Hi my name is Melissa Burch,

My siblings and I are doing all that we can to raise funds for our mom and dad who have been having medical issues over the last few years. They are a one income home, have exhausted all of their savings and other means and are struggling to make ends meet. Our goal is to raise money to help them with their medical and travel expenses over the next few months as well as their monthly bills so they are able to stress less and focus more on their health and wellbeing. We appreciate all donations, every little bit counts!!  Whether or not you can physically donate please keep them in your thoughts and prayers, as they really need them right now.

Thank you!!
*below is a slightly extended version for those who would like to read.

Our mom has been in and out of the hospital for the last 3+ years, seen multiple providers and had several surgeries and procedures done to try and resolve her complicated medical issues.  Which ultimately ended in her having a permanent ileostomy put in place. None of which have been successful in resolving the underlying issue. She has been in and out of multiple hospitals in the last year alone nearly every other week, from serious infections, extreme pain, difficulty keeping anything down and the need for intravenous fluids and electrolytes. Despite multitudes of expensive tests, MRIs, CT scans, blood tests, x-rays, exploratory surgeries, etc. the doctors could not seem to find all of the underlying conditions. Due to the number of surgeries, she has had throughout her life because of the FAP gene that she has, she has an excessive amount of scar tissue in her abdomen which has made viewing any of the scans and exploratory surgeries difficult. At her most recent Hospital stay they were FINALLY able to see an additional two fistulas connecting multiple organs, plus the one they already knew about. Having multiple fistulas along with the scar tissue issues makes her medical situation and how to treat it more complex than any providers in the state are equipped for. At her last visit she was told about a provider in Arizona that has worked with more complex cases like hers. Unfortunately, due to the staggering amount of medical bills that have already racked up, and our dad having to be out of work for his back and neck surgeries, they are struggling to cover their own monthly bills on top of the medical expenses and the travel expenses for mom to see the specialist in Arizona.

Our Dad has worked hard our whole lives and has always put his family’s health and well-being in front of his own needs. With mom’s health declining these last few years, dad has put off a neck and back surgery he desperately needed, to the point where now he may have permanent spinal cord damage. His fingers have been numb for at least two years and more recently it has worked up to his arms.  He hasn’t been able to safely hold his young grandchildren for fear they would fall due to the lack of feeling in his hands. He has to be extra careful holding things so that he does not drop them or injure himself because he might not feel the injury. For a not even 60-year-old man, our dad has been hunched and hobbling like a man 30 years his senior and it absolutely breaks our hearts to see such a strong pillar in our lives struggle to get around. Despite our efforts to get him to have the surgeries, he has declined until now because he is the only source of income for their household as our mom’s medical issues have prevented her from working. We were finally able to get him to schedule a surgery when mom had her permanent ileostomy put in place, because we all were told that should fix the problem. He had scheduled the first surgery right before mom started getting sick again and we had to be brutally honest with him that he was doing very poorly in his health to get him to continue the surgery preparations.  He had his neck surgery in May where the doctor said he may or may not get feeling back in his hands due to spinal cord damage. His second surgery for his back will be in August which should help him walk better again and may help get more feeling back in his hands as well.  This will be the surgery that will be more difficult for his body and will have an extended recovery time which means even more time without a full income.  - Thank you all for your continued prayers and support Melissa Burch, Ashley Chaney, Angela Jones and Alton West Jr.