Medical Expenses

Hello! I'm Michelle, and I set this up to benefit Amanda and Nate Thomas.

This who know Amamda know how beautiful she is, how she will help others, loves to teach others about embroidery, sewing, quilting, and pretty much any craft she does. She also loves to learn new things, and is ALWAYS there to help those on need, despite not having much herself.

Now she and her husband Nate need our help!

Amanda had been having hip pain back in October of 2022. She saw her doctor, who gave her pain medication and suspected arthritis, as she's in her 60s.

The medication helped some, but by mid February of 23 she had to use a walker to get around, and even then couldn't walk far because the pain had increased so much.

At that point, her doctor ordered an MRI (or CT scan, I can't remember which) for her hip to see if there was a bone problem, and suspected she'd need a hip replacement.

Her insurance finally got around to approving the scan, but the earliest appointment was a month away, the first few days of April (can't remember the exact date), because the insurance only approved it at a regular need, not an "emergency " need, and no amount of calls from the doctor would make them change their minds.

In that first few days of April she gets the scan. When the results come back, they are told Amanda has cancer, and the cancer has sent toxins out so she had a couple of lesions on her hip causing the pain (by now she can't walk, only stand for a very brief time).

Her doctor orders a PET scan to locate the cancer. The plan then is to find it, biopsy it to see what kind of treatment they need beside chemo if any, and to see if it's malignant or benign, and begin treatment. Her doctor things they caught it early enough and they can treat it and she'll beat it.

Here we go again eith the insurance game. A month later, at the beginning of May, she's finally able to get the PET scan. The scan shows a small spot in her lung. No problem, onward with the plan, and her doctor orders a biopsy.

Well, you guessed it, again with the insurance. It's finally approved, scheduled for June 2nd.

On Memorial Day Monday, Nate called me because he thought she might have had a stroke but it didn't last long and he wasn't sure if she needed to go be checked. I told him to call for an ambulance to take her since by that time she couldn't even stand, and hadn't been able to since May.

She's admitted that afternoon after spending the first half of the day in the ER. They still aren't sure if she had a stroke (enev though she showed all the classic stroke symptoms), but they did find bed sores from staying in the chair all the time, a UTI, and a DVT (large blood clot) in her leg. She was also very dehydrated.

The p I sh fluids, get her on antibiotics and blood thinners, and a couple days later, she's getting back her spark and being the sassy Amanda we all know and love.

They get another scan done while she's in hospital so they can see if the spot on her lung is in the same place and hasn't grown before they do the biopsy.

Then we get the bad news. In the one month since the PET scan, the cancer has grown in her lung. She so now has cancer in her breast and the lesions on her hip have metastasized into a large mass of cancer there.

Her prognosis is bleak. She has stage 4 lung cancer, very aggressive, that has already metastasized. They can't do chemo, as her body isn't strong enough and the cancer is too far advanced. She's given about 7 months.

She got to go home Friday afternoon (June 2), and is now on hospice care. She has nurses that come in, has oxygen, and a hospital bed in their living room.

Nate got laid off due to too many people and not enough work to go around back in late January/early February, about the same time Amanda got to where she couldn't walk without the walker. It was a blessing in disguise of a sort, because Nate could be home with her daily to help her.

They do have some income, but barely enough to survive. Once Amanda's gone home to be with our Lord, Nate will have no income until he can find a job. Right now his main focus, of course, is staying with Amanda 24/7 and caring for her.

They need help, as much as we can give. Amanda is a beautiful soul who deserves so much better than this cancer, better than what she had before she found Nate. Now, with this news and little income, they have medical bills racking up with no way to pay them, and there will likely be funeral expenses later on.

Amanda has 3 kids, one daughter and two sons, and several grandchildren. She hasn't seen her kids in about 20 years, as they still live in England. She's never met her grandchildren except via video call/face time. They won't be able to come visit due to lack of funds for flights, so online is the best way they can see her. As such, an online streamed servis is the only way her kids and grandkids eill be able to attend her services.

All of this adds up to a lot of money, money they don't have.

Please, anyone that can, donate to this fund. Everything will go to them, as I'm setting this up for Nate and only Nate to be able to withdraw funds as needed .

She's been there for everyone else. It's time for everyone else to be there for her. Even $1 can be of help.

Thank you all so very much. Please share this on all social media, in your groups, guilds, churches, etc.