Help save Ken
Donation protected
Those of you who have been following my Facebook posts are aware that my husband, Ken, has been struggling physically for many months now. After a months-long battle with double pneumonia, he has found himself fighting a whole new set of problems. I’ll just list a few: agonizing pain in joints and muscles; a fever that has lasted over four months and will not go away; night sweats; profound fatigue and weakness, along with severe mental fog; and a pre-ulcerous gastric condition in his tiny one-eighth of a stomach, which gives him terrible pain for two hours after eating; and though he has religiously been consuming 2,000+ calories daily, his weight continues to plummet.
His doctors here are flummoxed. They’ve run about every kind of test they can think of, with more to come. His blood tests are normal except for a soaring sedimentation rate, indicative of an infection or inflammation somewhere in his body—just where, no one can say. Already one specialist has thrown up his hands and told us he was out of options and could no longer help us.
Because of all this, it has become more urgent than ever that we find some answers—and soon. We’ve both concluded that his best chance at a clear diagnosis and recovery is to travel as soon as possible back to the place that has twice, against all odds, saved his life: Loma Linda University Medical Center in Southern California. Some of the best doctors anywhere, who work there, know Ken and are familiar with his symptoms from back in 2012 through 2016. We’ve told our local doctors about this plan, and all of them enthusiastically endorse it.
We know that a trip such as this is currently beyond our resources. Had Ken been in good health for the past few months, he would have been able to generate the needed funding. But as it is, we are making this appeal to friends who may be able to help us, before Ken’s already dangerous situation deteriorates even more.
We’ve run the numbers, and we estimate that expenses for travel, lodging, and non-insured medical treatment will come to $5,000 to $6,000—hopefully no more than that— beyond what we currently have available. We plan to leave near the end of this month, by which time pending medical tests here (to rule out recurrent cancer) will be complete.
We thank you in advance for considering this appeal. At times I tell Ken, “Money is only money, but you are irreplaceable.” While this is true, it is also true that without money, there might not be a Ken. To any of you who can contribute—no matter the amount—we will be ever so grateful, and we thank you in advance!
His doctors here are flummoxed. They’ve run about every kind of test they can think of, with more to come. His blood tests are normal except for a soaring sedimentation rate, indicative of an infection or inflammation somewhere in his body—just where, no one can say. Already one specialist has thrown up his hands and told us he was out of options and could no longer help us.
Because of all this, it has become more urgent than ever that we find some answers—and soon. We’ve both concluded that his best chance at a clear diagnosis and recovery is to travel as soon as possible back to the place that has twice, against all odds, saved his life: Loma Linda University Medical Center in Southern California. Some of the best doctors anywhere, who work there, know Ken and are familiar with his symptoms from back in 2012 through 2016. We’ve told our local doctors about this plan, and all of them enthusiastically endorse it.
We know that a trip such as this is currently beyond our resources. Had Ken been in good health for the past few months, he would have been able to generate the needed funding. But as it is, we are making this appeal to friends who may be able to help us, before Ken’s already dangerous situation deteriorates even more.
We’ve run the numbers, and we estimate that expenses for travel, lodging, and non-insured medical treatment will come to $5,000 to $6,000—hopefully no more than that— beyond what we currently have available. We plan to leave near the end of this month, by which time pending medical tests here (to rule out recurrent cancer) will be complete.
We thank you in advance for considering this appeal. At times I tell Ken, “Money is only money, but you are irreplaceable.” While this is true, it is also true that without money, there might not be a Ken. To any of you who can contribute—no matter the amount—we will be ever so grateful, and we thank you in advance!
Organizer and beneficiary
Phyllis George McFarland
Organizer
Clinton, TN
Ken McFarland
Beneficiary
