Brittani (An Update)

[JFN1]

Some of you will remember our niece Brittani, who was diagnosed with Ewing's Sarcoma when she was 15. Brittani underwent chemotherapy to kill off the cancer, which worked. Unfortunately, the chemo also killed off her lungs. Brittani had a double lung transplant in May 2007 to correct this.

For the first year after the surgery, things went fairly well. She went diabetic, then not diabetic, then back to being diabetic, which she remains. For most of the year following her recovery, Brittani got to act like a normal kid, albeit an extra careful one, since her immune system is suppressed by the anti-rejection drugs she must take.

But in the past few months, she has started to lose lung function.

There is no sign of organ rejection, no infection...and no answers.

So the doctors want to perform an open chest biopsy of her lungs, to see if they can discover why her lung function is decreasing.

Her insurance is about gone, due to reaching her "lifetime maximum benefits" - as a teenager.

And the medication, constant doctor visits, travel and missed work, and a ton of other stuff has left Brittani's family in dire financial need.

We have come here today to ask for your help. We are drowning, and once the insurance is gone, it is only going to get worse.

We don't know what is going to happen to Brittani without outside help of some kind. All we know is that family-wide we have exhausted every conceivable financial tool available to us to help her.

We've asked corporations, both large and small, that we do business with on a regular basis, for help, and have received...nothing. What government assistance is available has been exhausted as well, and there is nothing left there, either.

So please help Brittani. Please donate to Brittani here.

Thank you for taking the time to read this. If you would like to know more about Brittani, her condition, and our efforts to help her, you can click here.

Cindy & Dan

PS - Brittani got to graduate with her class last month. She wants to go to college now - she's decided she wants to become a nurse...



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[JFN1]

1. It is amazingly expensive to have an organ transplant performed

and the lung transplant was AFTER her chemotherapy treatments in Texas. Brittani had to fly from the St. Louis airport (about 100 miles from her home)to M.D. Anderson in Houston once a week for her treatments, as they were the only hospital in the country doing the treatment she received for Ewing's.

She did this for a year and a half.

All told I think her insurance has paid out about $1 million, and the family has paid out about $250,000 in the last three years, and owes at least another $200,000.

And no one around here is rich - Brittani's mom is an x-ray tech (not a radiologist, just a tech), and her dad works in a tire factory.

This is a self-kick - just thought I'd add a few more notes while I was at it.

[Synnical]

2. I have no funds to donate at this time

But I will give this a kick! Hope it helps!

-Cindy in Fort Lauderdale

[ColbertWatcher]

3. I too have no funds, but...

...I will back candidates who support Universal Healthcare.

[Liberal_in_LA]

4. bump

[GreenPartyVoter]

5. Kickin' for Brittani. She's the face of the need for universal gov't paid healthcare in this nation

Stay strong, Brittani! :hug:

[Mojorabbit]

6. I can't use paypal

but if you pm me an address, I can send a small check.

[lildreamer316]

7. Kick

[JFN1]

8. Thanks for the kicks and kind thoughts

I'll kick it for Brittani, too.

[EOTE]

9. Another K&R.

I wish I could do more to help, but unfortunately, even in my relatively good health, it can be hard to make ends meet. I hope beyond hope that you get the help you need. This is just another sad example as to why universal health coverage is so incredibly important. Our current health care system is like the lottery in reverse. All it takes is a little bad luck and you've lost all your life's work. Best of luck to you and your niece.

[ms liberty]

10. Can't Rec, but here's a kick. n/t

[varelse]

11. :'(

:kick:

[Mojorabbit]

12. kick n/t