Help Heather and Frank make it through this storm

Update: We just found out their insurance runs out at the end of November. 

Heather and Frank have had a brutal last couple of years.  Frank is now battling colon cancer and Heather recently lost her job because of the time she's had to take off to support Frank, making both of them unemployed. On top of that, they will both lose their health insurance by the end of November 2021. They have reached a breaking point physically, emotionally, and financially.  They have no savings left and the bills are mounting. They may loss their home and everything the've worked for. Heather is struggling daily with her anxiety and depression from all the trauma. "Just taking a shower or leaving the house is a chore," she says. Couple that with Frank's upcoming surgery and chemo appointments and the caregiving she'll need to provide Frank and it's clear that Heather needs some help.

Thank you for whatever you can give. Share the link if you're inspired to do so on your social media and join me in sending them positive healing vibes as they are much needed at this time.

Who I and why I'm doing this: 
My name is Camille, a good friend of Heather and Frank, and am starting this go fund me page to help them get through a devastating and horrific life experience that has been going on for over a year and a half now. It continues today. They are on the cusp of running out of all their savings and are now dealing with a new medical situation that has put their lives in a precarious situation. (You may remember Heather and Frank's story in last year's Anchorage Daily News posted August 29th, 2020. See link below.) I am here to raise $10,000 to help them with their medical expenses and bring some much needed income into their daily living so they can keep their home and make ends meet. It's been tough getting Frank and Heather to say yes to this because they are not takers; they're givers. However I told them that it was time for them to receive.

 

A Summary of their Trauma

Last June, after spending five days in the hospital where Heather had her neck fused at seven levels front and back, she returned home. The next day Frank didn't feel well and Heather took his temperature. It read 106.4. He drove himself to the ER while Heather, shocked and scared, stayed behind unable to move because of her surgery. Frank's condition worsened and continued to deteriorate upon arrival. Oxygen tubes went in his nose and his doctor confirmed he had COVID-19 on his second day there.

 

Meanwhile Heather was now in quarantine for ten days and unable to have anyone come into the home. Frank was suppose to be her caregiver and assist with rehabilitation but that plan was no longer in play. Heather struggled to care for herself alone and went five days without a shower because she couldn’t properly cover her incisions. Though she could reach Frank by phone, he labored to talk. Frank's condition was so bad that he was put into a negative pressure room where he was on high flow oxygen for two weeks. He wondered if he’d survive. “For about a week, it got real bad,” he says.

 

Heather, home alone with her own worry, fell into a routine of calling Frank’s nurses each morning at 11 a.m., hoping for good news. However, for several days the news was bleak. After nearly three weeks of treatment, Frank was able to return home but had to now quarantine himself and couldn't even hug his wife.

 

A day after returning home, after 24 years of work, Frank lost his job.

 

In the weeks that followed, Frank lost his brother just a year after losing their father. Heather lost her mom and between the two of them over ten friends and family members died. The stress of this trauma was clear to me at Heather's mother's funeral. I became very concerned about their mental and emotional health as this was clearly way more than two people should be given to deal with. Those close to Heather know that she has also been a caregiver to her step-father and her mother for over ten years. In 2019 alone, Heather took them to the hospital a total of 42 times! As a caregiver myself, I know personally the debilitating effect full time caregiving does to a person. The wear and tear is real yet can go unnoticed by those closest to them.

 

Fast forward to the weekend of September 24th, 2021. Frank had a colonoscopy that revealed he has colon cancer. Laster that day, Heather lost her job. The next day, Frank found out he had a heart attack back in August when he was hospitalized again for unknown reasons. That afternoon, Frank's daughter Jenny, seven month's pregnant was hospitalized after testing positive for COVID. On a ventilator for two weeks, they put her into a deep coma and delivered the baby who weighed 3.7 lbs. The baby also had to be put on a ventilator. As I write this, Frank is scheduled for a CAT scan this week. They also need to do a stress test to see if his heart can handle the two surgeries needed to remove the large mass. Then there's the chemo and radiation.

 

Though it's still very uncomfortable for them to allow me to do this, they have no other option. Please help as you can. I will keep you updated as things unfold. If you believe in the power of prayer, please join me in calling forth the miracle needed. Thank you so much.

Peace Camille

Article about Frank and Heather in the ADN last year