Gordon & Garnetta Fighting Cancer

I'm starting this page to help my brother, Gordy Schaefer and his wife Garnetta.  Gordy is the fourth sibling in our family to be diagnosed with lung cancer even though he quit smoking years ago.  He and his wife have been through hell for the last year. The help of friends and family would reduce their stress and allow them to concentrate on health instead of worrying about everything else.




Here's what happened:  Gordy  was diagnosed in May of 2016 with Stage IV inoperable Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer (adenocarcinoma). The weekend after diagnosis a major coughing attack caused his right lung to collapse.  He was put into the ICU with severe pneumonia and we weren't sure he was going to make it.  He was so sick from the infection, the complications of the collapsed lung, and the cancer that we were told he might never be able to begin chemo. He finally left the hospital 14 days later and received daily IV antibiotics at home until the infection was finally cleared.

Next, tests were done to determine if there was lung damage. There was not, but lung capacity needed to be increased. Gordy started walking down the block and slowly built up to 2 one mile walks a day. He did exercises to build his lung capacity and was able to wean off of oxygen. He also returned to work 3 hours a day.

In July he had his first chemo treatment.  He had treatments every 21 days for 5 cycles. In January, 2017, he started to feel unwell, experiencing coughing, pain in his right side (rib/liver) area and right hip/upper leg pain. He had a scan which showed cancer progression.

Testing was done through a pharmaceutical lab to see if he qualified for a target therapy clinical trial which often have much more success than regular chemo. Unfortunately he does not qualify for the trials.  Additionally, he does not have mutations necessary to be a candidate for the seemingly miraculous immunotherapy drugs (Opdivo and Keytruda).  So, that being another major disappointment he has decided to do 3 weeks of chemo, have a resting week and do a scan to see if things are, at least, holding steady.  If they are progressing he has made the decision to enter into hospice care.

On a positive note: They celebrated another wedding anniversary, Gordy returned to work a couple of hours a day, they went camping a couple of times, took a couple of inexpensive “bucket list” trips, celebrated Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s Eve with family. And…. He had another birthday, turning 54 years old at the end of January. Gordy was also able to start the beginning of the fall bowling league but due to recent events causing extreme weakness and fatigue has had to quit with 5 weeks left in the season :-(.  When he came home from the hospital last June we didn’t think any of those things would be possible.





Why Gordy and Garnetta need our help: There are so many reasons!  

1) They need help paying health insurance.  Gordy's employer has been most generously paying his premiums. However, Gordy can't work now and has given two weeks notice so he and Garnetta will need to pay these premiums which are over $500/ month.
2) They need help covering declining income since Gordy won't be working.
3) They have a $6000 annual deductible and $13000 out of pocket max to meet.  They also have a $20 - $40 drug deductible and he is currently taking 17 prescriptions
4) Garnetta is almost out of paid time off.  She can take family leave, but it is unpaid and they must continue to pay premiums while she is off.
5) They have lived within their means and have been using up their savings to cover the above expenses and day to day things (cars, mortgage, etc.)  that continue to accrue.
6) Besides money, they need physical help. They would like to move back to Bloomington from Gridley which is 35 minutes away. Garnetta works in Bloomingon and it would allow her to come home to check on Gordy during the day and be closer if she needs to get home quickly. It will make it easier for family and friends to visit and help with errands and make getting to appointments so much more convenient. And, if they don’t get the miracle we are all praying for, it is important to Gordy to help Garnetta choose a home that she can take care of in case he’s not here to do maintenance for her.  

Can you please help financially today as expenses are mounting?  If you can't help financially, when they decide to move, they will need help.  Other non-financial ways to help include dog walking, errands, etc. Hood, positive thoughts/ prayers are very welcome. Anyone who would like to send a card or note to Gordy can contact me for the address.