2019 Q3 Grant Recipients Announced!
Keep Swimming Foundation is elated to announce the 2019 Q3 Grant Recipient families! The following families have faced extensive emotional and financial hardships due to the non-medical debt they acquired as a result of their loved one’s medical crisis and their desire to support them in their time of need. For the second consecutive quarter, Keep Swimming Foundation’s Junior Board joined the Board of Directors to aid additional families in their darkest hour.
In total, $12,250 has been provided to families of critically ill individuals this quarter - the most we’ve ever provided in a single quarter!
Two families received a grant that is valued slightly higher than our traditional maximum grant value. Upon deliberation, the Board of Directors determined that the additional funds would significantly, positively change the outcome for two families whose loved one has either recently passed away or whose loved one is still fighting for their life across state lines.
The following are the stories of the families your generous donations have greatly impacted:
Family #1 – Brooklyn, NY – Recipients of a $3,500 Grant
In October 2018, the devoted wife and mother of four was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL). She underwent intensive chemotherapy (both inpatient and outpatient), radiation, targeted treatment as well as an allogeneic bone marrow transplant. During her treatment, she developed Graft vs. Host Disease (GVHD), a condition in which the transplanted bone marrow or stem cells attack the recipient. As a result of GVHD, this mother of four was hospitalized on July 29, 2019, where she required intensive care.
Between the loss of the wife’s income and the husband’s significantly decreased hours, (due to his time at his wife’s bedside and his need to look after the children, one of whom has special needs), the family fell significantly behind on their mortgage. Sadly, in early October, the wife passed away due to complications stemming from GVHD. When Keep Swimming Foundation’s Board of Directors met to select families, the father had received eviction notices and was working overtime in an attempt to avoid homelessness.
This grant alleviates a very large portion of the family’s overdue rent during their time of grieving.
Family #2 – La Harpe, IL – Recipients of a $3,500 Grant
A father with a diagnosis of incurable Carcinoid Cancer in 2016 and a daughter recently diagnosed with B-cell ALL Acute Leukemia in August 2019 are two members in an eight-person household who are critically ill.
The daughter was in the midst of her studies to become a nurse (inspired by the caretakers her dad had encountered in recent years) when she received the diagnosis. Given the advanced state of her cancer, she was forced to pull herself out of school and begin advanced treatment at a specialty hospital in St. Louis, Missouri.
As his health allows, the father works at a farm implement dealership to assist his family with mounting medical bills and travel expenses. The mother has taken a leave of absence from work to stay by the daughter’s side as she continues to fight her illness. As the decline in the family’s income remains, the bills, travel expenses, bedside meals and hotel accommodations continue to rise. To reach the daughter, her siblings and father travel 191 miles each way. Oftentimes, it is extremely difficult for the father to make the trip or to stay for a lengthy period of time in the hospital room with his declining health. The expenses continue to grow as the daughter undergoes rounds of spinal chemotherapy and various other cancer-related treatments.
The daughter’s discharge date is currently unknown, but if no adverse symptoms arise, she will be able to return home in late October 2019 for a short period of time before another lengthy readmission.
Keep Swimming Foundation’s grant will provide the necessary support for her siblings and father to afford the trips back-and-forth to the hospital, bedside meals, as well as the mother’s required lodging and other non-medical expenses she faces while caring for their daughter in St. Louis.
Family #3 – Camas, WA – Recipients of $3,000 Grant
After an unsuccessful open-heart surgery in February 2019, which resulted in end-stage heart failure, this family’s son was transported to a hospital three hours south of their home via helicopter on April 24, 2019.
The son received a heart transplant on May 4, 2019, but a week later his kidneys failed, and many other complications arose. He was put on life assisting ECMO for a vast length of his admission and has suffered vocal cord dysfunction, needing a tracheostomy to facilitate oxygenation support. He has been inpatient for over 150 days at the hospital with extensive medical complexities that have required ICU level care.
