One such act of love and support has come from our dear friends who are organizing a "Link 4 Life" 5K Run and 1 Mile Walk and silent auction in honor of Thatcher. It will be held at Smiley Hollow in Ridgetop, TN on Saturday, April 23 at 8:00 a.m. Everyone is invited to participate in an effort to raise funds for Thatcher’s transplant related expenses including medications as well as food and living expenses for our extended stay in Pittsburgh. If you are interested, please visit http://www.link4life5k.moonfruit.com/. For all you Facebookers, there is also a page dedicated to the event: http://www.facebook.com/#!/event.php?eid=190268637659711.
The flyer for the event
We are so blessed to have such great friends who care enough about us to put such a great event together. It is no small task I’m sure. BJ and I are both touched by the response, and I know God is working through them. I feel as though I’m learning how to be there for others as our friends and family carry us through. I pray that God uses us for His glory and that I can return the kindness one day. Friends, family, and even complete strangers check on us, let us know they are praying, help care for Amelia, offer a shoulder to cry on, and have given donations. We do not take this for granted and want people to know that we not only appreciate it, but they can trust any donations will be used to help heal Thatcher.
Fundraising was mentioned by our doctor pretty quickly after Thatcher’s need for a transplant became evident. While we are blessed to have good insurance, many things are not fully covered including post-transplant medications. We were told by insurance that medicines post-transplant can cost in the range of $400-$800 monthly out of pocket, and he will take medicine for the rest of his life. Many expenses will also be incurred from our extended stay out of state including food and travel expenses. We do have an insurance benefit that helps with travel and lodging but does not cover food. Plus there are co-pays and out of pocket maximum’s each year. I will also have to quit working to care for Thatcher eventually. Not only is this a strain on us, but we lean heavily on our parents to help care for Amelia so we hope to be able to help them help us.
Fundraising was mentioned by our doctor pretty quickly after Thatcher’s need for a transplant became evident. While we are blessed to have good insurance, many things are not fully covered including post-transplant medications. We were told by insurance that medicines post-transplant can cost in the range of $400-$800 monthly out of pocket, and he will take medicine for the rest of his life. Many expenses will also be incurred from our extended stay out of state including food and travel expenses. We do have an insurance benefit that helps with travel and lodging but does not cover food. Plus there are co-pays and out of pocket maximum’s each year. I will also have to quit working to care for Thatcher eventually. Not only is this a strain on us, but we lean heavily on our parents to help care for Amelia so we hope to be able to help them help us.
BJ and I also put some thought into how to accept donations for Thatcher. This issue proved to be more complicated than originally anticipated. For example, setting up a trust is quite complex with IRS regulations and the need for an attorney. A checking account in Thatcher’s name simply makes it more difficult for us to use the money as we see fit and could potentially harm his chances to be eligible for future assistance, as it would count as his income. We looked into several options, each with their own pros and cons, and decided on a separate checking account set up in our name to be used for Thatcher. While this is not tax deductible to the donor and may not have as many regulations to help in the transparency of the use of funds, this allows us the easiest and quickest access to money for everything from gas, to air fare, to food. Expenses will not have to be approved or reimbursed by an outside party.
We set up a “Link 4 Life” account at the Farmers Bank in Ridgetop with locations in Robertson and Sumner counties as well as a “Friends of Thatcher Link” fund at Bank of America. If you would like to donate, you may do so at any Farmers Bank or Bank of America location. Both accounts are in our names (Benjiman or Jessica Link).
Jess! This is an amazing event. I just had a friend tell me she was approached by a co-worker to see if she'd run a race the weekend before the CM marathon in order to help raise money for this baby... "Oh, you mean Thatcher?!" Neither of these people know your family except through others. Everyone is so excited to be able to help!
ReplyDeleteWe will be there to walk (we're not runners) and cheer everyone on, and will participate in every way we can. Thank you for setting up the fund - that is an awesome way to allow us all to help!
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