Covid RN Fighting Brain Cancer
Donation protected
My friends and I are all in the medical field, and most of us are nurses. We have all been fighting Covid-19 since the beginning with the majority of us working in the emergency department. Through the most intimidating and frightening moments, we have had our best friend and leader, Erin Dean. With complete transparency I can tell you that she has been our calm in the storm and guiding light.
Erin is a 39-year-old, single mother of three children: Lachlan (11), Allison (9), and Ben (7). She has joint custody of the kiddos and is their main financial provider, which includes covering their medical insurance. This has become difficult since her diagnoses. I’ll start from the beginning. Erin was diagnosed with stage 2 breast cancer on July 27, 2017, which also happened to be the day she closed on the home she bought for her and her children. I remember how excited she was when she found this house, and I remember it being overshadowed by the news of her diagnosis. But true to form, she comforted us all and fought her way to recovery. She never asked for help, and she never complained.
Fast-forward two years, we were all at work in the emergency department when she began acting strangely. She sat in her chair and stared at us; speech garbled. We told her to knock it off! (Anyone who knows Erin, knows she is a major goofball.) It took us a few minutes to realize she wasn’t joking. We quickly moved her to an open room and called a physician to her side. Tests were conducted and the results were devastating. The cancer had returned, and this time it was in her brain. She was diagnosed with stage 4 breast metastasis to the brain on July 10, 2019. Again, she went through harsh and expensive treatments. Again, she won. Again, she never asked for help.
Now here we are in 2020, the year of “what else can go wrong?”. Of course, the metastasis has returned to her brain. It was rediscovered on August 20th. Again, she has not asked for help. As her friends, we are asking for her. Erin’s treatments are very expensive. Her chemotherapy costs approximately $18,000 a month. The plan is to receive chemo by mouth and intravenously for the next two years. She has worked hard to find grants and was lucky enough to have gotten the first year covered. The second year’s funds are still unsecured. That is not all she has to worry about. The average out-of-pocket costs while battling cancer is more than $20,000 annually for the vast majority. She recently finished radiation therapy, which she will also be expected to pay out-of-pocket upon reception of the bill, with the hopes of being reimbursed by insurance in the future.
I want to tell you all a little more about Erin so that you may be more apt to help. She has been a registered nurse for 16 years. She currently works full-time as a clinical coordinator in a busy emergency department and is also enrolled full-time as a Family Nurse Practitioner student at the University of South Alabama with intent to graduate in December of 2021. She can’t stop working full-time because she carries her and her children’s insurance (not to mention all of the out-of-pocket expenses coming her way). She refuses to stop being a full-time student because she is stubborn and determined (and brilliant). I can also assure you that there is no one more capable of being an advanced practice nurse, and any of us would be lucky to have her as our provider. Erin is the kindest, most giving and humble person in the entire world. She is utterly selfless. Please, please help us help her!
Erin is a 39-year-old, single mother of three children: Lachlan (11), Allison (9), and Ben (7). She has joint custody of the kiddos and is their main financial provider, which includes covering their medical insurance. This has become difficult since her diagnoses. I’ll start from the beginning. Erin was diagnosed with stage 2 breast cancer on July 27, 2017, which also happened to be the day she closed on the home she bought for her and her children. I remember how excited she was when she found this house, and I remember it being overshadowed by the news of her diagnosis. But true to form, she comforted us all and fought her way to recovery. She never asked for help, and she never complained.
Fast-forward two years, we were all at work in the emergency department when she began acting strangely. She sat in her chair and stared at us; speech garbled. We told her to knock it off! (Anyone who knows Erin, knows she is a major goofball.) It took us a few minutes to realize she wasn’t joking. We quickly moved her to an open room and called a physician to her side. Tests were conducted and the results were devastating. The cancer had returned, and this time it was in her brain. She was diagnosed with stage 4 breast metastasis to the brain on July 10, 2019. Again, she went through harsh and expensive treatments. Again, she won. Again, she never asked for help.
Now here we are in 2020, the year of “what else can go wrong?”. Of course, the metastasis has returned to her brain. It was rediscovered on August 20th. Again, she has not asked for help. As her friends, we are asking for her. Erin’s treatments are very expensive. Her chemotherapy costs approximately $18,000 a month. The plan is to receive chemo by mouth and intravenously for the next two years. She has worked hard to find grants and was lucky enough to have gotten the first year covered. The second year’s funds are still unsecured. That is not all she has to worry about. The average out-of-pocket costs while battling cancer is more than $20,000 annually for the vast majority. She recently finished radiation therapy, which she will also be expected to pay out-of-pocket upon reception of the bill, with the hopes of being reimbursed by insurance in the future.
I want to tell you all a little more about Erin so that you may be more apt to help. She has been a registered nurse for 16 years. She currently works full-time as a clinical coordinator in a busy emergency department and is also enrolled full-time as a Family Nurse Practitioner student at the University of South Alabama with intent to graduate in December of 2021. She can’t stop working full-time because she carries her and her children’s insurance (not to mention all of the out-of-pocket expenses coming her way). She refuses to stop being a full-time student because she is stubborn and determined (and brilliant). I can also assure you that there is no one more capable of being an advanced practice nurse, and any of us would be lucky to have her as our provider. Erin is the kindest, most giving and humble person in the entire world. She is utterly selfless. Please, please help us help her!
Fundraising team: Erin's Entourage (4)
Amber DOlimpio
Organizer
Alexander City, AL
Erin Dean
Beneficiary
Jenn McMullan
Team member
Rebecca Caldwell
Team member
Breazie Jones
Team member
