Hearts Helping Hearts

Thank you for taking the time to read this page.

Our goal is to raise money for Shelley and Ron and their beautiful family to ease the burden of financial hardship that critical illness can cause.
 
16 years ago Ron was diagnosed with Cardiomyopathy which is a disease of the heart that is not curable.  After years of struggling, Ron has surpassed the expected life span through his determination or as Shelley calls it, stubbornness.   However, this past April and May were particularly rough months for Ron and he was admitted to hospital for 12 days in May after gaining 35 lbs of fluid in a week.  He had cardiac renal failure.  His kidneys were shutting down and the right side of his heart was failing.  At that time, Ron was referred to London to start the heart transplant process.  June 27th he was re-admitted to hospital.  He was transported to London where the medical team inserted an intra-aortic balloon pump which is helping his heart to beat and move blood/oxygen through his body.  He is on the transplant list and may get a heart in the next couple of weeks. If he gets a heart, they will have to stay in London for three months while he heals.  A long road ahead. 
   
Making this situation more challenging, in October 2015, Shelley was diagnosed with Stage 3 Papillary Thyroid Cancer and underwent a total thyroidectomy which was followed up by Radio Active Iodine.  This required in hospital isolation for 3 days.  Two years later, in October 2017, Shelley underwent another surgery to remove cancerous lymph nodes that had spread to her chest and neck.  She was rescheduled to have Radio Active Iodine and isolation again July 25th of this month, but due to Ron’s health, this has been cancelled.  This will however, need to be rescheduled in a few months.   A portion of Shelley’s treatment is not covered by OHIP and the cost of the Thyrogen shots to prepare for radiation are $2,000 per injection.

If you know Shelley and Ron, you know that the last thing they would want to do is ask for help.
We know the months ahead will be challenging while Shelley and Ron continue to go through their treatments and procedures.  Our hope is to provide financial aid to help them keep up with living expenses, treatment and travel and not be worried about the financial burden this will undoubtedly create.   

We thank you for any help you are able to provide during these challenging times.  We also thank you for all your love, support, prayers and good vibes.  They certainly need this right now.    

With love, faith and gratitude~