A Barry Good Cause
Donation protected
I would like to introduce you to my sister and brother-in law Colleen and Mike Barry. They are very special, giving and hard-working.
They have an immediate need for assistance with their mounting out of pocket medical expenses.
Life has thrown them some curve balls and they have endured more than their share of medical misfortune.
They have traveled this journey – always keeping faith and always putting their family first.
Early in their marriage they had a child who was diagnosed with a bone tumor in his leg. That child
would undergo 11 operations and numerous hospitalizations over the next 13 years. Thankfully, that child appears to be healthy today.
In May of 2006 just months after back surgery Colleen was diagnosed with colon cancer. She suffered
complications during surgery and then received the bad news that her cancer had spread to lymph nodes and was Stage 3. She would need to fight, this time for herself. It took a while to survive both physically and financially but she persevered.
In September of 2014- just 9 months after retiring from Rail Road where he served for 43 years, Mike was diagnosed with Prostate Cancer.They were told it was an advanced and aggressive type of cancer. Due to a heart condition he had, he was not a candidate for surgery.
They were told it was not curable. Radiation, hormone therapy and prayer would be their only option.
9 weeks of radiation and 2 years of hormone therapy later—Mike, and really the whole family was battle weary.
But the real battle had only just begun—In November of 2016 Mike was diagnosed with Stage 4A squamous cell carcinoma.
That is an advanced type of throat cancer.
This battle would take even more courage than ever before:
o The very concentrated radiation will be rough on his mouth and throat
o He had to have ALL of his teeth pulled (You see, the treatment will damage his jaws and gums. He will lose teeth anyway and the infections could be deadly)
o Eating will be too painful and just impossible ( he has had a feeding tube inserted)
o A port would be placed to allow for the 3 double doses of chemotherapy, which will run concurrently with radiation. This very aggressive dual treatment provides his best chance for survival.
As you can imagine the combination of these illnesses and treatments have taken a toll: physically, emotionally and financially.
As they face this new diagnosis they also face the ongoing challenge of new and ever mounting medical and dental bills. This page is intended to assist in that heavy load.
Please contribute if you can—share with others and pray. We believe prayer can move mountains.
Love to you and your families—hold them all a little more closely tonight.
UPDATE:
Due largely to his prostate cancer treatment, Mike has now exceeded his life time benefit for his primary insurance. He is not yet eligible for Medicare. We are all feeling so blessed by the outpouring of love, prayer and financial support-- Please continue to share his story and keep this family in your prayers. I am trying to send online Thank-you's to all that contribute ( If I missed you---it is a user error issue and not a lack of appreciation)
Additional thanks to Tammy and Bruce Hansen, Bob Hansen, Brad and Diane Hansen and Kit Hartman. What would any of us do without the love of Friends.
God Bless you all.
They have an immediate need for assistance with their mounting out of pocket medical expenses.
Life has thrown them some curve balls and they have endured more than their share of medical misfortune.
They have traveled this journey – always keeping faith and always putting their family first.
Early in their marriage they had a child who was diagnosed with a bone tumor in his leg. That child
would undergo 11 operations and numerous hospitalizations over the next 13 years. Thankfully, that child appears to be healthy today.
In May of 2006 just months after back surgery Colleen was diagnosed with colon cancer. She suffered
complications during surgery and then received the bad news that her cancer had spread to lymph nodes and was Stage 3. She would need to fight, this time for herself. It took a while to survive both physically and financially but she persevered.
In September of 2014- just 9 months after retiring from Rail Road where he served for 43 years, Mike was diagnosed with Prostate Cancer.They were told it was an advanced and aggressive type of cancer. Due to a heart condition he had, he was not a candidate for surgery.
They were told it was not curable. Radiation, hormone therapy and prayer would be their only option.
9 weeks of radiation and 2 years of hormone therapy later—Mike, and really the whole family was battle weary.
But the real battle had only just begun—In November of 2016 Mike was diagnosed with Stage 4A squamous cell carcinoma.
That is an advanced type of throat cancer.
This battle would take even more courage than ever before:
o The very concentrated radiation will be rough on his mouth and throat
o He had to have ALL of his teeth pulled (You see, the treatment will damage his jaws and gums. He will lose teeth anyway and the infections could be deadly)
o Eating will be too painful and just impossible ( he has had a feeding tube inserted)
o A port would be placed to allow for the 3 double doses of chemotherapy, which will run concurrently with radiation. This very aggressive dual treatment provides his best chance for survival.
As you can imagine the combination of these illnesses and treatments have taken a toll: physically, emotionally and financially.
As they face this new diagnosis they also face the ongoing challenge of new and ever mounting medical and dental bills. This page is intended to assist in that heavy load.
Please contribute if you can—share with others and pray. We believe prayer can move mountains.
Love to you and your families—hold them all a little more closely tonight.
UPDATE:
Due largely to his prostate cancer treatment, Mike has now exceeded his life time benefit for his primary insurance. He is not yet eligible for Medicare. We are all feeling so blessed by the outpouring of love, prayer and financial support-- Please continue to share his story and keep this family in your prayers. I am trying to send online Thank-you's to all that contribute ( If I missed you---it is a user error issue and not a lack of appreciation)
Additional thanks to Tammy and Bruce Hansen, Bob Hansen, Brad and Diane Hansen and Kit Hartman. What would any of us do without the love of Friends.
God Bless you all.
Organizer and beneficiary
Kathy Burke-Wozny
Organizer
Oswego, IL
Patrick Burke
Beneficiary
