Our Financial Situation

We've had a growing number of people ask us if we need financial help. Here is the story.

Our insurance company appears to be a good one with excellent coverage. Our deductible for the entire family for the entire year is $5250 (isn't that awesome). That deductible does not include office visits ($25 per clinic visit) nor does it include prescriptions which have a $12 copay. From the sounds of things these other costs will add up a bit (we'll have 1 or 2 appointments each week for the next six months).

We feel lucky to have such excellent medical coverage. Very, very lucky.

Because of our large medical bills for the next few years I imagine we'll be able to write off some of this cost on our taxes and that will definitely help us out.

Aron and I have money in an emergency account (approximately $7,000) to cover this year's expenses.

Knowing all of this if you wish to send us a financial gift please know this is what we plan to spend it on and in the following priority.

1. Pay medical bills
2. Pay babysitters (when needed) so we can take Eliot to his treatments
3. Pay babysitters (when needed) so Aron and I can go out and have a break
4. Pay for dinner or a movie while Aron and I go out and have a break
5. Pay for a family vacation to Grand Marais in the fall of every year (something we would use our formerly available extra money on)
6. When it's all done give a gift to an organization that helps people with no insurance coverage (perhaps St. Jude Children's Hospital)
7. When its all done use the rest of the money that is left after the gift into college funds for the kids since we don't anticipate being able to make regular deposits to those accounts during treatment

We have thought about giving ten percent of any gift to an organization and decided it seemed a little 'crooked' to accept a gift from you and then use it as another opportunity to get a tax write off. Instead we hope to find money in our income to give gifts and I'm considering running the Twin Cities Marathon this October with Team in Training who raises money for the Leukemia & Lymphoma society.

We plan to open a separate account for these funds and to use them specifically for these things and in this priority. We will regularly report how much we've received in gifts. This is not something we're willing to benefit unnecessarily from.

If you would like to send a financial gift you can make a check payable to Sara McGinley or Aron Kramer and send the check to the church. Put 'medical bills' in the memo.

Aron Kramer
Gethsemane Church
905 4th Ave. S
Minneapolis MN 55404

If you'd like to help and sending us money isn't possible or doesn't make sense to you we fully and completely understand.

Some other things you can do to help families facing this scary road ahead are:

• You could register with the National Marrow Donor Program.
• You could give blood (Eliot has had several platelet and blood transfusions).
• You could give money to St. Jude Children's Hospital where they give world class treatment to families for free.
• You could give money to the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society
• You could give money to a Team in Training participant who is raising money for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.

Thank you for any gift of money or time or bodily fluids you give to us or any other organization that helps families in our situation or in much less fortunate situations.