PLEASE help us pay our medical bills! We're in dire straight

This is an updated story.

Hi! I'm Lin Fields, the wife and caregiver of my husband Pat for 35 years.

This is not a story about me, but these incidents have led to our problem.

In September 2023, I had a spinal fusion that went bad. I went to Upstate Medical Center in Syracuse, NY, at the suggestion of a wonderful doctor. Unfortunately, when the surgeon was 6 hours late for the surgery, I (being the old OR nurse I was) asked him if he was ready to do this fusion, and he, of course, said yes. Finding out later on that I had a Strep B infection in my spine, which caused me the loss of my left leg. I was in ICU for several days, which led up to my being in rehab from December until Jan. 7th, 2024. During this time, Pat traveled from Watertown to Syracuse and to Alexandria Bay. That meant Pat stopped working and cared for me. However, we are self-employed and have no one working with us, which means work stopped. I was not teaching and he was not working as an HVAC/plumber.

So -- from mid-September until the first part of April, Pat was basically unemployed. We are all we have - no kids and no grandkids to watch over us. So - he finally went back to work (at the ripe old age of 74) and was doing well until the middle of September. In the middle of all of this, our lovely little girl dog, Essie Jay, passed away suddenly from a disease wherein her red blood cells were not regenerating, and she died within 2 weeks of diagnosis! She was Lin's heart dog watching over her as she recuperated.

At the end of September, Pat was having trouble swallowing food. He was unable to keep anything down and was losing weight at a great amount. He went from 249 pounds to 220 pounds in a matter of 2 months. He is now 173 pounds! He lost all energy and all muscle mass and was turning into an old man. We went to our PCP who ordered a barium swallow. The results were shaky, so he went to our Gastro Doctor, who ordered an endoscopy, where they found a 2 cm mass in the gastroesophageal valve in Pat's esophagus. Yes -- it is cancer! Side note: it’s now 5 cm and there is still no metastasis.

At any rate, we are in trouble!! We are so behind in our mortgage, National Grid bills, and taxes that we are only living on our Social Security, which is a total of $2200 a month. Our mortgage is $1100, our car payment is $450, dog food (yes they have to eat) and food? Maybe. We are not used to living this way, and we are always the first to give to others. Right now, there is a total of $186 in all of our checking accounts. We have house taxes due of over $800, and sometimes we barely have enough money for food.

So, we are asking for your help. Anything you can do will be helpful. We are lucky we have not had our car repossessed or our lender tell us to move because of foreclosure. If there is ANYTHING you can do to help, we would appreciate it. We are well-known within our community, and this is VERY hard for us to ask... but we are...

Thank you for your consideration -- we appreciate it! Much love to you all!

PS an update. On November 27. We went to Saint Joseph’s Hospital in Syracuse where Pat had a feeding tube put in. He has lost a total of over 60 pounds since the end of September. He is not eating and can barely drink. At least this will get him some weight so that the doctors can go in and start chemotherapy for him. after that course of treatment is done, hopefully we will be able to have the tumor removed. Saving Grace as of today, is that there is no metastasis.

PS #2 -- Read the update today. There was no feeding tube!!

PS #3: Today is Dec. 20th: we are back in the hospital. Pat had been dehydrated to the point where he was gray. He did not have the feeding tube put in in November and consequently we are hoping it will be done today. His blood levels are high enough that he will probably have it done. But, he’s still not working, and neither am I. To all of you who have donated we thank you with words we can’t even express. You’ve helped our dogs have food, must be able to have food and maybe pay some bills.

we have never asked for much and we never will. For those of you who have donated, thank you for keeping us afloat. For those of you who have thought about it, we thank you for considering us. And for those of you who would like to, but can’t, we’re in your boat. We know what it’s like. Your prayers would mean the world to us.

thank you also very much for everything you’re doing. We truly appreciate your help.

we love you all.

if you read the updates you will what is happening now.

please pass this link along to your friends and anyone you know who might be able to help. Thank you.