Funding for Mary's Spinal Surgery
Donation protected
For those who may not know our mother, Mary Dillon, her story is rather inspiring. Mary is the seventh child born of eight, in a family that had little to nothing for the majority of their lives. After high school, she attended college for a year but never finished and, instead, raised a family of three girls with her husband, Matt.
In her early 30s, Mary was diagnosed with Rheumatoid Arthritis. Since then, she has undergone joint replacement surgery on both of her hips and knees and a fusion of her ankle. She was also diagnosed with a rare liver disease, called Primary Biliary Cirrhosis, when she was only 35 years old. Despite the many health related setbacks our mother experienced and still continues to experience today, she has never given up on living her life to the fullest. When she was 49 years old, she decided to go back to college to complete her bachelor's degree, in which she accomplished back in May 2015. Soon after she graduated, her existing health conditions began presenting some of the complications that coincide with 15 to 20 years of having these diseases, along with the complications of the prolonged use of certain medicines that allowed her to function as normally as she could each day.
The last year and a half has been a very rocky road for our mom, as she started out seeking a liver transplant, but then was forced in June 2016 to have a spinal fusion in the lumbar region of her back due to the collapsing of vertebrae. Her bones are very fragile as a result of the Osteoporosis she's acquired from the many years of steroid treatments for her Rheumatoid Arthritis. In turn, this same steroid treatment for her arthritis has also accelerated the destruction of her liver.
Now she is facing an extremely risky surgery on the cervical region of her back, where her C1 and C2 vertebrae have been collapsed now for months. During this extensive surgery, they will be inserting a plate on the back of her skull and fusing a rod from the plate to the cervical region of the spine.
As many of us know, a medical bill for any surgery is usually daunting. Unfortunately, with the way insurance works, we are now at the beginning of a new plan year where our parents will have to meet their deductible and out of pocket max again. Our family has been informed that the surgery will cost around $80,000, where my parents are responsible for meeting their $6,000 deductible first plus whatever is left after coinsurance is applied.
This gofundme page has been set up to raise money to help our family during this emotionally and financially difficult time. Even the smallest donation will make a tremendous difference. We greatly appreciate everyone who took the time to read our mom's story and we hope you will spread the word. Thanks so much.
Love,
The Dillon Family
In her early 30s, Mary was diagnosed with Rheumatoid Arthritis. Since then, she has undergone joint replacement surgery on both of her hips and knees and a fusion of her ankle. She was also diagnosed with a rare liver disease, called Primary Biliary Cirrhosis, when she was only 35 years old. Despite the many health related setbacks our mother experienced and still continues to experience today, she has never given up on living her life to the fullest. When she was 49 years old, she decided to go back to college to complete her bachelor's degree, in which she accomplished back in May 2015. Soon after she graduated, her existing health conditions began presenting some of the complications that coincide with 15 to 20 years of having these diseases, along with the complications of the prolonged use of certain medicines that allowed her to function as normally as she could each day.
The last year and a half has been a very rocky road for our mom, as she started out seeking a liver transplant, but then was forced in June 2016 to have a spinal fusion in the lumbar region of her back due to the collapsing of vertebrae. Her bones are very fragile as a result of the Osteoporosis she's acquired from the many years of steroid treatments for her Rheumatoid Arthritis. In turn, this same steroid treatment for her arthritis has also accelerated the destruction of her liver.
Now she is facing an extremely risky surgery on the cervical region of her back, where her C1 and C2 vertebrae have been collapsed now for months. During this extensive surgery, they will be inserting a plate on the back of her skull and fusing a rod from the plate to the cervical region of the spine.
As many of us know, a medical bill for any surgery is usually daunting. Unfortunately, with the way insurance works, we are now at the beginning of a new plan year where our parents will have to meet their deductible and out of pocket max again. Our family has been informed that the surgery will cost around $80,000, where my parents are responsible for meeting their $6,000 deductible first plus whatever is left after coinsurance is applied.
This gofundme page has been set up to raise money to help our family during this emotionally and financially difficult time. Even the smallest donation will make a tremendous difference. We greatly appreciate everyone who took the time to read our mom's story and we hope you will spread the word. Thanks so much.
Love,
The Dillon Family
Organizer and beneficiary
Deirdre Mae
Organizer
Willimantic, CT
Matt Dillon
Beneficiary
