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URGENT
-- Request for Assistance
September 3, 1999
To Our Dear Wagner Friends
From Every Year,
This message arrives full of
fear, hope and love.
As many of you know, our dear
friend, Donny Green '69, is fighting cancer. He has an aggressive brain
tumor which has grown far worse since we saw him at the San Antonio reunion.
His best hope is experimental treatment.Donny and his wife, Kathy, are
now at the MD Anderson Medical Clinic in Houston. A second surgery is scheduled
for September 10th. This is his only hope, followed by chemotherapy. We
know you will join us in sending our love, prayers, meditations, healing
energy and wishes that he will regain his health and strength and join
us at our next Falcon reunion.
One of the worst things about
a situation like this is the ambivalence of feeling such deep love coupled
with an equally deep sense of helplessness. Both very adult kinds
of anguish, which, no doubt have struck all of us by this time in our lives.
We are hoping this letter will make all of us feel a bit less helpless.
As you might guess, this crisis
has had serious financial repercussions for Donny and his family -- medical
costs, travel, lost wages, and so on. Furthermore, the treatment
Donny will receive may require return visits, so it's a long, hard, and
very risky road ahead.
HOW CAN YOU HELP?
Naturally, your prayers and
love are essential. In addition, a group of us (Andy Bell, Mary Elizabeth
Bolint, Dick Geaseland, Lynn Ansbro Chambers, Nancy McCullough and Felix
Arnett) are trying to coordinate swift assistance in two forms. Time
is of essence, so we won't beat around the bushes
--
The first way you may be able
to help is by making a contribution to assist Donny and his family.
Any amount will be welcome; fortune has smiled more brightly on some of
us than others and at this point - because we need to respond quickly --
we are focusing on Donny. However, we anticipate that in the future
we may also be able to help others. If you can help now, PLEASE
SEND A CHECK MADE OUT TO "WHS Alumni Association" with a notation that
this is for the "Angel Fund" "Falcon in Need" or "Donny". Please
mail checks to:
Andra (Andy) Bell
740 N 68th Street
Seattle, WA 98103-5320
Andy will compile a list of
donors and send a single check to Donny's wife, Kathy. (We d like
to spare Kathy the bookkeeping, paperwork, and visits to the bank that
would be needed if she receives a series of checks on different days.)
Andy already manages funds for the alumni association, which has long had
a scholarship fund to help Falcons in need get to reunions, so we are equipped
to collect checks. We need to let you know, however, that at this
point our association is not 501(C)3 which would make contributions tax-deductible.
Another way you might be able
to help is to donate Frequent Flyer Miles. If you have accumulated enough
miles to purchase a round-trip ticket, it is possible to transfer these
miles to someone else. It appears that Donny and Kathy will initially
get to their destination with the help of the Corporate Angels -
a non-profit program whereby major corporations, when schedules
permit, send their own pilots
and planes to transport cancer patients and their families to cancer treatment
centers. However, it is possible that the program could fall through
(if planes are already scheduled) and that other relatives may need help
in getting to Cheyenne to help care for Cameron and David,their sons.
We are not asking at this time that you transfer miles but rather that
you let us know what is possible and how to reach you. If you can
help with frequent flyer miles, please respond by email or snail mail to:
Lynn Ansbro Chambers
habuls@aol.com
120 NE 17th Ave
Ft. Lauderdale, Fl 33301-3801
954-761-7650
Include the following information:
- your name;
- mailing address;
- e-mail address;
- home & business
phones;
- cell phones;
- airline(s);
- miles accumulated
that you would be willing to contribute (this must be enough to amount
to a round-trip ticket; Because we are not a non-profit, we cannot combine
smaller amounts from different people to create one ticket.)
- and any travel plans
you have in the next month or so that would make it hard to reach you (We
wouldn't want to count on a ticket and not be able to reach you).
Should the need arise, one
of us (probably Lynn) will call and follow through on arrangements and
other details.
Thirdly, if any of you have
expertise with insurance companies and getting them to pay for "experimental
therapies" your knowledge will be invaluable. Legal or medical advice in
this regard can only assist us in this group effort to pull out all the
stops for "One of Our Own". Please feel free
to
send your thoughts and information
to any of the folks listed below.
We know that Donny and Kathy
will appreciate our efforts as well as the unconditional love and support
we send to him. We also know that when he is given the opportunity, he
will join us in the future if we need to marshal a similar effort on another
Falcon's behalf.
With deep affection and gratitude,
Andy, Mary Elizabeth, Dick,
Lynn and Nancy
Our e-mail addresses:
elizabeth.bolint@citicorp.com
mcbell@seanet.com
habuls@aol.com
nancy_mccullough@fc.mcps.k12.md.us
dgeasland@hotmail.com |
