- S
- L
- M
Hello to all of our friends and family.
In all honesty i do not even know how to begin and am so upset that we even have to do this.
I guess I will start from the beginning so everyone understands the whole back story leading up to this point in my mom and dads life. I will try and be brief but still explain the events leading up to now.
3 years ago my mom and dad came up to help Brandon and I with our very first truck show that we were exhibiting at.
On that Sunday evening after we got home from what was a great weekend my dad collapsed on my kitchen floor.
We had no idea what was happening, we thought he was having a heart attack or a stroke. Until he started coming to and then he started to vomit blood. We then knew what was happening. This had happened to him many years ago when they lived in Colorado.
He had an ulcer that had perforated and started bleeding. So essentially he was bleeding to death internally. But why??
Well, we found out that my poor dad had been suffering for some time with excruciating back pain which we now know was caused by compression fractures in his back. He was self medicating with anti inflammatories which caused the ulcer.
After a 6 week long hospital stay and then another 2 months of home health and rehabilitation at our home in Tulare he finally got to go home.
Unfortunately during this time of extreme stress and trauma my mom was totally misguided on what to do in applying for his disability retirement from his employer.
This created a downward spiral for his overall health as well as financially while fighting for what was rightfully his!
The amount of money that they were living off of was barely enough to get by, and after a 2 year long battle of fighting for his disability they were finally awarded his disability retirement. Unfortunately that money was an absolutely insufficient amount as well. Luckily he was covered totally medically, because In February my dad collapsed again in their home and was immediately rushed to the ER.
Of course our first thoughts were he is bleeding again internally. Unfortunately that was not the results that were given to us.
After a bone marrow biopsy we received the devastating results that our poor Dad had AML( Acute Meyloid Leukemia).
This diagnosis was not good at all as AML is very aggressive and takes a very aggressive approach to treat.
Of course in true Ray fashion he confronted this diagnosis head on and put on his boxing gloves and was ready for the fight. Unfortunately his body had already been so weak and depleted from his last health event that the treatment was just to much for him. His mind wanted to keep fighting but his poor body was done with the fight.
On August, 14th at 7:07 AM with his loving wife of 43 years, all of his girls and one of his son in laws at his bedside, he took his last breath and his body gave up the fight.
We are all absolutely heartbroken from our loss.
Unfortunately on top of mourning the loss of our dad and husband We found out that my Dads retirement benefits will be put on hold for at least 60 days and our mom will not be receiving any income during this time as his disability retirement has been their main source of income.
As our Grandma always said it takes a village. We are asking our village to help in this time of financial need. We all know how a small gesture from many results in a huge change for the receiver. Help take one stressor off of our mother’s plate so she can utilize her energy to morn the loss of our daddy.
We would like to thank you I advance and would like to ask for continued prayers for our family while we continue to grieve during this most difficult time in our lives.
In all honesty i do not even know how to begin and am so upset that we even have to do this.
I guess I will start from the beginning so everyone understands the whole back story leading up to this point in my mom and dads life. I will try and be brief but still explain the events leading up to now.
3 years ago my mom and dad came up to help Brandon and I with our very first truck show that we were exhibiting at.
On that Sunday evening after we got home from what was a great weekend my dad collapsed on my kitchen floor.
We had no idea what was happening, we thought he was having a heart attack or a stroke. Until he started coming to and then he started to vomit blood. We then knew what was happening. This had happened to him many years ago when they lived in Colorado.
He had an ulcer that had perforated and started bleeding. So essentially he was bleeding to death internally. But why??
Well, we found out that my poor dad had been suffering for some time with excruciating back pain which we now know was caused by compression fractures in his back. He was self medicating with anti inflammatories which caused the ulcer.
After a 6 week long hospital stay and then another 2 months of home health and rehabilitation at our home in Tulare he finally got to go home.
Unfortunately during this time of extreme stress and trauma my mom was totally misguided on what to do in applying for his disability retirement from his employer.
This created a downward spiral for his overall health as well as financially while fighting for what was rightfully his!
The amount of money that they were living off of was barely enough to get by, and after a 2 year long battle of fighting for his disability they were finally awarded his disability retirement. Unfortunately that money was an absolutely insufficient amount as well. Luckily he was covered totally medically, because In February my dad collapsed again in their home and was immediately rushed to the ER.
Of course our first thoughts were he is bleeding again internally. Unfortunately that was not the results that were given to us.
After a bone marrow biopsy we received the devastating results that our poor Dad had AML( Acute Meyloid Leukemia).
This diagnosis was not good at all as AML is very aggressive and takes a very aggressive approach to treat.
Of course in true Ray fashion he confronted this diagnosis head on and put on his boxing gloves and was ready for the fight. Unfortunately his body had already been so weak and depleted from his last health event that the treatment was just to much for him. His mind wanted to keep fighting but his poor body was done with the fight.
On August, 14th at 7:07 AM with his loving wife of 43 years, all of his girls and one of his son in laws at his bedside, he took his last breath and his body gave up the fight.
We are all absolutely heartbroken from our loss.
Unfortunately on top of mourning the loss of our dad and husband We found out that my Dads retirement benefits will be put on hold for at least 60 days and our mom will not be receiving any income during this time as his disability retirement has been their main source of income.
As our Grandma always said it takes a village. We are asking our village to help in this time of financial need. We all know how a small gesture from many results in a huge change for the receiver. Help take one stressor off of our mother’s plate so she can utilize her energy to morn the loss of our daddy.
We would like to thank you I advance and would like to ask for continued prayers for our family while we continue to grieve during this most difficult time in our lives.