Give cancer the finger with ‘Purple’ Margaret Anne Hayes

Our friend Margaret Anne Hayes , also known as Purple, has been recently diagnosed with liver cancer. The doctors told her 12-18 months with treatment. Treatment has started. As you may know, cancer and its treatment is devastating, not only to the person's health but also their psyche, their finances their family and friends.

Let's come together an give her a few things.....we'd like to get her a computer she can do her art work on, bring her dear friends from London to visit and renew marriage vows for her and John. We will also be giving money to her for bills, food needs and wants,etc

From 'Purple's' son Ben:

My mom is going to be a little angry at first that this account was started. That being said it needs to be done. My parents have worked hard their entire lives until they haven't been able to. My mother raised me by herself until I was 10 years old, she worked more than one job sometimes, gave me piggyback rides to the baby sitter before leaving for work, I think you get the picture. She has been a wonderful, caring, and supportive person my entire life but especially during those years.

When I was 10 years old she met the love of her life, a man that would love her and care for me. He held two jobs when she met him, one as a dispatcher for the local county law enforcement and a second part time as a park ranger for the conservation department.

As our family came together dad quit the conservation job and focused on his main job and being a great dad. We made ends meet, worked together, mom started a job doing wood carving and designs for a local business. She enjoyed carving wood figures and painting, we began selling her art at art and craft shows to supplement the family income. I remember her working until past supper, getting up early and loading the truck for a weekend show, and all the joy and heartache that comes with being your own boss. As a teenager I resented it much of the time but looking back I learned a lot about work ethic as mom pushed 10 hour days in her shop doing what she loved, as dad worked the graveyard shift and took every holiday and overtime shift he could. They truly showed me what hard work can be.

Long story short, all was well until dad lost his job, my father who has worked his entire adult life and some of his youth lost his job as he became forgetful, after months of tests and appointments the final diagnosis was early onset dementia/Alzheimer's. Mom went back to work, rising from an entry level to supervisor in short order. As a family we decided that since Jaime and I had just started our family in Ohio and most of her family resided here that it would be best for mom and dad to move here so I could help out as things progressed.

We moved them here in December, by the middle of the following year mom went to the emergency room for abdominal pain, then the news came after some blood work and a few scans... 8cm tumor in your liver, and spots in your lungs! My family is that type of people who visit a doctor when you're already on your death bed, maybe not the smartest approach but you know people or are people just like us. I spent the night in the emergency room with my mom as we awaited those results, now we are months along to where we are now. A metastasized cancer.

It's a long row to hoe as they say but we're doing our best. We all do our best for those we love but as individuals we fall short. I would give her the world if I could. We're simple folk from simple roots, but I would like for her to have a few luxuries like a computer to do her art on, she used to make the most amazing things on photoshop with a tablet that used a pen like stylus (back in the 90's if you remember what I'm talking about) something she could do that with again would rekindle her love for creating art.

The worst part for our kind! Submitting to the fact we can't pay what we owe any longer, my father had IMPECCABLE credit until the day he lost his job and began to fight for disability even though nobody would hire a man that forgets things sometimes after a few minutes, he remembers a lot most of the time, but he has his moments. We were never wealthy as I remember growing up but we lived within our means and paid what we owed, until the day they no longer had the means. They nearly lost their house when dad lost his job as mom sought work, finally finding a job and rising up the ranks. Mom can no longer work, dad's disability did go through after a long fight and destroying the credit he worked so hard to build. A typical story I hear from many of my coworkers about family who have had similar problems. Much of her medical bills are now taken care of but we all have those other things, rent, gas, electric, water, car payment (they thought they could finally have a new car before this happened), insurance, etc.

As a final note, yes I'm asking for charity. Don't give what you can't afford, thoughts and well wishes are sincerely appreciated. Please share with those friends of my mom's I don't know that you think would like to help. It is with a grievous and reluctant heart I write this but as I said, it needs to be done. Sorry if you're angry mom, I love you and I'm not sorry.

Love,

Gumdrop