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.
There is such magic, power, and strength in community, and in giving to someone you will never meet, but doing it with love, in the hopes of making a difference. Lots of good wishes for Megan and her family.
I hope the funds raised will make a difference! I also believe that the energy we are sending out when we think of Megan is a strength – so keep that flowing to!
Thanks Kelly for letting me help!
here's to megan. we are all fighting with you.
~em
I'm happy to donate, I wish it could be more. What is WRONG with insurance companies! We have to struggle to pay for the 'protection' and then they don't have to follow through on their end? SO WRONG!
My prayers are with Megan and her family ♥
Darla
just donated.
wow.
this is a heartbreaker of a story indeed…
I am inspired by the love pouring in.
xo
i am so deeply deeply saddened when i hear this sort of story. i personally find the us health care system utterly incredulous (if not psychotic). as a european, this kind of stuff baffles me to no end.
wishing megan all the health, love, light in the world.
tam
Just donated and also sent up prayers. Will add her to my list and will keep her in my thoughts throughout the day. Thank you for posting this. I can't help but be really really pissed at that kind of insurance system. Happy thoughts sent her way, though!!!
Done! You are a good friend to Megan Kelly.
What a heartwarming cause. God Bless you Megan. Keep spreading your beautiful smile 😉
I've had my heart broken by cancer, so my thoughts and prayers for healing and peace are with Megan and her family. Thanks for sharing, Kelly.
My thoughts and prayers are with Megan.
Thank you for giving me an opportunity to help.
I know from my own cancer journey that cancer treatment is very expensive, and dealing with insurance companies drains you at a time when you need your strength the most. I am lucky I was not stage IV as I might have been where Megan is now — having an insurance company decide what her life is worth. It is morally reprehensible and breaks my heart. We need change.
How many times do we waste our money on insignificant "stuff?" I can't let this opportunity pass without giving to someone who really needs it. All the best to Megan and Kelly, you are an awesome soul.
Trish
Blessings to her, to you and to all.
What a wonderful cause. I can't believe how much medial insurance companies try to get away with these days. I've sent a donation and a note to tell them I'll be praying for Megan. Thanks for sharing here story here so we could try to help.
Thank you so much Kelly for sharing Megan's story. I hope we reach $100,000 this week!! I'll spread the word as well. My thoughts are with Megan and her family :).
Thank you Kelly Rae for alerting us about sweet Megan, I've sent a donation, sent warm and loving thoughts and cried with hope for her as I cried again because I miss LeeAnne Wallace so darn much. (LeeAnne lost her battle with cancer on Dec. 1st this past year)…
I need to believe that Megan will win this battle and I will continue to send positive thoughts her way…
i really wish her the very best. my thoughts are with her.
I hope everyone gives a little something. Every little bit helps. Always in our prayers.
I donated, but if I were to win, Id rather you put the $200 towards Megan's Fund instead.
Health care stories like this break my heart. But it starts to heal when community comes together like this. May the funds donated here help Meg to heal, too.
my sister,grandmother and mother in law died of breast cancer. It is a horrible killer of women (and a few men). I am so glad that I could participate in Megan's care plan. And a warm fuzzy to you for finding a way to let us help!
just sharing a little of what i have…god bless!
I have enjoyed reading your blog. I pray for your friend.
Kelly- That the connectedness might help save this beautiful life blows me away…thanks for introducing us all to Megan and giving us the chance to help.
-Anj
Thanks for letting us help.
Hi Kelly, as you have been a medical social worker for many years – if we all donated to Megan's fund and then sent a note to Blue Shield would it help in changing the direction of their medical coverage for others like Megan?
I pray that the amazing power of "connections" will help to heal Megan's body and heart. I've donated to Megan's fund in memory of my best friend, Angie, who lost her courageous battle with cancer in 2000. In my heart, she will always be a survivor and my source of inspiration.
I have donated but not for the chance to win..It is so heartbreaking to just imagine what the family would loose and I would be soo happy if my little contribution can add and change Megan's life.
