Help the Berrys with Medical Bills & Expenses

Hi, my name is Heather. I figure most people don’t ever think they may one day write something like this. I, like most people, function on a daily basis without the thought of a tragedy looming over my head; something awful that may happen to myself or a family member that could possibly change our lives forever.

My family has experienced such life-changing events before but with the passage of time I believe we thought we were safe or something like that, but fate or God or the universe (whatever you want to say) had other ideas.

Most of you know my sister Amy Berry. She is married to her wonderful husband Andrew and they have two terrific boys, ages 14 and 8. Amy is a registered nurse and therefore knew something was seriously wrong when she began experiencing weakness and heaviness in her right limbs about 8 weeks ago.

After a week of tests and two trips to two different ER’s, Amy was diagnosed with a very large meningioma and she needed surgery immediately. These types of tumors are usually benign so that was good news but the prospect of brain surgery was extremely frightening. Four days after she was admitted to the hospital Amy underwent a craniotomy to have the tumor removed. Luckily the surgeon was able to remove the whole thing and Amy did not require further medical intervention.

However, in the aftermath of the surgery Amy has been left with some weakness and mobility issues and she is currently unable to work. She is going through occupational and physical therapy at this time and she will be able to go back to her normal job duties but we don’t know exactly when.

Amy does have medical insurance but her portion of the surgery and hospital stay that she is responsible for is in the thousands. On top of that, her family is currently living on one salary and having to rely on that to take care of the mortgage, car payment, utilities, groceries, plus incidentals like what their kids might need with school starting in a month. They are feeling the stress of the financial situation and right now Amy needs to be able to focus on healing more than anything else.

If you know Amy you know she has a quick wit but she also has a heart of gold. Amy puts her family before herself and everything else. She makes our favorite meals on our birthdays. She loves hosting family gatherings for literally any reason. Amy’s ordeal with this diagnosis and surgery has brought us closer together and I’m grateful for that in spite of the suffering she has endured. Please help me ease her burden so she can concentrate on her therapy and getting back to her normal routine.