A fellow Unitarian congregation member of mine and his family needs your help due to a major medical and financial crisis.
First, a little background. His name is Brian, and I think you'd like him. Brian is an unpretentious, thoughtful person working hard as a construction carpenter to make ends meet. In his spare time, Brian has been regularly protesting the Iraq war, using a rather brave method: publicly demonstrating with his organization (Peace Seekers of Washington County) on a street corner in his very Republican town here in Wisconsin. Although the response from local residents has been mostly positive, there is a very disrespectful, vocal minority. (see http://fuzzmartin.com/... for a local wingnut blogger/radio show host reacting to his organization's activities and describing the challenging conservative climate). Brian rightly believes that if people see that someone they know is not afraid to take a public stand, they might be inspired to do the same or at least give it some thought. When I hear the term progressive patriot, I think of Brian. So Brian's a good guy, ok? Please read on...
Here's the situation: Brian's wife was diagnosed with gynecological cancer in September, 2005. Her tumor was large enough to make surgery not an option. She is now finished with her radiation and chemotherapies. Brian has taken time off to accompany his wife to medical appointments and during hospitalizations. When work is slow, which it has been lately, the family must pay their medical insurance premiums as well as deductibles and co-pays. Currently, Brian is being billed for complimentary therapies to aid his wife's recovery from long term side effects on her intestines. As you can imagine, the debt is adding up quickly.
Brian and his wife are raising two daughters. Brian's youngest daughter has Down syndrome. Having a child with a disability requires 2-3 times the usual costs of childrearing. Brian's wife, a nurse, used to work part-time, to contribute about 1/3 of the family's income. She won't be returning to work until her energy level improves and lingering side effect symptoms are manageable.
Until I mentioned dailykos to him at church, he had not heard of it (he does not have much time to spend on the computer), but said this community sounds like his kind of people. He also said that usually he's on the other end in this scenario - that is, helping others - but that his family is in a real bind right now and they need help.
Our church organized a Christmas gift drive for Brian's family, so they would not go without because of the medical bills. The holidays are over now, but the medical bills continue to mount. A family fund has been set up for donations, and local people are doing what they can. However, this is not enough.
I realize that there are many people in great need, dealing with similar issues (lack of adequate insurance, escalating health care costs, and potential financial ruin as a result), some of whom are probably reading this. But Brian is one such person I know, whose values are consistent with many of us on DailyKos, and I thought this was worth a try.
ANY AMOUNT YOU CAN SPARE would be greatly appreciated. Our church's religious education director will handle the deposits. Please send contributions directly to:
The Bunzel Schroeder Family Fund
c/o Trudy Mandel
Unitarian Church North
13800 N. Port Washington Road
Mequon, WI 53097
