as conditions of her cold continued to linger and get worse. Doctor identified that Ginny had a left ear infection – prescription medication.
November 15th - Left eardrum ruptures during the night. Approximately 4:00 PM started getting chest pains, back pain and shortness of breath.
November 16th - Called nurse due to chest pain and shortness of breath – told to get to the Emergency Room as soon as possible. Had multiple test (e.g. – EKG, blood, CT scan, etc). Prescribed medication and discharged.
November 19th and 23rd - OBYGN visits due to concerns over cancer.
November 28th – Went back into doctor and had additional tests run (blood, chest x-ray, EKG). ER visit on the 16th identified slight enlargement of heart.
November 30th – Ultrasound performed on uterus to identify any potential concerns for cancer/tumors.
What are the health issues with Darrel?
In 2004, Darrel was diagnosed with brain cancer and had a significantly large tumor growing in the occipital lobe of his brain. He was originally given a prognosis of less than 6 months to live, however, he was afforded the opportunity to participate in a trial – this form of treatment is successfully used as a treatment for this type of brain cancer too!
Darrel had a couple of craniotomies to remove as much of the tumor as the doctors were capable to remove, it had “spider-webbed” out in his brain so this was also challenging. Subsequently he came away from these surgeries permanently losing areas of his vision and needing continuous medicine to prevent seizures or reduce the possibility of occurrence. In addition to surgeries, he also had to undergo chemotherapy and radiation.
To this date Darrel has fortunately not has his tumor, or as he likes to call it – “little friend”, grow any further. However, he has had semi-annual and annual MRI scans to ensure if the tumor does become active again, doctors can try to treat as soon as possible before it would worsen.
Darrel also had neck fusion surgery from car accidents prior to all of this, so he’s been a hurtin’ unit for some time. Except! He does a great job of always having a positive attitude, mindset, and appreciation for life!
What’s the numbers breakdown?
My dad and I are both numbers guys, so let’s put this all into context of how effectively we can achieve such goals. Firstly, my wife Moriah and I are contributing $500 to get this started – “you can’t make change possible without sacrificing for those around you” is what my mom would say and exemplify. A quick story about our $500 – Moriah and I are currently saving for a house to purchase next year and this is coming directly out of that savings – so this is our sacrifice. If you’d like to say something about your donation and what you might be sacrificing too, that’d be kind of cool! We truly and deeply care about my parents and want to help them in any way we can.
So, I challenge everyone – put off on purchasing that fancy new gadget or maybe trim back on those spending sprees and help someone in need.
Next, let’s take a look at how contributions can help:
$500+ - 30 donations at or above and we’d hit our goal super-fast! (I might hunt down all the people that give this and give them a huge hug too!)
$250 – 60 donations.
$100 – 150 donations.
$50 – 300 donations.
$25 – 600 donations.
Another added incentive – every $25 raised, I’ll personally be doing 5 pushups and 5 sit-ups. Might even get Moriah (my wife) to video tape the torture that you all will inflict on me! My parents both love Saturday Night Live so to borrow a tagline from Hanz and Franz , “we just want to pump *clap*, you up!”
Co-organizers (4)
Kyle Peterson
Organizer
Eau Claire, WI
DeLayne Peterson
Co-organizer
Kristi Carlson
Co-organizer
Moriah Peterson
Co-organizer