Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

They fucked up the fucking up of the fuckup!

I see no possible difficulties whatsoever with this fool-proof plan.

The GOP is a fucking disgrace.

Putting aside our relentless self-interest because the moral imperative is crystal clear.

Let’s not be the monsters we hate.

They’re not red states to be hated; they are voter suppression states to be fixed.

Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Happy indictment week to all who celebrate!

Innocent people don’t delay justice.

Let’s delete this post and never speak of this again.

Republicans are radicals, not conservatives.

Meanwhile over at truth Social, the former president is busy confessing to crimes.

Thanks for reminding me that Van Jones needs to be slapped.

Today’s GOP: why go just far enough when too far is right there?

My years-long effort to drive family and friends away has really paid off this year.

A sufficient plurality of insane, greedy people can tank any democratic system ever devised, apparently.

I really should read my own blog.

They are lying in pursuit of an agenda.

Accountability, motherfuckers.

Make the republican party small enough to drown in a bathtub.

When I decide to be condescending, you won’t have to dream up a fantasy about it.

That’s my take and I am available for criticism at this time.

Perhaps you mistook them for somebody who gives a damn.

🎶 Those boots were made for mockin’ 🎵

You are here: Home / Healthcare / World's Best Healthcare (If You Can Afford It) / Help a Brother Out

Help a Brother Out

by | 55 Comments

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Many of you long time readers remember Larime, the artist who painted the following portraits of our dearly departed Tunch:

JohnPets

Larime needs your help:

My wife Sylv has cancer and cannot get insurance to cover chemo, so we have to pay out-of-pocket. She NEEDS chemo, and soon. The somewhat long story is explained below.

Sylv was born in Canada and came to the US in 1994, back when Canadiansdidn’t even need passports to come here and well before 9/11 complicated immigration. She came because she was offered a job speaking French for a company in Indianapolis that had won a contract in Eastern Canada, and they were going to handle her immigration paperwork. The business went under before any of that ever happened.

She spent what little she had to get here and was now stuck – being estranged from her family, she had no ‘home’ to go back to. She lived with friends, providing daycare while they worked, and we met online in 1996. A year later we were married.

Being disabled myself, we never had much money since she couldn’t work and I had a hard time getting anyone to hire me. We were never able to file her immigration papers, and despite 18 years of marriage, she still has no legal status. Homeland Security knows she’s here and has no issues with it, but neither can she be giveen any benefits or even buy insurance. Without $2k AND a sponsor making over $50k a year willing to take responsibility for her, she can’t get citizenship.

Last December she was diagnosed with endometrial cancer. We can only get her Emergency Medicaid, which paid for the surgery necessary to remove a 15cm tumor and a full hysterectomy, but it won’t cover chemotherapy, and without it the cancer has started to return and spread.

We have chemo lined up, but we need help raising the funds to pay for it. The treatment itself isn’t terribly expensive, but the booster shot that goes with it to keep her from getting sick and the PET scan needed to see if it’s working are. Here’s the breakdown of the three main costs for every three weeks, which needs to be repeated for a total of six rounds:

Treatment: $414
Booster: $3800
PET scan: $1600

Total: $5814 a round

That’s about $30k for the full six ronds.

There are additional costs, such as placing a port to put the chemo feed into, blood tests and such, that will crop up over time.

Some of this we MAY be able to get at low or no cost, but her citizenship status makes qualifying for most programs difficult.

So if you can throw in ten bucks, it will be put to good use.

Reader Interactions

55Comments

  3. 3.

    Schlemazel

    I’m confused, if they are married doesn’t that make citizenship easy?

    Either way I drop what I could & linked the page on FB, maybe some friends will help. What a fucking country, we can spend $335million on one F-35C but there is no money to help people.

  5. 5.

    Omnes Omnibus

    @Schlemazel: It sounds like she technically overstayed her original job based permissions to be here assuming that paperwork was ever filed and approved. She would need to get that straightened out before moving forward.

  6. 6.

    schrodinger's cat

    Do we know where Mr. and Mrs. L are based? Are they near a University town? Most Universities, especially the ones with huge research departments work with immigration lawyers on a regular basis. They could get recommendations from them. Office of International programs would be a good starting point.

  7. 7.

    Larime

    Hey! Thank you! A friend has just offered to cover her $500 visa fee so we can at least get her some status. It. Won’t happen overnight and it won’t get her chemotherapy covered quickly, but it’s a start.

    Thank you to everyone for helping!

  11. 11.

