Help for Josie Hart & her beautiful family

Josie was a wonderful caregiver to our husbands, Ron Scott and Larry Killinger respectively. Elizabeth Scott and Marylee Killinger want to ‘pay it forward.’ Any amount would help this family in need. Thank you

How broad do these shoulders need to be? When Josie was a teen, her mom was diagnosed with cancer. Since her mom was an RN, they started an Adult Family Home. This way, the family could all pitch in to help the mom while she was weaker. Josie helped to provide caregiving and later took on management responsibilities. A few years later, she married and her husband became part of the team. By the time Josie was a young adult, her mom had died. Josie got licensed and assumed full responsibility of the AFH. She and her husband had two children, but it wasn’t long before her husband was diagnosed with a rare, progressive, and debilitating condition called Syringomyelia. The home had to be sold, and Josie became the family's sole support through working as a home health aid. She needed a better income with benefits, so she returned to complete her course work to become an RN. In March this year, Josie was able to post, “Today was my last day of nursing school! It feels surreal." The next day her post was that her 14-year-old daughter Ivy was admitted to Children’s hospital with a diagnosis of lymphoblastic lymphoma. After four months of treatment (Josie rarely leaving her side) Ivy was able to come home in July. Even this came with the stipulation that it would only be until the next round of treatment and baring emergencies. And there were emergencies. Josie tried to get in some shifts as a Visiting Angel, but her daughter became ill with a fever and had to go back to the hospital for a time. This week, Josie’s post showed her wearing a heart monitor, as she was exhibiting stress related heart symptoms. She hasn’t had a paycheck in four months, and the next months don’t look promising. Meanwhile, the extra costs keep escalating, to say nothing of gas and parking, Please lets all chip in to make Josie’s life a little easier.

Ivy, statistically, has an 80 to 90% chance of successful treatment without remission, but the healing process is brutal, physically and emotionally. Her loss of strength has led to falls, even at home, and she will most likely not be able to attend school next month.

We have about a month left at home. Then we will have 2+ months of intense chemo treatments which will necessitate us staying near the hospital in case she needs blood transfusions or develops an infection. After that she will be able to return home with oral chemo medications and less frequent doctor visits. Although we will be able to return to a semblance of life as normal, her treatments will continue for two years.

I attached some pictures of Ivy during the course of her treatment. They are in chronological order. She has not wanted me to post some of these pictures on social media for fear that friends would see them and judge her. I think they help to show a bit of what she has been through and could be helpful in developing a gofundme page.

Josie lovingly cared for Ron Scott and Larry Killinger during their respective illnesses