Denmark Family Medical Fund
Yvonne and Mike met over 20yrs ago and dated for a whirlwind summer that ended way too soon. Life stepped in and took them different directions. Mike went to south Florida to start his law enforcement career and Yvonne went out to the Florida panhandle and finished her teaching degree. They both married and had children and led relatively normal lives by most standards. Three and a half years ago, fate brought them back together, older, wiser, more mature and much more able to appreciate what each of them brought to the table. Each of them were picking up the pieces of broken and divorced homes and each had a set of 17 and 13 yr old children to look out for. They reconnected by chance and took a gamble at pursuing the relationship that had lingered in both of their minds over the years to see if it really could be everything that they imagined that it might have been. The relationship took on a life of it's own and they wed July 7th, 2012.
Yvonne has been teaching for 15 yrs, the first thirteen as a 1st and 2nd grade teacher and the last 2 yrs as an art teacher for all elementary school grades.
Mike has been in law enforcement since 1989 and has been with the Gainesville Police Department over 20 yrs.
In July of 2014, Yvonne began experiencing fatigue and pain in her joints. She also began waking at night short of breath and gasping for air. Yvonne suffers from a heart condition, Tachacardia, which she has effectively treated with medication for years. Yvonne went to her physician about the fatigue and shortness of breath and was told it was a normal part of her condition and that she should get more rest. In September, she broke out in a rash that 3 doctors later would later be diagnosed as Granuloma Anullare. The condition, although unsightly and uncomfortable, is in itself harmless, but is usually a manifestation of a bigger issue. An infectious disease specialist has ruled out a multitude of possible causes for the rash outbreak, however there are still a number of things that may have caused this, including lung cancer. CT and PET scans revealed that Yvonne has "abnormalities" on both lungs. The only way to know for certain what these abnormalities are, is to perform a biopsy on the spots in her lungs. A very invasive surgery has been scheduled Nov. 6th in which they will conduct open body/open lung surgery to go into the right lung and remove a "wedge" of the lung that is large enough to take out all of the abnormality. They will leave Yvonne on the operating table while they perform the biopsy. If it is cancer they will go back in and remove the lower lobe of her right lung and also her lymph nodes. If it is not cancer then they will conduct a multitude of test on the sample to find out exactly what it is. This surgery is just the tip of the iceberg. It is just the beginning of finding out the what, where and how's of dealing with this. There may be chemo, radiation and additional surgeries, as we still have to find out about the other lung.
This has all put Yvonne and Mike in a situation of financial worry and stress. Yvonne is expected to be out of work for at least 3-4 weeks. Yvonne's youngest son has had chronic medical conditions that have depleted her leave account, as she has had to stay home with him off and on for years. She now has only a week of leave and this will leave the family short at least 2 pay checks as she recovers, with the holidays quickly approaching. As you can imagine, the doctor's bills are starting to arrive and the total will begin to rise quickly as things move forward after the surgery. Mike and Yvonne have served their communities for over 40 yrs combined, but as a teacher and police officer with 4 teenagers, it's not hard to understand that there is not a lot of extra money in their home. They have spent their entire adult lives giving to their communities, can you give a little back to help support them in their time of need?
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MikeandYvonne Denmark