In order to stay locally to support her son in daily treatments and therapies, the mother was forced to leave her job. Due to the length of the stay, the family’s life savings has run dry. They have no other sources of financial aid support and have been forced to pay out-of-pocket for all expenses with no timeline for discharge.
Currently, the son remains hospitalized and listed for a kidney transplant. However, doctors remain hopeful that his kidney failure may be temporary and he will be able to avoid a second solid organ transplant. When speaking with the mother, she immediately choked back her tears and shared how she had just begun trying to figure out where she could live, as she could no longer afford the significantly discounted hotel rate.
This grant will provide the mother with sixty additional days of lodging as her son fights for a brighter future.
Family #4 – Hays, KS – Recipients of $1,000 Grant
This family of three welcomed their newborn daughter on July 10, 2019. They weren’t prepared for the turmoil they were about to endure when they found out their infant daughter was prenatally diagnosed with a complex rare single left ventricle heart disease along with several other life-threatening heart conditions.
The infant daughter underwent cardiac surgery on July 18, 2019, and has since remained in the pediatric intensive care unit due to various issues that require carefully monitored support.
As of now, she will remain inpatient until her second open heart surgery at 4-6 months old and it is likely she will remain hospitalized for several more months.
The mother has relocated just under four hours from home to remain at her baby’s bedside in the hospital. Her husband stays home to care for their other daughter and provide an income for the family, but they make the lengthy drive every weekend so the family can be together.
Keep Swimming Foundation’s grant will enable the family to afford various non-medical expenses and help alleviate the out-of-pocket costs they endure as they stay strong for their baby and continue to keep hope.
JUNIOR BOARD SELECTIONS:
Keep Swimming Foundation’s Junior Board is a collection of high school students from across the country who come together to raise money to help families in need and to aid our foundation’s growth.
Each quarter, after the Board of Directors make their selections and largely exhaust the quarter’s allocated grant funds, Junior Board Members are provided with a selection of pre-approved applications. The students later come together (with guidance from representatives of the Board of Directors) to select a second group of families to receive a Keep Swimming Foundation grant.
This quarter, students provided $1,250 to families in need. The following families were selected by students to receive financial aid:
Family #5 – Atlanta, GA – Recipients of $700 Grant
The teenage daughter of this large, Georgia family was stricken with a rare disorder called anti-NMDA receptor encephalitis, an autoimmune neurological disease that has left her with intermittent seizures, feeding difficulties, and respiratory failure.
Upon learning of this condition, she was forced to drop out of school and began receiving treatment at an Atlanta hospital, where she remains today. The mother visits daily and is currently working towards preparing their home to be accessible after a planned early November discharge.
The Junior Board chose to provide these funds to this Atlanta family to cover the bedside meals that the mother has incurred while visiting her daughter. This grant covers slightly more than the total value of expenses submitted to Keep Swimming Foundation.
Family #6 – Stevens Point, WI – Recipient of $550 Grant
In February 2019, this family’s son was diagnosed with Severe Aplastic Anemia, a disease in which the bone marrow does not make enough blood cells for the body. He was hospitalized a month later, then discharged in August, and has since been admitted twice for acute issues. During his treatment, he received a bone marrow transplant and is now on the road to recovery, working with physical and occupational therapy to regain his strength.
Throughout the child’s extended hospital stay in downtown Milwaukee, the mother made nearly daily round trips to-and-from Steven’s Point, WI to downtown Milwaukee (155 miles each way).
The Junior Board has chosen to award this grant to this Wisconsin family to cover the gasoline expenses they incurred during their child’s inpatient treatment.
PLEASE DONATE TODAY – YOU MAKE THESE GRANTS POSSIBLE:
Keep Swimming Foundation is only able to help families because of the generous support of our wonderful donors. Every dollar donated matters and can positively impact the lives of families who are currently facing a dire medical situation.
With the holiday season approaching, your thoughtful donations will provide financial assistance for a new group of families who will be spending the holidays together in a hospital cafeteria or ICU room.
Please consider clicking the button below to donate today!