Thanks to you for taking such initiatives which reminds me that this world is definitely not a bad place to live..
I'll pray for Megan's life and hope she gets well soon..
I'm absolutely stunned and moved to tears by this, by what is possible when even a small number of people give a little. Thank you so much for giving us a simple and direct opportunity to contribute to the life of another beautiful soul~
Thank you for giving us the opportunity to join together and support and give and show what we can do!
sending a prayer for good health, peace of mind and heart, more love and other blessings to megan and to you, kelly rae, and to your families and everyone really.
donated to help, not for the chance of a generous give-away (but that is very kind of you!)
kathy
Thanks for sharing! I used to work for a large medical insurance company in the 90's and this type of claim is the reason I no longer work for corporate America. Most employers add the "not covered experimental" clause in their policy to "save" money not lives. I also battled with Medicare with my Mom's stage IV lung cancer treatment, and sometimes you just have to fight the system.
Thanks for allowing us to be a part of this story.
Megan is blessed to have your friendship and support, for sure. Cancer sucks and it breaks my heart that insurance companies make everything so hard when someone is SICK. I will never forget my mother (battling breast cancer) on the phone with her insurance company, in tears. Hope every little bit helps.
Thanks for giving us the chance to help. Megan's smile and story pierced my heart. I so hope she makes it through this…prayers coming her way.
Thank you Kelly for sharing Megan's story. I'm inspired by the way we all gather to help lift someone up.
To Megan, I wish you all the best in your healing journey. Soak up all the love we're sending your way! 🙂
xox
I am honored to be a part of such a wonderful and loving community. Thank you Kelly Rae for the opportunity and for raising awareness.
Lovely Megan, you are loved loved loved! Love, Heidi
Loads of wishes, hopes, and prayers from North Carolina. Namaste. Suzy
Thank you for this opportunity! God Bless all!!
What a moving post, of course I had to donate – like you say it could be any one's story. Good Luck with the fundraising and I wish Megan well for the future x
I just belive in happy endings!
Many prayers and blessing for Megan. We are so fortunate in Canada not to have to do this. How incredibly sad that faceless companies considering their bottom lines are able to dictate the fate of others. I'm sorry.
Many small drops make up an ocean of caring…
READ THIS……………….
Like you said it could be anyone of us, and it is……..me. I am also one of the many whose insurance is doing the side step. It has taken me so long to finally get help, because with insurance that won't help you, plus having a job of any kind really knocks you out for potential financial help, that I no longer have a choice…I will lose my entire right breast. In my search to be able to even start getting treatment I have found help and would like to pass this on to help anyone in need if they are unable to go on medicade like myself……..it is called: Breast & Cervical Cancer Treatment Act……..If she has received a letter from her insurance company stating that they will not pay, she then needs to go to a Public Health Service Center and ask to be put on this program. The American Cancer Society could also be of help with this. Unfortunately not all Public Service Places and even American Cancer Society out posts know of this law. It is out there and does excist!!!!!!!!!!! Have her, and her family help, apply for this. I hope that I have not only helped her but anyone else who has read this and in need. You can be a millionare and if your insurance will not pay or if you have no insurance this law/act will pay for what ever you need!!!!!!!!
I wish i could have given more, but more than that i wish Megan didn't have to go through this… i survived cervical cancer at just 17 years old, at 33 i was diagnosed with two chronic debilitating diseases, despite that i have a future and i hope that my small contribution can help towards giving Megan the future she deserves, life is so unfair, for this to happen to any of us is cruel, but to happen to such a special person is heartbreaking… Good Luck Megan my heart and that of my family goes out to you..
Cancer is my least favorite word. My dad has had to go through treatment 3 times and I don't know what he would have done without insurance.
I'll be keeping Megan in my thoughts and prayers.
Megan's situation throws all my perceived troubles into stark perspective. How easy it is to lose sight of real issues.
Thanks for providing a way we can help.
Glad to help. Best wishes for a safe recovery.