Donation protected
Hello all,
I want to introduce you to my father and family.
His name is Bob, he is 71 years young, in May of 2024, he finally fully retired and he had a plan for himself and my mother to fully live out their dreams to retire to the Lake of the Ozarks. They put the house on the market and the plan was in motion. The house sold with in 2 weeks and papers were signed. Unfortunately, this dream has come to a screeching halt. Just before closing on house, he went to the bathroom and looked down to see nothing but blood. Talk about bad timing.
They immediately headed to the hospital to get it checked out, after hours of testing, scans and x-rays, the issue finally poked its head out. Staying close to experienced and determined doctors was crucial, so moving to the lake was postponed indefinitely. Instead, they had to buy a camper and move into a RV community to be able to afford "living" on the minimal social security and Medicare they are able to receive, while not knowing what to expect for the massive medical bills coming their way.
Diagnosis:
4.37 cm tumor on the bladder wall, .75cm tumor in the prostate. Diagnosis was not claimed to be absolutely terminal. Some options were available to extend the length his life.
Options
1. Do nothing and live it out; Prognosis: 2-8 months
2. Chemo for 3 months, first 3 Mondays of each month with the 4th week off for recovery. this to be repeated for 3 months.
Prognosis: 1 - 2 years.
- Unfortunately, the chemo took such a toll on him that it dropped his platelets so low that he was only able to endure 70% of his treatments.
3. Chemo for 3 months and then have surgery to remove the prostate and the bladder.
Prognosis: 4-6 years
He is a fighter, they have multiple kids, grand kids and extended grand kids and want nothing more than to be here for them as long as they can. So the decision is option 3.
He has just finished his last chemo 3 weeks ago and just went back for new scans. The tumor has shrunk down to 3.27cm, which is considered progress, but not enough to avoid surgery. The surgery is scheduled for October 9th to remove the prostate and the bladder. The tumor in the bladder has penetrated the bladder wall and is now in the fat layer, due to this he has been moved from "stage 2" to "stage 3" making the surgery mandatory to survive.
The entire family is doing everything we can to help in every aspect. Financially, this has pushed every limit. As everyone knows our government has our country currently in a tough financial position for our seniors and the assistance is not the best.
Surgery is right around the corner and this is why we are needing your help.
- Out of their social security they have to pay lot rent, electric, car insurance, food and gas. This leaves about 300 a month before they have to cover copays and medications or miscellaneous expenses that might pop up.
- Moving forward he will have to have a new scan every 3 months. Each scan is $300 out of pocket that Medicare will not cover. Each Doctor appointment is a $50 copay that Medicare does not cover.
- After surgery he will be on a few medications per the doctor. He was told these will be $1200 a month, and he will be responsible for $600 of this out of pocket that Medicare will not cover.
- He will need permanent bladder bags that will attach to his hip since his bladder will be removed. Medicare will only provide 4 per month. If they have the availability of the free ones after that, he will have to pay for them out of pocket. The doctor says he will most likely need double that per month at a minimum.
So if you can do the math, you can see this is not going to work, could you live off $200-$400 a month? They are in a no win situation. We are not asking for a long term help solution from here. We just need help to get them started until we can find a better solution for them financially.
We do have ideas that we are pursuing, but nothing that can be done right away. My family is searching for some property that we can eventually call our forever place to share with them and keep them close that has utilities to move them onto with the camper so that the expenses will be lower and manageable based on the income and expenses they will have. This is not easy to do with the current rates.. etc.. stupid politics..
I just want the absolute best for my parents and we can't do it alone, so I'm here asking for help. PLEASE !! and THANK YOU !!
I am an open book and will answer any questions you may have if you need any further information, please feel free to reach out !!
We will appreciate any assistance that you can help with, we do know times are tough right now for everyone.
THANK YOU , THANK YOU IN ADVANCE. We will also accept prayers.
Organizer and beneficiary
Dustin Grimm
Organizer
Lake Saint Louis, MO
Mary Grimm
Beneficiary