Support Betsy's long-haul cancer recovery
Donation protected
In June 2018, our beloved friend Betsy Ferber was diagnosed with stage 3B lung cancer. In the fall Betsy underwent chemo and radiation therapies to address the significant mass in her lung. Though the treatment was successful, the radiation left her lung tissue delicate and compromised and with what may be a chronic cough. Dealing with life-threatening cancer can be a long and winding road with many detours along the way, and our friends are in the midst of it.
Karen and Betsy, who have been together for 40 years, are managing the emotional, physical and financial challenges they have encountered with courage, humor and the loving support of family and friends. A series of recent setbacks leads us to ask, on their behalf, for financial support from their greater community of family, friends and colleagues.
Both Betsy and Karen are self-employed. Betsy has a long-standing private psychotherapy practice. Karen runs a sole proprietorship renovation company. As such they do have not accrued sick or vacation time to help them through this challenging period.
In mid-October 2019, Betsy began experiencing significant cognitive changes, and an MRI revealed a metastatic brain lesion.
On November 8, Betsy underwent brain surgery to remove the lesion and returned home and was poised to proceed with follow up radiation the week after the Thanksgiving holiday. Instead of getting stronger, she became weaker. Clearly something was not right. A trip to the ER revealed that she had pneumonia and was septic. She was admitted to the hospital and after four nights was well enough to go a rehab facility to regain her strength so she could return home.
Unfortunately, as life will often have it, things did not go according to plan and Betsy developed a secondary infection related to the pneumonia that led to another hospitalization and a stint in the ICU. After three weeks in the hospital under the attentive care of the thoracic surgery team and the infectious disease doctor, with a tube through her chest wall for drainage, she was again discharged to a rehab facility. A week later the tube was removed. At a January 21st follow up visit, the infectious disease doctor declared the infection resolved. Betsy’s marching orders were to keep moving and working on getting stronger.
However, the very next morning when Betsy was working with the Physical Therapist her heart rate spiked and she felt utterly exhausted. This was worrisome. Diagnostic imaging showed blood clots in both lungs. Another hospital admission. Another stint in rehab. We're happy to report that she returned home on February 4th.
Treatment of the cancer has been on hold and it’s unknown what that might look like.
How can you help?
You can donate money — early and often. Betsy has a remarkable ability to meet each of these challenges with amazing equanimity. She has overcome the challenge of getting her body to go from sitting to standing, the luxury of which is not known until one cannot do it. She is practicing walking with a walker and going up steps. Regaining strength after the tremendous depletion wrought by the metastatic brain lesion, the ensuing surgery and a succession of complications is a long, slow process. Once Betsy is a bit stronger, she’ll return to dealing with the primary cancer.
You can share this Go Fund Me link on your social media pages — like Facebook and Twitter. The hope is that Betsy will be well enough to work again, but that’s an unknown. Karen has had to focus the bulk of her time on attending to Betsy’s health crisis and has not been able to work in a meaningful way since just before the brain surgery in early November. The loss of two incomes is huge, funds have been depleted, and we want to raise money to help pay their living expenses — mortgage, health insurance, utilities, groceries. And, they still have ongoing business expenses such as Betsy’s office space, liability insurances, etc. associated with being self-employed regardless of whether they generate income.
By some miracle, out-of-pocket medical expenses have been minimal (thank you Medicare), but the future of that remains an unknown — a stressful shoe waiting to drop.
Betsy and Karen have incredible hands-on support from a loving tribe of family and friends, but now we need the entire village, which is why we’re turning to Go Fund Me. Please donate and help reduce their stress by lifting the financial weight that comes from dealing with cancer. Thank you!
Karen and Betsy, who have been together for 40 years, are managing the emotional, physical and financial challenges they have encountered with courage, humor and the loving support of family and friends. A series of recent setbacks leads us to ask, on their behalf, for financial support from their greater community of family, friends and colleagues.
Both Betsy and Karen are self-employed. Betsy has a long-standing private psychotherapy practice. Karen runs a sole proprietorship renovation company. As such they do have not accrued sick or vacation time to help them through this challenging period.
In mid-October 2019, Betsy began experiencing significant cognitive changes, and an MRI revealed a metastatic brain lesion.
On November 8, Betsy underwent brain surgery to remove the lesion and returned home and was poised to proceed with follow up radiation the week after the Thanksgiving holiday. Instead of getting stronger, she became weaker. Clearly something was not right. A trip to the ER revealed that she had pneumonia and was septic. She was admitted to the hospital and after four nights was well enough to go a rehab facility to regain her strength so she could return home.
Unfortunately, as life will often have it, things did not go according to plan and Betsy developed a secondary infection related to the pneumonia that led to another hospitalization and a stint in the ICU. After three weeks in the hospital under the attentive care of the thoracic surgery team and the infectious disease doctor, with a tube through her chest wall for drainage, she was again discharged to a rehab facility. A week later the tube was removed. At a January 21st follow up visit, the infectious disease doctor declared the infection resolved. Betsy’s marching orders were to keep moving and working on getting stronger.
However, the very next morning when Betsy was working with the Physical Therapist her heart rate spiked and she felt utterly exhausted. This was worrisome. Diagnostic imaging showed blood clots in both lungs. Another hospital admission. Another stint in rehab. We're happy to report that she returned home on February 4th.
Treatment of the cancer has been on hold and it’s unknown what that might look like.
How can you help?
You can donate money — early and often. Betsy has a remarkable ability to meet each of these challenges with amazing equanimity. She has overcome the challenge of getting her body to go from sitting to standing, the luxury of which is not known until one cannot do it. She is practicing walking with a walker and going up steps. Regaining strength after the tremendous depletion wrought by the metastatic brain lesion, the ensuing surgery and a succession of complications is a long, slow process. Once Betsy is a bit stronger, she’ll return to dealing with the primary cancer.
You can share this Go Fund Me link on your social media pages — like Facebook and Twitter. The hope is that Betsy will be well enough to work again, but that’s an unknown. Karen has had to focus the bulk of her time on attending to Betsy’s health crisis and has not been able to work in a meaningful way since just before the brain surgery in early November. The loss of two incomes is huge, funds have been depleted, and we want to raise money to help pay their living expenses — mortgage, health insurance, utilities, groceries. And, they still have ongoing business expenses such as Betsy’s office space, liability insurances, etc. associated with being self-employed regardless of whether they generate income.
By some miracle, out-of-pocket medical expenses have been minimal (thank you Medicare), but the future of that remains an unknown — a stressful shoe waiting to drop.
Betsy and Karen have incredible hands-on support from a loving tribe of family and friends, but now we need the entire village, which is why we’re turning to Go Fund Me. Please donate and help reduce their stress by lifting the financial weight that comes from dealing with cancer. Thank you!
Co-organizers (3)
Lauren Simonds
Organizer
Mount Tom, MA
Karen Carter
Beneficiary
Amy Aaron
Co-organizer
Lore Detenber
Co-organizer