Hi, my name is Bill. I am a neighbor of Fred Luzader and his wife Charlette (61 and 62 respectively). Fred was diagnosed with Stage IV colon cancer 6 years ago, which he beat but had to wear a bag ever since. Fred went back to work and has been working full-time ever since, but in the last 6 months, he has been fighting a bad cough and fatigue. His doctor said it was allergies, but he was wrong. He has since learned that he has Stage IV rectal cancer with metastasis to the lung, which eventually went to the bloodstream. The doctor has given him 1 to 2 years to live but has since downgraded it to 6 months.

Fred was the breadwinner of the family, and this has left them in a financial limbo. His work allowed him to get on FMLA but at 60% of what he was making. This ends on May 5th. At this time, he will lose his insurance and the little income he has until the other benefits kick in (I helped them file for social security, SNAP, and HEAP). To top all of this off, they lost their only mode of transportation when the transmission went out on their car.

Fred and Charlette have been a blessing to this community and to their family. They raised their grandchildren when their mother died and helped many neighbors and friends who needed it during their life. I think that they deserve a little help at the end of Fred's life. I pray that they don't have to worry about where the next meal will come from or that they have a place to stay without being evicted.

Even a little will help.

God bless you.