My name is Aldo Ramirez, my wife is Kristin Dukes and this is the story of us and the past almost 20 years.
We met in FT Lauderdale back in 2000 as I was working and she was on Spring break, it is a lovely story and some of you may know it and some of you might not but I will tell it to any one that asks!!
We have 3 children together Leighton 18, Adrianne 8 and Baby Alden 1....yes one!! And here is where it all begins....
Kristin and I had a difficult time as a couple for a few years, we tried calling it quits but oviously someone or something was at work here.....we were separated for almost a year as some of you might know, during this time it was rough for both of us, financially for her and emotionally for me, I will probably say it was the same both ways!! Yet we desided to try one last time and gave it a chance. We got pregnant as she was ready to move back with me and as she was getting her new drivers license for the state of Pennsylvania she failed the eye exam, we thought well just go get your eyes checked at the local Walmart and come back (well it wasn't that easy) lady that did the eye exam said that there was something not allowing her to see the back of her eye and that it could be a detached retina. So with this we went to an eye doctor specialized in retinas and he blontly told us that it was a tumor and that needed taken care of or she could die!! First class bedside manners!! We then went to get a second opinion ( by then she was supper scared and nervous) the second doctor confirmed what the first doctor said and gave us the number and name of a very good doctor that treats those kind of tumors (melanoma). Dr Pamela Rath is her name, she gave us options and the one we went with was Kristin undergoing Radiation treatment, she will implant a gold cap made specially for the size and shape of her tumor filled with radioactive bids to attack the tumor; The prosses took 5 days in which Kristin was in a radioactive room for 5 days in a hospital!!! (Mercy Hospital in Pittsburgh) You can imagine what this did to her. She was under the care of Dr Rath for a whole year! That's how long we had to wait for the doctor to see any type of change, well after the year Kristin's eye developed a hemorage and doctor said that it seems like the melanoma was growing and recommended femoral of the eye. This was devastating for Kristin specially after all the she had gone thru, eye sonograms, pictures of the tumor, dilation of her eye and most of the discomfort of all this lasted weeks. Her eye was removed early this past September and we found out last week that the insurance doesn't pay for the prostesis of her eye.....really!! After all this all I really want is for Kristin is to feel "normal" that's why I am here, I need help coming up with $4000 that is needed the day of the appointment, the office is the only place that does this in the area and it has being over a mo the since the prosedure and she has had it and I'm not canceling the appointment to wait to have them petiton the insurance as they could take months!! I am a Chef and support my family the best I can, I lost a very good job due to the lack of my boss to realize that my family was first and that I needed time off to help my wife, we lost I nuance for a small period of time but that happened during her treatment, so I am paying that wich is over $9000 that I am able to keep paying but the $4000 I need help with.
Please help me raise the money and help Kristin feel normal, ask people send emails, text or even post it on your social media, please she is a great mom and deserves it!!