What if you could prevent a family fighting cancer from going bankrupt today? With Family Reach Give, you can.
This is Thomas Lipani. In recent months, his parents face a daily battle with the decision on whether or not to file bankruptcy.
How did they get here?
Three years ago their eight-year-old son, Thomas, was diagnosed with Stage IV Rhabdomyosarcoma, a rare cancer that attacks the skeletal muscle system.
He immediately began an aggressive treatment regimen that lasted 54 weeks. Chemotherapy meant being at the hospital before 8 AM and leaving after 6 PM. When they were at home, Thomas was sick fighting the side effects of his medicine. The only job his mother had time for was being by Thomas’s side while he fought. Working was not an option.
Finances got tight that first year but the family managed to stay afloat despite being stretched thin. Their efforts paid off as Thomas was declared cancer free at the end of his first round of treatment.
“We thought we were done,” said Thomas’s mom. “We were cancer rookies, we didn’t know.”
After a brief time in remission, the family received the devastating news that Thomas relapsed. The cancer was back and had spread all over his body. Today, Thomas is in the midst of another full year treatment plan that involves a week-long stay at the hospital every three weeks.
Thomas’s father works full time in PR but his income on its own is not enough to cover the cost of travel to and from treatment, the medical bills and the monthly payments that are piling up for their mortgage, car insurance and utilities.
Every month the family struggles to choose which bill they will fall behind on and which they will pay. “We have exhausted all of our options,” said Thomas’s mom. “My husband is looking for a night job but no one is calling. We don’t have enough equity in our house to make it worth selling. I’m at the end of my rope.”
Thomas is featured on our new app, Family Reach Give, and needs our help today. Together, we can prevent another family with cancer from falling into bankruptcy.
To donate, download the app at bit.ly/FRGive today and click on Thomas L.’s profile.
