Patty McCarthy-my sister - Cancer and Unemployed
Donation protected
My one and only little sister Patrice, needs our help.
I have watched Patty, as a single mother with two kids struggle with providing for her kids and rarely doing anything for herself, to say she put herself last, would be an understatement. She’s always given her children what they needed, even if it meant that there was nothing ever ‘leftover’ for herself.
A couple of years ago I started to get closer to my little sister, and honestly learned of her hardships and started to treat her to some simple treats that I could, as I could.
Besides always being strapped for cash, two years ago, in 2018, Patty’s daughter, my niece, got hit by a car while riding her bicycle and broke both of her arms…..just 2 weeks before she started her freshman year in high school. It was tough- Patty had to take time off of work to care for her daughter and with all the surgeries, the last one in January 2020. The medical bills just keep piling on….
Sadly, after that saga, 1 ½ years ago, my little sister was diagnosed with stage 2 breast cancer…..just when she was starting a new job, with no insurance benefits available right away. She researched and tried ways to fight this cancer diagnosis on her own as she could and tried natural/alternative ways to fight this cancer. She first had a Lumpectomy last year in 2019, just to find out the cancer came back fierce and furious.
Patty had a mastectomy back in February 2020. Unfortunately, while she was on disability, recovering from her surgery, her employer informed her that her FMLA expired and she had to return to full capabilities at work or be terminated from her job! What?? I WISH I was making this up!!!! So my little sister was dealing with cancer, healing from a major surgery AND her job was on the line? My heart is breaking for my little sister!
Her employer did let her go back in March and now, Patty finds herself needing to complete the mastectomy surgery, yet her doctor who started the procedure, will not accept her current, new insurance. She may now be responsible for self-paying the $20K for the cancer surgery! She does not have a home to sell or refinance since her income barely covered her cost of living as a single mom raising two kids on her own and now, MORE Medical bills!
She’s been unemployed since March and is actively looking for work, yet knows she has another major surgery to go through to ‘finish’ the mastectomy. Again, I WISH I was making this up, yet she just called me and told me her 2008 used car just died on her….the engine blew….and the estimate is $5k to replace the engine, and the car’s only worth $6K. What next??!!
She’s feeling extremely overwhelmed with EVERYTHING!!! I really don’t understand why so many terrible things have happened to such a good person. If you knew Patrice….aka Patty, as her family calls her….you’d know that she’s a kind, loving, OPTIMISTIC person who is always smiling and never shows up empty-handed. She’ll give the last of what she’s got to someone who needs it more than she does, and she RARELY does nice things for herself.
You know the saying, “God doesn’t give you what you can’t handle’, yet I’m not sure how much more she CAN handle right now. Perhaps her grace and optimism and strength to get through all these challenging times are meant to inspire others around her as an example of holding one’s head high, having faith, and persevering…. I don’t know. She constantly puts the needs of her children before her. And, as her big brother, I WISH I could solve all her problems, both financially and medically…..yet perhaps I can help her by showing her that she’s not alone through all of this and that there is a community that cares and will reach out to help. All I know is that she’s a very caring, loving, mother, sibling, daughter, friend, and is in a great time of NEED.
She has nooooo idea I’m putting this out there to the world…. I want to surprise her with LOVE and SUPPORT! Thank you in advance for your help and support! May God bless you all.
Big Brother Tim
I have watched Patty, as a single mother with two kids struggle with providing for her kids and rarely doing anything for herself, to say she put herself last, would be an understatement. She’s always given her children what they needed, even if it meant that there was nothing ever ‘leftover’ for herself.
A couple of years ago I started to get closer to my little sister, and honestly learned of her hardships and started to treat her to some simple treats that I could, as I could.
Besides always being strapped for cash, two years ago, in 2018, Patty’s daughter, my niece, got hit by a car while riding her bicycle and broke both of her arms…..just 2 weeks before she started her freshman year in high school. It was tough- Patty had to take time off of work to care for her daughter and with all the surgeries, the last one in January 2020. The medical bills just keep piling on….
Sadly, after that saga, 1 ½ years ago, my little sister was diagnosed with stage 2 breast cancer…..just when she was starting a new job, with no insurance benefits available right away. She researched and tried ways to fight this cancer diagnosis on her own as she could and tried natural/alternative ways to fight this cancer. She first had a Lumpectomy last year in 2019, just to find out the cancer came back fierce and furious.
Patty had a mastectomy back in February 2020. Unfortunately, while she was on disability, recovering from her surgery, her employer informed her that her FMLA expired and she had to return to full capabilities at work or be terminated from her job! What?? I WISH I was making this up!!!! So my little sister was dealing with cancer, healing from a major surgery AND her job was on the line? My heart is breaking for my little sister!
Her employer did let her go back in March and now, Patty finds herself needing to complete the mastectomy surgery, yet her doctor who started the procedure, will not accept her current, new insurance. She may now be responsible for self-paying the $20K for the cancer surgery! She does not have a home to sell or refinance since her income barely covered her cost of living as a single mom raising two kids on her own and now, MORE Medical bills!
She’s been unemployed since March and is actively looking for work, yet knows she has another major surgery to go through to ‘finish’ the mastectomy. Again, I WISH I was making this up, yet she just called me and told me her 2008 used car just died on her….the engine blew….and the estimate is $5k to replace the engine, and the car’s only worth $6K. What next??!!
She’s feeling extremely overwhelmed with EVERYTHING!!! I really don’t understand why so many terrible things have happened to such a good person. If you knew Patrice….aka Patty, as her family calls her….you’d know that she’s a kind, loving, OPTIMISTIC person who is always smiling and never shows up empty-handed. She’ll give the last of what she’s got to someone who needs it more than she does, and she RARELY does nice things for herself.
You know the saying, “God doesn’t give you what you can’t handle’, yet I’m not sure how much more she CAN handle right now. Perhaps her grace and optimism and strength to get through all these challenging times are meant to inspire others around her as an example of holding one’s head high, having faith, and persevering…. I don’t know. She constantly puts the needs of her children before her. And, as her big brother, I WISH I could solve all her problems, both financially and medically…..yet perhaps I can help her by showing her that she’s not alone through all of this and that there is a community that cares and will reach out to help. All I know is that she’s a very caring, loving, mother, sibling, daughter, friend, and is in a great time of NEED.
She has nooooo idea I’m putting this out there to the world…. I want to surprise her with LOVE and SUPPORT! Thank you in advance for your help and support! May God bless you all.
Big Brother Tim
Organizer
Tim McCarthy
Organizer
Littleton, CO