dear friends,
i’d like to tell you a story on one very brave woman and then ask for your help. we really need it. i am giving away a $200 shopping spree (to be spent in my etsy shop) to one lucky person who helps…more details below.
as i type this i am thinking about her – about how she is my age, about how she could be my best friend or my sister or any one of us reading this today. i really believe in the interconnectedness of our community. i feel it. i admire it. and i deeply believe in our collective power and hope to change people lives. we did it here on this blog last year when we raised over $5000 to build a house in rwanda for an exceptional family (btw, jen lemen just returned from rwanda where she visited that very house and took photos – more on that soon). and now we have an opportunity to do something really powerful again. i hope you can be a part of it.
meet megan (isn’t she gorgeous with a spirit that radiates?). she is a dear college friend of one of my best friends and she is also a reader of this blog, making her a part of our community. megan is 36 years old. she is deeply loved by her family and friends. she is vibrant. talented. sassy and passionate. earlier this year she was diagnosed with stage IV breast cancer with mets to her bone, lungs, liver, and brain. her story is heartbreaking, but to make matters worse, her insurance (blue shield of california, her employer based plan) has denied life saving treatments prescribed by her doctors, including brain radiation and a crucial medication that targets and removes the cancer from her body (referred to as a ‘smart bomb’). having been a medical social worker for many years, i’ve seen this insurance denial scenario played out over and over again in oncology units across our country. it makes my heart sink to think that this happens every single day to countless people in our country. it could easily be me. it could be you.
my heart aches for megan as she fights for her life while taking on the burden of paying for her care. this is where we can help. you and me. megan’s friends and family have set up a chipin fund with a goal to raise $100,000 by august 1st. they’ve been raising money for a couple of months and now we have an opportunity to add to what has already been raised. let’s do it, friends. again, this is about our collective power. i believe that if we all just donate $5 (or more if you can), then we can help one very special woman on the journey of her life. let’s dream big, hope to the moon, and see what we can do.
here’s what you can do:
1. please donate to megan’s chip-in fund (it will direct you to donate via paypal). ANY amt will do. if we all donate $5, $10, $20, we can make a huge impact. i really believe this.
2. after you’ve donated, please come back here and leave a comment. please only leave a comment if you have donated.
3. i am giving one commenter/donator $200 to spend in my etsy shop on whatever they wish!
thank you guys. my heart is incredibly hopeful that we can make a huge difference and release a little bit of financial burden from megan’s shoulders so that she can do what is most important right now: focusing on her treatment, getting well, and spending time with loved ones.
ps – you can read more about megan and her cancer journey on her blog. and more specifics about what her chip-in funds are paying for in regards to specific treatment here. her story has also been featured on president obama’s healthcare stories for america page right here.
thank you, thank you, thank you……….this means the world.
Many post-mortems of cancer sufferers showed NO cancer tumours (killed by chemo). Bt also no white blood cells (needed 2fight infections).
Know that chemo not only kills all cells, the mammograms that diagnose cancer also causes it.
It used to take 10 to 20 years to die from cancer, but now that is shortened 5 to 10 fold with chemo.
KNOW THE TRUTH! Donations benefit not YOU the Cancer Sufferer, but those who want you to keep buying prescription drugs that don't work.
Many have been lied to!!! Beware of BBQ parties organised – they don't want you to know charred parts of meat is cancerous!! Beware of the "good organizations".
P.S. Google for Billy Best. He ran away from chemo and is still alive after 16 years. In fact CURED without painful, risky chemo that robs you of your health and your crowning glory!
Thank you Kelly for introducing Megan to me. I am sending her all the love in the world right now.
This was a really thoughtful idea–thank you for allowing us all to help.
Megan, I wish you all the best!
Megan-
My thoughts and prayers are with you for a full recovery. I only wish I could have given you more.
"In the end it will all be okay. If it's not okay, it's not the end."
Wow – It is amazing what people can do when they work together! Thanks for the opportunity!
