Rehab for Kristine Rudnick!
Donation protected
Kristine has been on an emotional roller coaster for the last 9 months. She was diagnosed with cholangiocarcinoma (cancer in the bile duct of the liver) in April, and fought through 10 rounds of aggressive chemotherapy that slowly whittled away at her kidney function. The day before Thanksgiving, she made it through a difficult and dangerous surgery to remove about 2/3 of her liver (and the two tumors inside it). The very next day she was placed under an induced coma to best treat her temporary liver failure, and it took her 2.5 weeks to finally wake up after being unresponsive. She's spent the last week or so making slow and steady progress, and we are finally seeing the end of mom's serious complications. After a very tumultuous 2019, we're excited that things are starting to look up.
As mom's condition continues to improve, we're beginning to make plans for her to be discharged to a short-term rehabilitation center. Unfortunately, her needs are still so complicated that there are only a few facilities in Wisconsin and Minnesota that are equipped to care for her--she still needs tube feedings, constant supervision, dialysis treatments, and intensive physical therapy. We have a great social worker at Mayo who's helping us navigate this planning process, but what we know is: her post-hospital care will be long, and very expensive.
As we're all painfully aware, insurance plans reset on January 1st, and our parents will be facing a lot of expenses that they'll rack up quickly with mom's rehabilitation:
- a $6000 deductible before insurance coverage kicks in;
- another $6000 in out-of-pocket expenses before full coverage kicks in;
- a $600 transportation service to move her to the rehab center, which isn't covered by insurance;
- daily commuting for my dad to see her in rehab, which is about 45 miles away from their home... and for upwards of 3 weeks.
Since her cancer diagnosis in April, dad has been retired full-time to take care of mom, and their combined social security leaves them very little wiggle room financially. As much as we wish we could help, my brothers and I are not in a position to help financially. We've been by her side every day for the last month, but our emotional support won't help with the insurance bills.
We know this time of year is tight for everyone, and it's difficult to ask for this kind of help (you can blame our small-town upbringing on that!), but however you're able to help is very much appreciated. Our goal is to make sure our parents don't have to worry about how they're going to afford the care mom needs while she continues to fight through a long and difficult recovery.
We're so grateful for all the support we've received from family and friends near and far--thank you for lifting us up in our time of need!
As mom's condition continues to improve, we're beginning to make plans for her to be discharged to a short-term rehabilitation center. Unfortunately, her needs are still so complicated that there are only a few facilities in Wisconsin and Minnesota that are equipped to care for her--she still needs tube feedings, constant supervision, dialysis treatments, and intensive physical therapy. We have a great social worker at Mayo who's helping us navigate this planning process, but what we know is: her post-hospital care will be long, and very expensive.
As we're all painfully aware, insurance plans reset on January 1st, and our parents will be facing a lot of expenses that they'll rack up quickly with mom's rehabilitation:
- a $6000 deductible before insurance coverage kicks in;
- another $6000 in out-of-pocket expenses before full coverage kicks in;
- a $600 transportation service to move her to the rehab center, which isn't covered by insurance;
- daily commuting for my dad to see her in rehab, which is about 45 miles away from their home... and for upwards of 3 weeks.
Since her cancer diagnosis in April, dad has been retired full-time to take care of mom, and their combined social security leaves them very little wiggle room financially. As much as we wish we could help, my brothers and I are not in a position to help financially. We've been by her side every day for the last month, but our emotional support won't help with the insurance bills.
We know this time of year is tight for everyone, and it's difficult to ask for this kind of help (you can blame our small-town upbringing on that!), but however you're able to help is very much appreciated. Our goal is to make sure our parents don't have to worry about how they're going to afford the care mom needs while she continues to fight through a long and difficult recovery.
We're so grateful for all the support we've received from family and friends near and far--thank you for lifting us up in our time of need!
Organizer
Justin J Rudnick
Organizer
Stanley, WI
