WE WILL BEAT COVID19 BUT CAN WE BEAT CANCER?

In 2017 my brother Richard Pratt was diagnosed with Multiple Myeloma, a rare  and difficult to treat cancer of the blood. Richard's case is proving to be very aggressive. 
Every 9 days another Canadian is diagnosed with Myeloma but the disease remains relatively unknown and to date there is no known cure. Advancements in treatments are allowing patients to live better  and longer lives.
He has had to stop working to focus on his health and to travel back and forth to Kitchener Ont. for chemo and other treatments. Kristine has also had to stop working to care for Richard and do most of the driving.
They have had to pay for many of his Chemo treatments as they are not fully covered by OHIP. As much as $9000 per month, plus dental costs to remove all of his teeth and travel expenses.
Richard and his wife Kristine have had to use their savings set aside for retirement and to build their final home and have run into financial difficulties.
They need your help! 
We need Richard to be focused on his recovery and fighting the cancer without worry about how he will pay for treatments and what they will live on in the future.
 Richard and Kristine's Story :

Richard is a multi-talented but very modest individual.He is an extremely gifted woodworker and excels at everything from log buildings to custom cabinets, furniture and wood turning. Kristine is  very talented at interior design and has an artistic flair that combined with Richard's talents has produced some amazing results! they have built luxury log homes near Hanover and Kincardine, the beautifully restored Victorian style Anglican manse in Durham,a spectacular home near Beaver Valley and  now their current home in Durham. Their homes and renovations have been featured in several magazines over the years.

Richard's first sign of trouble came in 2015, a routine checkup for life insurance coverage showed a low level abnormality in his blood. Everyone including their family doctor thought this was overly cautious but non the less insurance renewal was denied.
For the next two years Richard and Kristine kept up their grueling pace of life. Kristine was in high demand all over Ontario as an Interior Decorator and Richard continued doing custom woodworking and renovations.
On top of this they poured their remaining energy into finishing their beautiful home near Beaver Valley. It featured evidence of all of Richard's and Kristine's talents from the innovative use of cement and stonework outside and inside as well as home made cedar shingles and ship lap siding. Inside the house you found spiral staircases, a massive post and frame great room and a vintage furnished basement and movie entertainment room. 
Richard began experiencing some fatigue but he pushed through to finish up the house and to put it up for sale.
They intended to purchase a fix it upper in home town Durham and renovate / live there until they started their final project, their own retirement dream home near Durham on land severed from our parent's home farm.

In Feb 2017 Richard was diagnosed in Kitchener with Multiple Myeloma.

I remember getting the news from Richard and Kristine as they as they drove home from the hospital , very distressed by the news and uncertain about their future.
Richard was typically optimistic. He was convinced that with new treatments this was curable and he was going to be OK!

On Mar 22 he was qualified to receive a Stem cell transplant at the Juravinski Cancer Center in Hamilton.For the next six months they practically lived on the road travelling to and from Hamilton and Kitchener, preparing for the transplant procedure and also receiving chemotherapy. In July at the Juravinski  Center they harvested 16 million stem cells from Richard's blood and froze them for the future transplant. He had to go under strong chemotherapy then but postponed his transplant until Sept, so they could attend his daughter Latrichia's wedding.

On Sept 5 Richard was administered a lethal dose of Chemo to kill all of his bone marrow ( this is responsible for production of red and white blood cells ) then the transplant of his previously harvested cells was done. He spent the next 25 days in isolation at Grand River Hospital in Kitchener before going home. At home his condition improved and he was soon leading an almost normal life again. Great news! He was back to work on their home in Durham. It is nearly finished, transformed from an old run down 1 1/2 story bungalow to a beautiful open concept show case. Late in 2019 they also got good news, their son Ash and his fiancee` Brittany were expecting. ( Fast forward to March 2020 Emma Rose was born).


Unfortunately though in March 2019 Richard had started chemo treatments in Kitchener again, travelling 3 times a week to Kitchener and again suffering the extreme fatigue and side effects of the chemo. Richard's condition worsened until in Jan  of 2020 when he began treatments with a new drug. His prognosis has improved but he faces another 6 months of travel to Kitchener 3 times a week. Volunteer drivers are hard to find because he never knows ahead of time how long his treatment will take, they often last up to 12 hours.

The last 3 years have been devastating for Richard and Kristine. The time and expenses  due to travel alone, were crippling not to mention the fact that some chemo treatments were not covered by OHIP. Ontario Trillium benefits did not kick in until all of their savings were gone.

Richard and Kristine find themselves in a tough financial situation due to this.
Their nest egg which was intended to finance their retirement home and future has disappeared.
Right now they should be focused on fighting his cancer.
They don't need the extra stress of finances causing them to worry about even being able to continue his treatments.

As Richard's brother and friend I am asking for your help. Please give generously so we can help Richard and Kristine get through these difficult times.

Thank you  Roy Pratt