Thank you Kelly for putting this together for such a brave and wonderful person. My prayers are with you both. Teri Boyungs
Praying full and complete healing for your friend. I spent the afternoon today with a personal friend in the same situation, metastatic breast cancer to the brain, liver, bones, etc. So, as you read this comment, or for anyone else who might read it, please lift up Shelli in addition to your Megan. Thanks so much!!
Just had to contribute and hope that Megan has the best treatment available as a result of everyone chipping in. I follow your blog from the Uk and feel blessed that we have the national health service here, even with its faults. Well done Kelly – keep up the good work!
Megan is in my thoughts and prayers.
Wow. What a heartbreaking, yet inspiring story. My prayers and thoughts are with Megan and her family & friends. God is good and miracles still happen. I wish I could have given so much more.
Very touching. I hope my donation is at least some small help.
I could only donate a tiny amount but I feel that together, tiny amounts add up to great things.I wish all the best for Megan and may she and her family be filled with courage and hope. Cancer is a horrible disease that surprisingly brings people together and shows us that we are capable of great love and can share the burden of a hard fought battle as a team. xo
You are such a catalyst for good things happening! Megan is just gorgeous and the light is bright shining from her!! I was so happy to chip in (even without your giveaway) and hope that healing is happening as I write this! Love, Silke
Today I mailed a check for Megan's fund (found the mailing address on her blog from your link). I am wishing her healing and restoration. I think it is such a generous gift from you to highlight different stories on your blog and using it to benefit others…may MANY stars be put in your crown.
I am absolutely heartsick about this. It is happening all over American, and it's criminal. I worked in nonprofit health insurance for 5 years. We *need* reform so badly in this country.
Thank you for doing this for Megan, she is a beautiful woman and she deserves to have a future. I was lucky, mine was diagnosed early and gone with a few surgeries. My heart is full of compassion and sympathy for those who are suffering.
love to you and Megan.
Thanks so much for posting Megan's story. I chipped in today and am posting her story on my own blog. This just breaks my heart.
Wishing you a speedy recovery from San Francisco! I hope my small donation helps.
Our family just lost healthcare coverage due to a job change. The new job offers health insurance for 3 of us upwards of $900 a month. We cannot afford it, so we have joined the ranks of the uninsured. You are right, Kelly Rae, when you say that Megan could be one of us. She IS one of us, and I hope and pray for her healing. I donated $10,and I know it will help.
Thank you for sharing and for showing that faith and hope is still out there.
Kelly – I donated $10 dollars. This is why I appreciate the fact that I live in Canada.
what a story, i hope my little bit helps!
I wish I could have donated more, but I'm sure every little bit will help. What a beautiful spirit, we are all so lucky to have such good people in our life, we have to nurture that type of love, I may not know you or her, but you are right, she could be me; my sister; my best friend… sending love & prayers for Megan 🙂
May this beautiful woman experience full recovery and life full of healthy and happiness. xo
So happy to have this opportunity to help – thank you.
I just read this story and made a donation How could I not? It could be any of us and what a sad commentary on the state of the health insurance system in the US. It breaks my heart that people can't get the care they need because of money. Thanks for making us aware of the need and for always spreading light and hope, Kelly Rae. xo
Thinking of and praying for Megan, her family, her friends, and her caregivers.
I hope every little bit *does* help because I'm one of those who only has a little to give. But I didn't want to let that stop me.
Such a horrible story — what is WRONG with people (i.e. insurance companies)?!?!!?!
Kelly,
Thank you for the opportunity for us all to come together. I am happy to give what I can.
Prayers to your friend and her family.
Tara
I was held by a similar circle of ferociously loving, healing kinship and friendship 15years ago when going through treatment for breast cancer. I add the still-present halo of light from my circle to this circle. Love like this is very powerful. Thanks Kelly Rae for opening and uniting all these hearts.
I am a metastatic breast cancer SURVIVOR — in remission now for 8 months and counting!! I gave what I could; I only wish I could give much much more.
My thoughts and prayers are and will be with Megan and she fights this terrible disease.
God bless you, Megan.