Hello. My name is Donna Benck. I may know some of you and if not I have certainly heard my good friend, Mary Prisco mention you over the years. I am contacting you today because I had been in the process of planning a benefit to help Mary and her family battle the terrible disease she has been stricken with. I decided that this may be a better way to proceed due to the time constraints involved.

In July of 2012 Mary lost her job of 20 years due to the economic condition of this country. From that date Mary worked 24/7 trying to obtain a new position. She went on dozens of interview, signed up with many agencies, tirelessly scanned the want ads and job boards on line.  Around December of that same year, 2012 John also lost his job.   Mary trucked on, looking anywhere she could to find employment. By this time money was getting very tight and she started having a hard time keeping up with the monthly bills. Keep in mind that when she lost her job she also lost medical insurance for the entire family which was covered 100% by her former employer. She had to pay the cobra coverage which was 1600 per month.   So on top of losing her job she now had to cover that bill all with an unemployment check.   Things went from bad to worse when cobra ended in June 2013 which was when the family had to go with no health insurance.   In November 2013 Mary was rushed to the hospital because she was having severe stomach pains. She was diagnosed with colitis due to all the stress she was under. She spent 3 days in Palos community hospital. 

Finally in february 2014 Mary caught a break and was hired as a temp by conifer in Tinley park.  She immediately hit it off with her boss and was very optimistic about permanent employment with this company. After 6 months she was offered a full time position which of course she readily accepted even though it was considerably less than what she was previously earning. 

 Mary was finally feeling optimistic that she would be able to catch up on her mortgage and turn everything around. She renegotiated her mortgage and was granted an extension. Then in December 2014 and January 2015 she kept getting sick. She went to the doctor several times only to be told she had a cold or some other common illness. 

On January 20, 2015 she was hit with a diagnosis of Stage IV ovarian cancer. She was facing the fight of her life. Chemo to start immediately every three weeks. Then surgery  on April 28 to remove her ovaries followed by several more months of chemo.   Since she hadn't been at her job long enough she has no accrued sick time and does not get paid for the days she has to miss from the chemo treatments. Treatments that literally suck the life out of her making it impossible to get out of bed on some days. 

To throw another challenge at her, Mary's only child, 16 year old Alex started having severe debilitating anxiety attacks out of fear of losing her rock ... Her mother. So this is another issue that Mary is stressing about when all she needs is to get the stress out of her way so she can achieve her goal to be cancer free.  

So with all this going on Mary gets a letter from her mortgage company telling her that they need 3 payments on time then they will redo her mortgage which wouldn't be a problem if she could go to work everyday. She will be off work for several weeks recovering from the surgery then has to go back for 3 more rounds of chemo. She will not be paid for this time off.  Mary does need the added stress of trying to figure out where her family will live while she is fighting for her life. 

Thats is why I am asking all who read this to be as generous as they can to help Mary and her family remain in their home while she fights this horrific battle.   She has mounting medical bills that aren't covered by her insurance which will possibly follow her for the rest of her life. I know Mary has always been there for me whenever and for whatever I needed her for and I'm pretty sure she spreads her spirit of generosity to all of her friends and acquaintances. 

So please help me make sure that the Prisco's can stay in their home during and after this battle is won!!   Any amount will be greatly appreciated and used to get this family back on their feet. 

If you would like to make a donation off line please contact Donna Benck. 

Thank you in advance for your kindness and thoughtful gift.