Holiday Giving

[Bumped]

This is the time of year when many of us take time to give thanks (as in the holiday just celebrated) and look forward to the upcoming season.

As Hank mentioned in his post, this is a time to think about our children.

Just last week we learned of a situation involving one of my wife's co-workers and I want to impose on the readers of InsureBlog to share this information.

Mary is a special ed teacher, her husband is self employed.

Recently Mary took maternity leave for their second child. Will was born on August 17, 2007 and everything seemed normal except he cried all the time.

Recently they took him to a doctor who then sent them on to Children's Hospital for further testing.

Baby Will has cancer. There is a tumor growing in his abdomen about the size of your fist.

Early results are that the cancer was detected early and the prognosis looks promising at this time.

He has completed his first round of chemo and seems to be tolerating the treatment well. Initial tests seem to indicate it has not metastasized but more tests, including a bone scan, are needed to confirm.

Most likely surgery will be scheduled once the tumor starts to respond to the chemo, but that will be some time off in the future.

Will's immune system is quite fragile at this time and they have to be careful not to expose him to any undue germs.

Mary exhausted her sick leave when she delivered. She is the primary income source for the family.

They have decent health insurance through the school system but there are out of pocket expenses that will have to be paid by the family. There is also travel to Children's Hospital (about 90 miles from their home), lodging, and so forth.

This is creating a financial and emotional strain on the family. Several friends have set up an account to collect donations. In addition to your prayers, if you care to make a contribution, send a check to Security Bank, 4219 Forsyth Rd, P O Box 4748, Macon, GA, 31208-4748. The phone number of the bank is (478)722-6200. Indicate the check is for the benefit of baby Will Senn.