Hector's Battle: Cancer, Paralysis, and Hope

Please Read, Our Family Needs Help

After 16 years of dedicated service in law enforcement as a Sheriffs Deputy, my husband Hector is now fighting stage 4 cancer- and a system that’s leaving him behind.

In April, Hector was diagnosed with Burkitt lymphoma, an extremely aggressive cancer that caused a spinal cord injury, leaving him paralyzed from the waist down. He’s been in a hospital bed at OHSU for over 100 days… unable to walk, unable to sit up on his own and now, apparently, unable to be helped by our own insurance.

Since he can’t work, his employer stopped paying their portion of our health insurance, and we’re now stuck paying $1,300 a month just to keep it. That’s more than our mortgage.

And today, we were told that insurance will not cover any transportation to get Hector home from the hospital or to future medical appointments. Nothing! No van, no gurney, no help. He literally cannot sit upright or safely transfer to a wheelchair, and we don’t have a vehicle equipped for his needs.

So what now? Is he supposed to crawl home from Portland?

This is what families are facing when catastrophic illness and disability strike- a complete collapse of the systems meant to protect us.

We are fighting every single day- against cancer, paralysis, bureaucracy, and financial devastation. And now we’re asking for help.

We will be needing a wheel chair accessible vehicle to be able to transport our beloved Hector comfortably and safely, not just to medical appointments but on family outings,

If you can share this, speak up, or support in any way, it means more than I can ever express.

With gratitude,

Alexandra