Hello. My name is Andrea. As most of you know, my mother, Lori, and her husband, Terry, were married just a few weeks ago, on July 6th. You may have seen the pictures here, on Facebook. It was a very nice ceremony and we were more than happy to make him an official member of the family, as we all love him very much.

Unfortunately, just 10 short days later, on July 16th, Terry was taken to the hospital, by ambulance, with high fever, severe pain, and uncontrollable tremors. He was transferred to Moffitt Cancer Center the following day (he has been kicking cancer's ass for many years now, so this is his home base for medical treatment), where they discovered that he was suffering from pneumonia, as well as a severe staph infection in his blood (which they believe originated in

his port).

By July 21st, his breathing had become so strained, that the doctors made the decision to place him on life support. He had just enough time to call his children, and myself, to report the news, before he was sedated and placed on a ventilator.

The week that has passed, since, has been one hell of a rollercoaster ride. His lungs began showing major improvement and things were beginning to look up.. and then his kidneys began failing, due to the staph infection, running through his blood. They made some adjustments to his treatment and the kidneys began showing signs of improvement.. then he took two steps back with his lung function, when some hidden mucus popped up and caused a blockage in his airway. Got that cleared up and started showing some improvement in the lungs.. and then his kidney function slowed.. :-(

At this point, Terry remains on the ventilator, to keep his lungs going, and he is also on kidney dialysis, to keep his kidneys functioning properly. He is, no doubt, in an extremely fragile state but if you know Terry, you know that he is quite the fighter. His momma once told him that he's too mean to die and he has held fast to that, throughout the years! lol. (He's actually a softy, at heart, but I let him believe it 'cause it makes him feel better ;-) ). That was actually the last thing he muttered to me, before they took him off in the ambulance, barely able to speak, "Don't worry. I'm too mean to die!" Ha ha. Love that guy.

This is, obviously, a horrible situation for Terry and he is absolutely in a fight for his life right now.. but there is always another aspect, when a family member is sick. One that no one should have to stress about while they are dealing with this type of heartbreak. The financial aspect.

Although Terry does have medical coverage, his hospital bills have already exceeded, by thousands, the amount that the insurance will cover and the doctors are saying he could easily be there another month. My mom has not left his side and doesn't plan to, as she knows how important it is to have love and support during times like this. With the hospital being two hours from home, she is currently forking out $725 per week for a hotel room (the discounted rate is nice but adds up very quickly), plus meals, gas, and keeping up with all of the expenses at home. It's a LOT!!! She is alone and away from home and about as stressed as a person can possibly be. I hate that there is nothing I can do to improve Terry's situation but if we work together, maybe we can at least take a small sliver of stress out of the situation and help my mom focus on supporting him in his recovery.

If you do not have extra funds, to share, no worries. We are also gladly accepting well- wishes, prayers, positive vibes and a dog sitter from Aug 1st-4th would be AMAZING, if anyone is willing and available! Thank you all so much! If you are still reading this, it means that, at the very least, you care and that, in itself, means a lot! May you and your families stay healthy and appreciate each other's existence because you just never know what turns may be on the road ahead!