Tuesday, August 30, 2011

Seems like Wells Fargo needs me to call them and see why they are making it difficult to donate through their branch locations. Sorry if you have tried and had a hard time.

~later~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I spoke with a banker. Sounds like it is not the account but the tellers that are making a problem. No worries! Just give them mine (Jennifer Flake) or my moms (Lynette Barrett) name. Sounds like if we tell them our names along with the account name (Murray Barrett's Liver Donation Fund) than that should do it! (fingers crossed)

I have to tell you a sweet little story. The other night we were having our family scripture study and had just finished reading what King Benjamin says (Mosiah 4:16-19) in his sermon about succoring (helping) those in need. I was telling the kids about all of the donations that people have given for their grandpas medical bills. And Kaitlyn said, "Do you think my money would help?" So sweet and so innocent. The girl has probably all of $10 to her name...if that. But she is willing to give all she has. It was one of those satisfying parenting moments that made Brandon and I think that we must be doing something right even if most of the time we feel clueless as parents. The other kids joined in and want to give their money to Grandpa too. Doesn't that just melt your heart?

Thank you for being such Christlike examples to my children.

Monday, August 29, 2011

Recent Pictures of Dad

Dad still looks handsome in his Letterman jacket! His dad painted that picture of him when he was a Senior in High School!


Daniel (Tiff's little guy) hanging out on the couch with Papa. This picture was taken not long after his last hospitalization (8/10/11). You can see all his bandages through his shirt. They had drained 2 1/2 liters of fluid off his abdomen.

That's something I wanted to point out. You can tell dad has lost a lot of weight in his face. His abdomen is swollen with fluids (the fluid his liver can't processes). Plus he has a hernia that the doctors don't feel is urgent to repair. He also has swollen legs+"cankles". His swelling isn't as bad now that he's on a stricter diet. Poor guy will be glad to have a new liver so he can eat food he likes again! By the way, it isn't the type of food he ate that diseased his liver. He's not a drinker either. I honestly don't know what caused it. I don't know if the doctors do yet.

Friday, August 26, 2011

THANK YOU!

Hello!
I'm Eric Barrett, Murray and Lynette's youngest son. I was able to go back earlier this week to Arizona and visit for a short while with my wife Kim and son Cooper. It was a great to be able to hang out with my dad and see him play with Coop. It had been Easter since I had seen my parents last, and almost a whole year since I had seen my brothers and sister Tiffany. I just want to let everyone know how thankful I am for all the Love, Donations and Prayers. I would like to plan a fundraiser out here in California in the near future. So for all those family members out here, give me a text or a call and i'll fill you in. THANK YOU!

Who'd think I'd get choked up! (I am not a person who enjoys the drama of crying...but you guys have done it to me!)

We have raised a little over $1000 this week. No...let me correct that...you all have pitched in and raised over $1000 this week! What an accomplishment! You are wonderful. You are SO appreciated! You are helping to "make our burden light"! You are inspiring and LOVED by us! Thank you thank you thank you!

Please let us know if there is anything we can do for you in return. Babysit, water your grass while you are away, pull weeds,...anything.

 One thing I have learned this week is that people are willing and want to help...they just can't unless you ask them to.

Have a great weekend! :)

Another Way To Help

I know money can be tight these days but there is another way you could help. We will be doing an auction later this year (date is not set in stone yet). We have already had some very generous people who have offered to donate gift certificates for a variety of things. We would like to ask those crafty people out there to donate their talents, anything that the Lord has blessed you to be able to do. "your talent is a gift from God, what you do with it is your gift to God" -Leo Buscaglia I cant think of any better way to show our Father in Heaven how grateful we are for these gifts then to use them for such honorable things. Thank you again to those keeping Dad in your thoughts and prayers they are defiantly felt! Dad has been having a good week so far and we are grateful for that. I'm sure he is sick of the food I'm cooking (no salt,preservatives, sugar or red meat) but he admits it makes him feel better. By the way if anyone has food ideas please email us we are new to this and could use any help you have :)

Tiffany the other daughter :)

Wednesday, August 24, 2011

A little update

Dad's doing alright. He's at home. Tiffany is there if he needs anything. He has another doctor appointment later this month.

So, remember that $40,000 hospital bill I told you about? They applied COPA CARE to it and now we owe $948 instead! COPA CARE is a medical discount program my parents were able to qualify for a while back. Basically, you have a copay...plus you pay a percentage of the whole bill...not great...but better than nothing...and in this case it was a huge blessing. (One of the many!) It isn't insurance though...and you can only go to county facilities and see county doctors...who have been great by the way...just really limits you.

As far as insurance goes. Dad has qualified for PCIP!  I am still a little bit hesitant to get my hopes up. When he has his insurance card and has used it...than I will uncross my fingers! The first months premium was mailed today. We didn't make the cut off date for his coverage to start on September 1st. (We had everything in...they are just behind on opening their mail.) So, we faxed in the information and they are going to try to get an effective date of September 1st authorized. That would be wonderful. But even if he has to wait until October 1st...it'll be okay!

I love this quote by Marjorie Pay Hinckley, "Do what you have to do, when you have to do it and with a cheerful heart."