    Schlemazel

    @schrodinger’s cat: @Omnes Omnibus:

    I was confused, didn’t know that those things would make that big a difference.

    anyway I hope we can do this for them, I know this bunch here is very generous & has raised good money for various causes, this one seems like one we should help out.

  13. 13.

    Larime

    Homeland knows she’s here and doesn’t mind, but she doesn’t qualify for any benefits. We’re working on getting her green card taken care of – I just got back from meeting with a local friend who is going to pay the fee for it.

  16. 16.

    SiubhanDuinne

    Just sent a very small donation. Wish it could be more, but if good thoughts are an effective multiplier, there will be thousands pouring in! Larime, please keep us informed!

  19. 19.

    Omnes Omnibus

    @Larime: Do you have an immigration lawyer? If not, check with your local legal aid people. They might be able to hook you up with someone local who might be willing to do some pro bono work.

  24. 24.

    Larime

    @Doug R: Without legal status or a passport, just crossing the border is messy. Plus I wouldn’t get any aid care there and we’d have no income or place to live

  31. 31.

    Fred Fnord

    If you had a sponsor (and $2k, which you’re pretty likely to have after this) would you be able to travel to Canada while the citizenship application was being processed? Because that sounds like a much better bet to me than trying to pay for all this in the US.

  32. 32.

    larimegimp

    @Fred Fnord: Not really, no. I need an aid and wouldn’t qualify for one there, we’d have no income, nowhere to live, etc. Plus getting there will take months for all the paperwork to go through and she needs chemo immediately as it’s starting to inflame her lymph nodes. We don’t have months.

    With just what’s been raised so far I can start her first cycle of chemo next week.

  37. 37.

    PurpleGirl

    As soon as the GoFundMe site is back from server upgrades, I’ll be making a contribution. Wishing you and your wife the best, Larime.

    ETA: If your website is dead, is there a way to contact you in the future?

  39. 39.

    jnfr

    My husband was a Canadian citizen and after we married he applied for a green card and then for naturalized citizenship. It took many years and a LOT of cash fees to make that happen.

    Fortunately for us, he was not from a suspect country and we passed through fairly easily. It still took years and lots of cash to make it happen.

  43. 43.

    Kay (not the front-pager)

    @Schlemazel: Marrying a citizen makes you eligible to begin the process of becoming a citizen. It doesn’t automatically make you a citizen.

    Without $2k AND a sponsor making over $50k a year willing to take responsibility for her, she can’t get citizenship.

    My daughter-in-law was out of status when she and my son married. My son did not make much money so we sponsored her. I think it was closer to 9 months and $2000 just to get her green card. Then she had to wait for 2 years before she could apply for citizenship. I gave her the promise of funds for that as a Christmas present, and I think that was another $2600 or $2800 when all was said and done. It’s very expensive.

    The fun thing is, this is why the Republican tantrum about Prez Obama’s executive orders on immigration were such a bust. They couldn’t withhold immigration money from the budget because it is all paid for by fees on the immigrants themselves.

    ETA: Oh yeah, and I kicked in for her treatment. This is why the emergency room is not healthcare.

    And that picture: Lily looks like she is going to leap off the page to find John on her right, and Rosy looks like she’s going to reach out and lick my hand. Really incredible!

  48. 48.

    TriassicSands

    I saw that the initial goal of $6,000 has been met, which gets things rolling. Please provide periodic updates so people can re-donate when they can.

    I’d just like to say thank you to the GOP. Without their bigotry and selfishness this wouldn’t be an issue.

  52. 52.

    Ramalama

    This no man’s land is certainly horrible and the whole marriage status is lengthy, iffy, and costs some dough. Self-employed, good luck.

    It’s why I, an American, am just a glorified visitor in Quebec (they’re actually great about my long stays), and it’s why my spouse, a French citizen and a Canadian, is one when visiting the US. Illness makes it so much more scary. My thoughts are cartwheels are with you and your wife. I’ll kick in if I can get a potential client to sign my contract.

  53. 53.

    Suzan

    Even if you marry a citizen, you still have to have a sponsor. The sponsor has to sign papers saying they will take care of the person so she does not “become a burden on the state” (my words). If she goes on “welfare” the sponsor says he/she will reimburse the government for the costs of the welfare. The sponsor could be required to pick up the full $40,000 +.

  55. 55.

    Sam dobermann

    Just found out I have cancer — maybe 2. Will learn more tomorrow. Can’t imagine going through it without insurance and savings.

    Find me a link and I Will send something.

    O yes write the head of the company of that booster and ask for a lower rate. Im sure they Will still make a profit.

    All the best.
    Sam

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