Tim and Rae's GoFundMe

Tim and Rae Ryan

Tim and Rae, who have done so much for their community, now need your help.  A medical crisis followed closely by urgent home repairs and loss of unemployment has brought this couple to the brink.  We respectfully ask that you read their story below and seriously consider making a gift to help them.  Your gift can be a one-time gift or spread out over several months.  Please join us in helping them through this difficult season.

Many of you have known this amazing couple for many years, but for those who do not, we want to make sure that you do.

Tim and Rae married in 1991.  They have lived and worked hard all their lives to give back to their communities and Montana, the state that is their home.  Tim, a member of the Salish-Kootenai Tribes, has spent his career learning traditional technologies and culture from the elders, and in turn, passing these on to the next generation so that this knowledge and wisdom will not be lost.  Rae spent years helping animals, at vet’s offices and shelters, ensuring that no animal lacked medical care or a loving home.

As one friend says, “Tim and Rae are two of the finest, most gentle people I know, with hearts as big as the state of Montana.  These folks have stayed true to their choice and vision of living a Montana lifestyle and making the state an even better place to live.  They have given what is undeniably the most precious resource to our small towns and rural areas—themselves.”

But now, Tim and Rae need our help.

2018 started out well for them.  Tim’s employment was solid (Rae had retired in 2010), both were healthy, and they had carefully put aside savings to cover emergency expenses and to replace their deck, which had become unsafe. 

However, in February 2018 Tim and Rae’s aging sewage system broke down (they live rurally and rely on a septic drain field), and they used a portion of their savings to fix it.  Then came the call no one wants to receive—Tim’s PSA levels tested high on a routine blood screen, an indicator of prostate cancer.  Tim’s doctor told him he needed to see a urologist immediately.  After biopsy and then surgery in mid-2018, Tim’s final diagnosis was Invasive Prostatic Adenocarcinoma, Stage 3, with a Gleason score of 8.  In layman’s terms, this means that the cancer unfortunately was present to the margins of his prostate and may have already spread into his system.  Tim was told there is a 50% chance it will return; not great odds. But those of you who know Tim and Rae will understand that they took this in stride, responding with their usual positivity and good cheer.

Tim’s surgery and treatment required months of recovery, and then near the 2018 holidays Tim’s employment ended, eliminating the Ryans’ major source of income. Once again, they relied on their savings to get by, and when those funds dwindled to nothing, they were forced to max out their credit cards to cover living expenses.   Then their repaired septic system completely failed, and since their property does not have enough land to support another one they are now working on alternatives.  Tim has already installed a temporary grey water drain and will eventually set up a system to recycle the grey water for outdoor garden use.  They are now exploring an array of ecofriendly toilet alternatives.  In addition, while Tim expected to return to part-time employment in April, he recently learned that a second surgery is needed to repair complications from the original, which will set him back again. Tim hopes the surgery can be postponed until the fall, but he may need it sooner.

In short, Tim and Rae Ryan have entered one of those seasons of life all of us dread and hope to avoid:  a medical problem that brings your life and ability to afford shelter, food, and other simple basics to the brink.

Now is the time for us to help support this couple who have done so much to support their communities and make the world a better place.  Friends of Tim and Rae are coming together to help them, and we hope you will join us.

We are seeking your gift to help the Ryans get through the next several months and to make the repairs they need to their home.  At the same time, we are working hard to secure in-kind contributions of labor and materials to replace their deck that’s now become unsafe.

Tim and Rae want you to know this:

“We were so happy when Tim’s first post-surgery PSA test came back with good results, though we know he’s still not “out of the woods.”  We truly thought we could get through this on our own, but it now seems impossible that we’ll ever catch up.  We have exhausted our savings and now seem to be sliding into the 83% of American’s who are one emergency away from bankruptcy.  Our friends have reached out to us from the beginning of this journey offering help through what feels like a never-ending free-fall, but we resisted until we just couldn’t anymore. 

    Please know that asking for your support is a very hard thing for us to do, as it is for anyone in this situation.  We know how hard it is for so many people right now and we never thought we’d be in the position we’re in.  But it is what it is and someday we hope to once again be in the position of helping others.”