Support for Brenda and Chris Meyerdirk
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My name is Alex and this GoFundMe is for my parents.
In February of this year we took my Dad to the ER to be checked out as he had a few alarming medical symptoms. Many tests later and the doctors came back with a diagnosis of High Grade Stage 4 Lung Cancer, which had metastasized to four areas of his body . This news left our family shaken and unsure of what the future held but we persevered and made plans for his treatment.
Between my mother, Brenda, myself and my siblings we took turns caring for my Dad by ensuring he made it to his doctor appointments, chemotherapy appointments and radiation appointments. He was scheduled for 6 weeks of treatment then we would wait a few months and see if we had made any progress on the tumors.
Two weeks ago my Dad left his apartment in a state of confusion and collapsed outside. Luckily a neighbor was with him and promptly called 911 as he had hit his head on the cement. He was sent to the ER where they did an MRI to ensure he did not have a brain bleed. What they did find was he had Hydrocephalus aka a build up of cerebral spinal fluid in his brain. He'd need emergency brain surgery to correct this or he'd have a week or two of life left at best. He quickly had the surgery and recovered from this is as well as the doctor expected.
Unfortunately that wasn't the only thing they caught on the MRI. They found he had a tumor in the pons of his brain stem. The location making it inoperable and firmly placing him as Terminal. Thus his doctors indicated he is in palliative care now, which focuses on providing relief from symptoms, pain, physical stress, and mental stress at any stage of the illness. The goal is to improve quality of life for the person.
He has been receiving radiation for the brain tumor in hopes of shrinking it, to give him as much time as possible.
As you can imagine all this has had a dramatic effect on my father, physically and mentally. He is very often confused, his vision is poor, his motor skills and ability to move around have been severely compromised. That being said, he is unable to be left unattended for any amount of time.
My wonderful mother has been taking care of him around the clock. Luckily for him and my family, my mother is an ICU/Critical Care RN giving her much experience with people in frail conditions. While a boon it also has made it impossible for her to go back to work.
So now for the important aspect of this whole thing, I am asking for help for my Mom to be able to stay home with him. He was given about 4 months of life left (give or take). What I'm trying to achieve is monetary support for their bills, so she doesn't have to worry about working and the stress of their finances. It will give her time with him and for him a caregiver for the rest of the time that he is with us.
I deeply appreciate anyone taking the time to read this and also any donations anyone will make.
In February of this year we took my Dad to the ER to be checked out as he had a few alarming medical symptoms. Many tests later and the doctors came back with a diagnosis of High Grade Stage 4 Lung Cancer, which had metastasized to four areas of his body . This news left our family shaken and unsure of what the future held but we persevered and made plans for his treatment.
Between my mother, Brenda, myself and my siblings we took turns caring for my Dad by ensuring he made it to his doctor appointments, chemotherapy appointments and radiation appointments. He was scheduled for 6 weeks of treatment then we would wait a few months and see if we had made any progress on the tumors.
Two weeks ago my Dad left his apartment in a state of confusion and collapsed outside. Luckily a neighbor was with him and promptly called 911 as he had hit his head on the cement. He was sent to the ER where they did an MRI to ensure he did not have a brain bleed. What they did find was he had Hydrocephalus aka a build up of cerebral spinal fluid in his brain. He'd need emergency brain surgery to correct this or he'd have a week or two of life left at best. He quickly had the surgery and recovered from this is as well as the doctor expected.
Unfortunately that wasn't the only thing they caught on the MRI. They found he had a tumor in the pons of his brain stem. The location making it inoperable and firmly placing him as Terminal. Thus his doctors indicated he is in palliative care now, which focuses on providing relief from symptoms, pain, physical stress, and mental stress at any stage of the illness. The goal is to improve quality of life for the person.
He has been receiving radiation for the brain tumor in hopes of shrinking it, to give him as much time as possible.
As you can imagine all this has had a dramatic effect on my father, physically and mentally. He is very often confused, his vision is poor, his motor skills and ability to move around have been severely compromised. That being said, he is unable to be left unattended for any amount of time.
My wonderful mother has been taking care of him around the clock. Luckily for him and my family, my mother is an ICU/Critical Care RN giving her much experience with people in frail conditions. While a boon it also has made it impossible for her to go back to work.
So now for the important aspect of this whole thing, I am asking for help for my Mom to be able to stay home with him. He was given about 4 months of life left (give or take). What I'm trying to achieve is monetary support for their bills, so she doesn't have to worry about working and the stress of their finances. It will give her time with him and for him a caregiver for the rest of the time that he is with us.
I deeply appreciate anyone taking the time to read this and also any donations anyone will make.
Organizer
Alex Meyerdirk
Organizer
Clearwater, FL