Many of you have done what you felt you needed to do and made a donation to dad's liver donation fund. We recognize your generosity as a blessing from our Heavenly Father...and pray that the Lord will "open the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it." {Malachi 3:10}

Thank you again...truly...from the bottom of our hearts.

 (DAD!...I said "hearts" not "farts!")....

Tuesday, August 23, 2011

Surviving Again....

Dad at about 8 months old.


I thought I'd explain a little bit about dad's blog title. What do we mean when we say, "surviving again"?

My grandma gave birth to her second little boy (my dad) on November 3, 1950...9 1/2 weeks before her due date. His mom told him later that he "straight lined in the hospital...and they brought him back." He was in the hospital for the first three months of his life. When he was sent home, the doctors told his parents that there was nothing they could do for him and that he'd have a 50/50 chance of making it. Dad says that "apparently, they just sent me home to die." He was in and out of the hospital a lot that first year. But he survived!

In 1982, Dad was in a serious accident. The propane truck that he was driving rolled and went up in flames. It was a difficult time for the family...but again...he survived.

I think it was in the late 80's when my dad was diagnosed with Crohn's Disease. He had been sick for weeks (maybe even months...my dad isn't one to ever complain. You know he is really sick he tells you he's not feeling good.) He spent a lot of time going to doctor appointments and being seen by specialist. It was our family doctor, Dr. Horstman, who was finally able to make a diagnosis. My mom told me later that his doctor had talked to her and told her that my dad might not make it. But! He survived.

When my dad was diagnosed with liver disease in 2003, his liver specialist told him that he would likely need a transplant in two years. It's been eight.

Dad is already a survivor in every sense of the word.

Monday, August 22, 2011

Utah Yard Sale...you wont wanna miss!

I grew up...(like most of my cousins) going "junkin" with my Grandma Barrett.This meant getting up on Saturday morning and hitting the yards sales...and probably stopping by Burger King for a breakfast sandwich! My most treasured find was a golden tube of fire engine red lipstick! I wore it with pride...until my mom snatched it when I wasn't looking!

I think yard saleing (sp?) might be a genetic trait. My dad and his siblings have passed it on to their kids...and so it is only fitting that my aunts in Utah are organizing a benefit yard sale for my dad. I only wish I could go! Here is the information!

When: Sept. 3rd, 2011 starting @ 8am.
Where: 5836 S. 4525 W.

             Hooper, UT 84315
If you have any further questions you can call Diane (801)603-2687 or Cheryl (801)686-5174

Thank you so much for your generous donations. We raised $285 this weekend because of YOU!

_____________________________________________________________________________
Please continue to pray for my dad. That he will feel well, that he will qualify for the insurance we've applied for, that they will be lead to the doctors who can help him best...

Saturday, August 20, 2011

Got the bill....

We got the bill from dad's most recent hospital stay. $40,000+. Gonna be calling them first thing Monday morning. Pray that they will be nice and give us a discount!

Still haven't heard back from the insurance company.

Thursday, August 18, 2011

This is Jennifer...Murray's daughter! You'll probably hear from most of his kids (Sam, Chris, Jennifer, Eric and Tiffany) on this blog...since we will be the ones "running" it.

A big "Thank you!" is not enough for Angela who helped get this thing going. Thanks for taking that off my plate! You're pretty much the best!

So, the purpose of this blog is to #1 keep family and friends updated on my dads condition...which as stated in the header is PSC....and no, we aren't trying to be dramatic...the doctor's say he needs a new liver ASAP.

The second purpose of this blog is fundraising. Pretty soon there will be a pay pal button on here where people can click and make donations. We also will have it set up to where you can put a button on your blog! We will post all the info. about fundraiser events here as well. As of now, you can go to any WELLS FARGO location and make a donation into the MURRAY BARRETT LIVER DONATION FUND. (Just write that down+take it with you to the bank!)

Even though we have known about my dads liver disease for about 8 years...we have only known about his urgent need for a transplant for about a week.

My dad also has Crohn's disease. He has been living with Crohn's for 20+ years. This, along with the liver disease has made it so that he doesn't qualify for health insurance...and because he worked for a small company that didn't provide health insurance, he has gone without seeing a doctor regularly. Now, he is in liver failure. We have applied for PCIP Insurance which is government backed...but we haven't heard back from them yet. If he is able to get that insurance than we are looking at needing to raise $12,000...that'll be the max out of pocket and I am sure we will reach that each year. If he isn't able to qualify for this insurance than we need to raise $200,000 before he can be listed for the transplant. So fundraising will be a big part of our lives for a while! (If anyone has any tips+ideas+time to spend helping...let us know!)

Dad was hospitalized for about 5 days back in May...we are working with Banner to see about them writing off over $10,000 for that. Right now there's still a little less than $13,000 to pay from that hospitalization. Dad was also hospitalized last week and we haven't gotten any bills from that yet. So like I said, it's time to..."fundraise,fundraise,fundraise!" Our family in Utah is having a benefit yard sale for dad on Sept. 3,2011. I will post more info about that later!

Well...I just wanted to do our first post so that this blog looks more blogish! :)

Stay tuned!