Help Mike Buck with his Medical expenses

Hi, I am fundraising for my long time friend, Mike Buck.

Here is Mike's story in his own words:

In the last 4 years I has been plagued with medical problems, some of which were diagnosed and treated using local medical insurance, but at a price. The majority medical insurance policies in Brazil, are employment benefits with Companies, not by individuals like us, who could not obtain reduced premiums for bulk cover. The consequence is we paid out over $1500 a month for the basic policy, and each medical procedure we were charged a percentage of the cost.

Luck has not been on my side. Before leaving Brasilia I had cataracts fixed in both eyes. In Curitiba, Luci and I were going to open a small business, however early 2020 covid hit here and we went into isolation. We had to continue our insurance payment despite not being able to visit medical clinics except for emergency. During this time I was being treated privately for skin cancer treatment and surgery which included skin grafts.

In mid 2021 Luci began to notice I had a problem, my mood had changed and I was unable to think logically. This was made worse by loss of balance. For 8 months Luci struggled and began to think I had dementia and her efforts to get me to see a specialist fell on deaf ears. I finally agreed and after numerous scans I was diagnosed with Hydrocephalus. Unfortunately the specialists would only do further investigations privately and also required hospitalization to take spine fluid samples etc. They also wanted to drill into the skull and install a drain valve. We asked for a quote and went for a second opinion.

Lucky Luci knew of a Neuro Professor who used to teach at a Medical University. He only did private consultations and I was not covered using my medical insurance but after studying all the MRI’s, he stated because my diagnosis was caught early, I was only a moderate case and he had a Tablet Formulation that would stabilize the problem. I will never be cured because the damage in the brain is already done and is irreversible. The tablets are on prescription but not available over the counter and have to be manufactured by a local Pharmaceutical company.

Then in early 2022 I went for my annual endoscopy/colonoscopy and they removed a 2.5cm Polyps in my intestine. I was then put on a 6 monthly schedule but we were fast running out of funds and had to give up our medical insurance.

We are now under the government health schedule which has good treatment, but we cannot get instant access to medical unless it is an emergency. I did another colonoscopy 6 months ago and again they removed a tumor and sent it for biopsy with a result of precancer.

We can no longer afford my medicines and have been on the Government health neuro hospital list since Febuary this year, but I still have 2,000 people ahead of me on the list. I also need to see a Ophthalmologist both for my diabetes check and some skin cancer very close to the eye. I was put on the appointments list late last year and finally have an apointment this Thursday!!

So now I find myself unable to drive and Luci has been told I cannot be left unattended. I know the Hydrocephalus has got worse and now I get loss of balance and bouts of dizziness if I stand up in a hurry. Neither of us can get a local pension because I have not paid in enough years, and Luci has not reached retirement age.