DONNA LYNN DEMARCO ARNOLD

A loving Wife, Mother, and Grandmother who has battled Stage IV Breast Cancer for thirteen (13) years and has now lost her battle with this dreaded disease. Donna is now in Hospice care and in the final days of life. She has endured weekly chemotherapy treatments for the entire course of her battle. The cost beyond insurance coverage is staggering and beyond imagination. Weekly labs alone cost approximately $3500 per week for the entire thirteen year battle. In addition to chemo and radiation treatments, Donna's antibodies attacked her red blood cells and platelets following the first dose of a new chemo drug infusion. This attack is referred to as HUS (Hemolytic Uremic Syndrome) and caused major kidney and liver damage. She was given a 15% chance of surviving HUS and was treated by having her entire blood supply exchanged by plasma pheresis three (3) times pet week for nine (9) months. In total, Donna received more than 600 units of plasma and 150 units of blood. The cost of that was astronomical. Having survived the HUS attack, Donna received an invasive procedure to treat two (2) tumors in her liver by having radioactive isotopes placed in her liver next to the tumors. Although beneficial, the radiation burned a large hole in Donna's stomach requiring three (3) emergency surgeries to save her life. The effects of these things pushed Donna's body beyond the point of no return. In addition, all avaliable chemo drugs had been tried, leaving her to waste away waiting for the Lord to call her home.

All of the medical bills have financially strapped the family as insurance coverage has not even been close to covering all of the medical bills. On top of that, we now have to plan for a funeral in the very near future and must borrow funds for that. Life insurance that is in effect will only cover a small portion of her medical bills. Any and all prayers and donations toward assistance will be greatly appreciated.