My name is Lisa Antrum and this is a story about my dad. He enlisted in the army to serve our country during the Vietnam War. His unit was the C-Troop 1/9 Cavalry, which was the US air mobile division stationed in An Khe, Vietnam. He served as a helicopter door gunner. His chopper got shot down twice, but he miraculously survived. He earned several medals for the bravery he displayed during his service including the purple heart. He moved to Florida in 1987.

Although we spoke often, I hadn't seen him in person in about 8 years. The man that greeted me at the door was not the dad that I knew. This man was frail and emaciated with a mass on his entire scalp. While attempting to get medical help from the Veterans Administration, it was brought to our attention that his records were never initially entered into the database after his discharge in 1968. He was denied benefits for over 55 years due to his record of service not being entered into the VA system. The infected mass turned out to be advanced squamous cell cancer. The strong man that raised my brother, sisters and I wasn't the man I was starring at. Seeing this was shocking and heartbreaking. He is 6 feet tall and was barely 100 lbs. when he was weighed at the hospital. The only food in the house was what my sister had sent via doordash. Additionally, his house had sustained damaged during the last storm (Idalia) as well. It wasn't safe or sanitary. He was too proud to let any of us know his true plight.

After jumping through several hoops, an angel from the VA clinic in Brooskville, FL, entered him into the VA system, at last. Thanks to the compassion that those healthcare workers showed and the dignity that they treated him with, he is currently being treated at the James A Haley VA Hospital in Tampa, Florida. The approximatley 12 cm mass on his head was rotting flesh from the sarcoma. They also removed a precancerous lesion from the side of his nose. Removing the cancerous mass was risky due to his emaciated state. According to the Dr, during the surgery he "crashed" a few times but pulled through after a stint in the ICU. He has to have another surgery where they will take skin from his thigh (even though there isn't much there) and do a skin graft to cover the area where the cancer had been.

We also discovered that he had taken out a Reverse Mortgage to try to cover his daily living expenses. The mortgage company has since filed a lis pendens. This is a type of foreclosure action. We are working to get this resolved. We are seeking to raise funds to pay off the reverse mortgage, legal fees and restore the integrity of the foundation of his home that was damagaed by Hurricane Idalia. It is his wish to live out his remaining days safely in his modest 400 square foot home, located on the Bayou in Weeki Wachee, Florida. My dad never asked for help because he is a proud man. He never got the monetary benefits that he is entitled to as a Veteran because he was never initially entered into the system all those 55 years ago. Had we not visited this month, he surely would have died all alone in his home.

Because of his service, I have chosen to specialize in helping Veterans navigate the home buying process as a career for more than a decade. We are creating this fundraiser to help him live is last days as an American hero in the home that he loves. Thank you for taking the time to read this. All help is welcome.

This is a pic when he was in the army.

This is him w my middle daughter when she was a baby.

This was taken in Clearwater FL about 8 years ago. The last time I saw him in person before this month.

This is how he looked before we got him to the hospital on 12/7