HOLY *BLEEP*....

[thefatguy]

took my 16 year old into the doctors the other day, he was complaining that his right arm hurt to extend completely--looked a bit swollen, felt hot to the touch. x-ray looked ok, so they did a blood test and it showed a very high white cell count. ( normal is 10K-12K, his was 450K +...)

they admitted him to the hospital on the spot, and further testing diagnosed "CML"--chronic myogenous leukemia. he spent 8 days in hospital, with a $169 per day copay and $30K per year in meds. ( 5 pills a day, for the rest of his life however long it is...).

he needs a bone marrow transplant to be a permanant 'cure'. if they find a match we have to go to sanfrancisco and he will be in the hospital for 3 MONTHS at $169 per day--and me and his mom will need to pay out of pocket for flights for all 3 plus a place to stay, transportation, food, etc... insurance wont cover that stuff. he is a fighter though, and hopefully with gods grace and a bit of luck he will have a somewhat normal lifespan. pray for him please. any and all religions accepted !

i got everything i own on hawaii cragslist-cars,harley,firearms,bicycles,hotwheels,whatever i can sell--and we hope to do some sort of fundraising. ( i checked into raffle type stuff for the 454 vette and the 327 astre, but its illegal in hawaii due to risking a small buy in for a bigger payout--the powers that be define that as 'gambling'... what a buncha @$$HOLES...)

in the meantime, anyone who wants to donate anything--even just a get well card--can send c/o Peter Lucas, po box 62299 honolulu hawaii 96839-2299.

thank you, god bless, and aloha...now go tell your mom/dad/wife/kids/brother/sister/aunty/uncle/grandma/grandpa/cat/dog/significant other/etc... that you love them. right now. do it ! because everything can change in a new york minute. i know.

[cjbiagi]

So sorry to hear about your son, that has to be very devastating and I hope all goes well. My prayers will be with him and your family as you go through this difficult time. May God bless.

[nutt]

Again, sorry for your son. Sounds like you have a family that'll come out of this well, God bless.

[Monza Harry]

TFG, I too am saddened to hear of this devastating turn of events to your family, I think that you should keep the Astre, as a 16 year old boy he is going to want to "DRIVE" something when he pulls through (while the Vette is more mainstream there are way more 454 'Vettes than any Astre's) and he will probably want to shoot something as well so I would keep the hard to replace firearms as well. Hot wheels are all replaceable as is the Harley, if I recall correctly you have some custom bicycles to(?)remember to keep him informed of your plans to create some new ones with him. Try and start to plan this with him, the interaction will help with his mindset for sure. While this may seem petty and unimportant at this time, your son will feel horrible (and we definitely don't want that) if you have to sell all of your things for him, and never underestimate the power of a well placed prize to human condition, especially when coupled with a chance to bond, as in plan with him to do this together! I feel that will help as much as anything! Is Peter his name or yours, please if you can include his name for any correspondence we can send him, and I will see what I can do on the other front as well. We will keep all of you and yours in our prayers. Do what You have to and Keep the faith! Harry

[rpoz-29]

Have you looked into "Gofundme"? I've contributed to a couple of local causes through them. I have no idea how it's set up, but you can pay through paypal. You may want to look into it. You guys are in my thoughts and prayers.

[hammerdown7]

So sorry to hear this, may God's Grace and Compassion be showered on your son, you and the rest of your family for direction and comfort. You are in my thoughts and prayers.

[thefatguy]

yes, his name is peter lucas. and thanks to all--especially for the lunk to "gofundme" i will check it out right now. aloha !

[rpoz-29]

Goofy question.....is there additional postage to send something to HI?

[thefatguy]

Goofy question.....is there additional postage to send something to HI?

not a goofy question at all---for a regular under 1 oz letter throuigh the "USPOSTAL SERVICE", no. even the 'flat rate' boxes work through them. bigger/heavier stuff gets REALLY expensive though.

[thefatguy]

thanks everyone for the kind words, you sure cheered him up ! heres a link http://www.gofundme.com/dsl1vc if anyone wants to donate, you can even use paypal .

and if you donate more than $25.00, pm me with your mailing address and i'll send you a little something from my personal collection of diecast cars--ive been collecting since i was 10, im 43 now.

might be something unopened, might be loose, might be a one-off crazy custom--but i'll send something. and the more you give, the gnarlier the gift will be....i even have a few that book in the thousands! ( although when i tried going to our local collector/toy shop, the guy offered me $40 on a car that books at 'warmans online pricing guide' at $3600....) thank you all, and aloha !

[Lunatic]

I could not possibly understand what you are feeling and I struggle for the right words to give you support. I want you to know that you’re in our prayers. God Bless you Peter Lucas.

[thefatguy]

lame...bad news lately. his brother was only a 3-for-5- match for bone marrow. and peter has a genetic mutation called the "philidelphia chromasome", where #8 and #29 in the dna sequence swap places and set off a whole cascade of bad stuff like the leukemia. so chances of finding a non-related donor are pretty much zero.

and he was doing good, too--so good they stopped his meds. but now his white cell count is creeping back up again, so he has to go back on the meds. the new one ( called "tasigna" ) is $4669.00 every 2 weeks.....no, thats not a missprint. four thousand six hundred sixty nine dollars every 2 weeks. and he may have to take it everyday for the rest of his life. we are looking into financial aid to see if we qualify.

[monzabug350]

$4669.00???!!!! That alone will make anyone go "Holy Bleep" as if you don't have enough to worry about! God bless and keep your son and family!!