She Needs You. Please. - Democratic Underground

JFN1

(1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore

Wed Feb-13-08 01:54 PM
Original message

She Needs You. Please.

She was only 14 years old when she was an eighth grader, a cheerleader, a young, vibrant girl with her whole life ahead of her. She was only 14 years old, when she enjoyed her last year of life as a normal, healthy girl.

She was only 15 years old, when she started chemotherapy for Ewing's Sarcoma, a rare form of childhood cancer that attacks the bones. She lost her hair, had the cancerous bone in her pelvis removed, and then her lungs started to deteriorate.

She lived through her 16th year with an oxygen bottle her closest companion, as her lung function approached a mere 20% of normal capacity.

In May of 2007, she was only 17 years old, when she finally had a double lung transplant, to replace lungs killed by interstices lung disease, brought on by the chemotherapy which saved her from the bone cancer.

When her health insurance is canceled later this year, it will be canceled with the simple explanation that she has reached her "lifetime maximum benefits."

And she has just turned 18...

Her name is Brittani. She is my niece. And she needs your help.

The financial burden, as you can imagine, is tremendous, even with insurance. Consequently, our ability to care for Brittani is on the verge of being compromised. If we don't get some help, well, I don't know what will happen, I just know it won't be good.

We understand it is campaign season, and there are politicians who need your money, if they are to help our country. We don't want to take away from that - but we need your help, too.

Please. Help us help Brittani.

DONATE TO BRITTANI HERE

Anything you can give will help this brave young woman, and our family, deal with the ongoing expenses for her care. If you'd like to visit Brittani's Caring Bridge web page, please feel free to sign her guest book. You can't donate to Brittani on that site - but there is a link below for donations.

DONATE TO BRITTANI HERE

Thank you, all.

UPDATE- I've been asked what kind of costs we face for Brittani. Among more mundane costs like transportation and lodging for her frequent hospital stays, her insurance doesn't cover things like immuno-suppressant drugs (necessary so her body won't reject her lungs), lung biopsies and labs (she frequently requires tissue checks on the lungs), doctor's fees and copays not covered by her insurance (while it remains), and dozens of other things, both big and small, that pile up as a result of her ongoing, lifetime treatment. And because we must suppress her immune system, a simple cold, can kill her, so we must take measure to protect her from even simple illnesses and injuries.

Here's the other thing: Transplanted lungs only last, at best, around 10 years. So for the rest of her life, Brittani will be in need of new lungs - unless stem cell research is cut loose, and she is able to grow a new set of her own. But until then, she looks forward to a lifetime of failing lungs in need of replacement. This is one reason her reaching of "maximum lifetime benefits" is so cruel.

So if you can, please. DONATE TO BRITTANI HERE

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