public service announcement

In a conversation recently with my wonderful sister in law, she mentioned off hand that right now would be the worst time for my brother to die. He is finishing his residency in Radiation Oncology at the Mayo Clinic. AKA he’s loaded up with debt and there would be nothing to show for it if anything happened to him. {Although, luckily she said student loans are forgiven whenever someone dies. I hadn’t heard that before. And I did actually hear that fact corroborated by Dave Ramsey. He was advising against consolidating student loans with your spouse for that reason.}

Well, you know how things work, once someone says it out loud…

So within a couple of weeks I found out that a close friend and neighbor was suddenly facing a very similar situation. One that I probably wouldn’t believe if I didn’t know them in person. Just graduated, new baby, looking for a job, and **BAM** Stage IV Melanoma. {In case you don’t know there are only four.} Originally the doctors told him to expect 9 months.

I remember when I had Melanoma. It was only stage one, but that was plenty. We almost lost our insurance in the middle of it. Things were a mess. One day we got a check in the mail. Anonymous. For thirteen hundred dollars. I was flabbergasted.

I wish I had that much to give them. Maybe someday I’ll be in that position. Right now, I’m trying to help with an upcoming 5K fundraiser and garage/bake sale. There is also more info here if you are interested in giving a little. Even little donations add up.

And maybe we can’t pay all their bills, but at least just hold them over until their *free health care* from Obama kicks in, right? {OHHHH, the AUDACITY!}