Let’s Help Aaron

Please hear my plea.  I have been wracking my brain trying to figure out how I can help my brother.  What I came up with was YOU.  Let me get to the point.  In 1986, when my brother Aaron was three years old, he was diagnosed with rhabdomyosarcoma cancer stage IV.  He had a 5-10% chance of survival.  After surviving three years of nonstop chemotherapy, he was “cured” of the cancer.  He was considered to be in remission by the time he was 12 years old.  This is wonderful--I know.

Aaron is now 33 years old and has an abundant amount of medical problems from the chemotherapy.  Ultimately, it damaged his heart, kidneys, reproductive system, hearing, nerves, and teeth.  He has been on massive amounts of oral potassium and magnesium for years, which, at this point, is not enough.  He started receiving IV administration of these drugs about two years ago.  He had a port placed under the skin on his chest to receive the IV medications because his veins are basically ruined.

He has struggled his entire life with his health.  He recently received the news that he needs a defibrillator/pacemaker.  The reason for this is because his heart is too weak.  He has a very high chance of going into cardiac arrest.  Ultimately, he needs a new heart.  At what point will the doctor’s refer him to get on the transplant list?  Your guess is as good as mine.  He is scheduled for the placement of this defibrillator/pacemaker on March 9, 2017.

Let’s get to the main reason I am asking for your help.  Aaron has been trying to receive disability for three years, but he is continuously denied disability because he is still working.  Yes, I said that!  He is still working.  He cannot afford to quit his job.  He is newly married and does not want to burden his wife with the stress of having to be the sole provider.  He struggles every day to get up and go to work.

This is the catch--disability will not approve him until he quits his job.  If he quits working, he does not have enough money to survive until he finally receives his disability.  He does have a lawyer, and after hundreds of pages of medical records dating back to 1986, he is still not eligible for disability.  He roughly makes $500 a month.

Now, let me tell you what my goal is.  I would love to be able to raise enough money for him to survive for a year without working while he waits for his disability to come through.  At $500 a month, that means I need to raise approximately $6,000 so he is able to pay his house payment and be a productive part of his marriage.  This does not even take into account the thousands of dollars in medical bills that he will have after his defibrillator/pacemaker surgery.

I am asking for you to open up your mind and your heart for someone you don’t know.  This man has struggled his entire life, and he still has one of the most positive attitudes of anybody I know.  He is a genuine goofball, and he loves to joke around.  I just want to help him at this time, and with our efforts, we can increase his quality of life.  This money would give him the ability to not worry about work and where or how he is going to come up with his mortgage payment.

Thank you all for listening to our story, and I truly appreciate any and all help that we receive.  God Bless!