Our family needs a stepping stone.
Donation protected
Hi, my name is Deana. This is my wife, Erin and our twins, Avery and Oliver.
2014 was a rough year for us. Our daughter was found to be aspirating fluids and had to have a g-tube put in her stomach. She can no longer have any fluids by mouth. I had surgery to replace a disc in my neck and was out of work for almost six months. Then we found out that our son has life-threatening allergies to peanuts, dairy and eggs. We were living on a small island in Washington state, working for our small family-run business. After his diagnosis his daycare wasn't able to accommodate him anymore so I stayed home to help care for him. Unfortunately I was still recovering from my surgery so we had to hire someone to help out. After his first anaphylactic reaction, we were told it would be best if we moved off the island to be closer to a hospital.
So we moved to "the mainland" where my wife has to catch an hour-long ferry to go to work back on the island. During this time I began having heart problems and other symptoms but the many doctors I saw were not able to pinpoint the problem. I was unable to care for our kids by myself so my wife had to miss a lot of work to stay home with them.
In February of 2015 I was diagnosed with recurrent thyroid cancer. I had previously had breast cancer and a complete thyroidectomy due to cancer. Within 3 weeks I was in surgery to remove multiple cancerous lymph nodes in my neck. My 2 day hospital stay turned in to 10 as I continued to get weaker and near death. Finally I was diagnosed with Addison's disease. Now I am on the right meds but having a very slow recovery. But we're still not in the clear. Last week we found out there is a chance I have an aggressive form of cancer and must undergo radiation therapy next month.
I started this fund so we can pay rent for at least 2 months while I undergo radiation and continue recovering. We also need to get a cheap second car I can take back and forth to Seattle (4 hrs roundtrip) for my appointments. Due to our son's allergies, my wife or I must always stay in town with a vehicle in case he has an allergic reaction at his new daycare so she will aslo miss a lot of work while this happens. We have been borrowing money from my in-laws to cover our bills for the last few months but we cannot continue to do that for much longer as it puts a strain on their household as well.
This was not an easy decision to make to ask for help but we need it. Thank you for anything you can give to help our family.
God Bless,
The Gratos
2014 was a rough year for us. Our daughter was found to be aspirating fluids and had to have a g-tube put in her stomach. She can no longer have any fluids by mouth. I had surgery to replace a disc in my neck and was out of work for almost six months. Then we found out that our son has life-threatening allergies to peanuts, dairy and eggs. We were living on a small island in Washington state, working for our small family-run business. After his diagnosis his daycare wasn't able to accommodate him anymore so I stayed home to help care for him. Unfortunately I was still recovering from my surgery so we had to hire someone to help out. After his first anaphylactic reaction, we were told it would be best if we moved off the island to be closer to a hospital.
So we moved to "the mainland" where my wife has to catch an hour-long ferry to go to work back on the island. During this time I began having heart problems and other symptoms but the many doctors I saw were not able to pinpoint the problem. I was unable to care for our kids by myself so my wife had to miss a lot of work to stay home with them.
In February of 2015 I was diagnosed with recurrent thyroid cancer. I had previously had breast cancer and a complete thyroidectomy due to cancer. Within 3 weeks I was in surgery to remove multiple cancerous lymph nodes in my neck. My 2 day hospital stay turned in to 10 as I continued to get weaker and near death. Finally I was diagnosed with Addison's disease. Now I am on the right meds but having a very slow recovery. But we're still not in the clear. Last week we found out there is a chance I have an aggressive form of cancer and must undergo radiation therapy next month.
I started this fund so we can pay rent for at least 2 months while I undergo radiation and continue recovering. We also need to get a cheap second car I can take back and forth to Seattle (4 hrs roundtrip) for my appointments. Due to our son's allergies, my wife or I must always stay in town with a vehicle in case he has an allergic reaction at his new daycare so she will aslo miss a lot of work while this happens. We have been borrowing money from my in-laws to cover our bills for the last few months but we cannot continue to do that for much longer as it puts a strain on their household as well.
This was not an easy decision to make to ask for help but we need it. Thank you for anything you can give to help our family.
God Bless,
The Gratos
Organizer
Deana Grato
Organizer
Anacortes, WA