Urgent Aid for Alperin Family's Health Battle

Hi all, our names are Amanda and Marissa Alperin. We’re 30 and 29 years old, respectively, and are unfortunately in the position of potentially losing both of our parents. Parents who have raised us to be the best people we can be, because they are the best people we’ve ever known.

In October, our father was rushed to LIJ Forest Hills by a Pulmonologist, as he was having a lot of trouble breathing. He was in the hospital for about two weeks when he was diagnosed with Pulmonary Hypertension and congestive heart failure. Shortly after leaving the hospital, he found out he had COPD and sleep apnea. He is 70 years old and never smoked a day in his life.

On Christmas Eve, our mom and Marissa were in a bad car accident coming to pick me (Amanda) up for the holiday. Given the force of the airbag and seatbelt, our mom was experiencing chest pain. After weeks of trying to get a CT scan of her chest, we decided to go to a digestive disease doctor. On top of that pain, our mom was also experiencing trouble swallowing, which at the time we thought was related to the accident. After meeting with a multitude of doctors, our mom was diagnosed with esophageal cancer (on Marissa’s birthday of all days). Given the size of the mass, the stage was determined to be at least stage 3. After getting her into Sloan Kettering for a PET scan, we were informed the cancer had spread and is now most likely stage 4.

Around the same time as our mom’s diagnosis, my dad was experiencing a lot of back pain and we noticed a lump on the side of his neck. We rushed him back to LIJ Forest Hills, where he’s been for the last 4+ weeks. It turned out he had sepsis, a couple of cracked bones in his back, and lymph nodes that needed to be biopsied. After a delayed process to get the lymph nodes biopsied, it was determined that our dad also has cancer. The stage and type of cancer has only just been determined, and appears to be a type of lymphoma that is extremely aggressive.

Fast forward to this past Friday. Marissa receives a phone call from the hospital informing us that our father was dying. We rush over to say our goodbyes before deciding to try one last effort to intubate him. Our mom, who had her first chemo session just the day before and is immunocompromised, came to see our dad, as well as our cousin and her husband, who immediately flew in from Atlanta (among several other family members in closer proximity).

It is now 3 days later and our dad is still with us, but is heavily sedated, as he is still on the ventilator. As much as we’re keeping up hope, the realistic side of us knows we need to start planning for next steps, especially since he and our family have been failed by this hospital. Instead of being able to start grieving this incredible loss, we’re spending our time trying to get him transferred to another hospital, which doesn’t seem to be working given his current status and lack of financial support from the healthcare system/insurance. To top this off, our dad is autistic and the hospital had him sign a DNR without us being present, even though we’ve mentioned many times that we need to be part of decision making (which is what our dad also wanted).

There is so much more we can say but, at the same time, we’re at a loss for words. The last few weeks have been the worst experience our family has ever gone through (and we’ve already been through a tremendous amount as a family). We cannot begin to explain how incredibly lucky we feel to have the parents that we have. They are our best friends. The pain in our heart is truly unbearable and indescribable. They are the most kind, caring, hard-working individuals we’ve ever met and they’ve taught us well. We are already not the same and will never be the same from this.

If there is anything anyone can do to help, whether it be a donation or a prayer, we appreciate it all. Again, not only in the monetary sense, but a kind word, any piece of advice, or any other type of support, we would be so grateful to have.

We love you all and thank you!

Amanda and Marissa Alperin (and family)