parents' wallet
Unemployed Simi couple need several thousand dollars to pay medical bills
By Adam Foxman,
[email protected]
July 19, 2004
But days like this have been a luxury since doctors found a cancerous tumor in his bladder April 6.
Aidan's cancer has changed his family's life.
Before he received the diagnosis, his mother, Ardriel Olsen, was supporting the family as a trade show coordinator for Voice Print International in Camarillo. Olsen's employer was patient and supportive when Olsen learned of her son's cancer, but she ultimately had to quit her job when infections and complications increased Aidan's weekly hospital visits to two-week stays.
The situation worsened when Olsen's husband, Adam, was laid off from his job at Long's Drugs.
Though living in Simi is "not exactly cheap" from Olsen's perspective, she cannot move because her support network is here. Her mother, Sherry Ramaila, lives in Thousand Oaks, and her mother-in-law, Maggie Gallagher, lives in Simi. Ramaila and Gallagher help Olsen care for Aidan, and they take turns looking after her 7-year-old son, Judah.
Aidan's cancerous tumor is in the smooth muscle of his bladder. This cancer, which can occur almost anywhere in the body, affects 250 to 300 children in the United States each year. Though Aidan's treatment is rigorous, his doctor, William May, said children's bodies usually tolerate chemotherapy better than adults. May said more than 70 percent of children with Aidan's type of cancer can be cured of it, especially if -- like Aidan -- they have a cancer that has not spread.
Aidan had his first radiation treatment Thursday. After 12 weeks of chemotherapy, he will have five radiation treatments a week for the next six weeks while continuing with reduced chemotherapy.
Gallagher said doctors estimate the treatment, which will last 42 weeks if it is not delayed by the infections and low blood counts that have plagued Aidan so far, should cost between $800,000 and $1 million.
Medi-Cal should cover much of this, but Aidan's first battery of tests and examinations predate the insurance, and the family's share of cost is several thousand dollars. Olsen said that is several thousand dollars more than the family has on hand.
As financial difficulties added to the emotional weight Aidan's family had to bear, help flooded in from both friends and strangers. Olsen's boss gave her an extra check when she left her job, the Woodland Hills Community Church helped pay the family's rent by raising $850 at a carwash, and Olsen's sister-in-law worked with the Sons of the American Legion to raise $1,200 by organizing a barbecue at Take Five in Camarillo.
"So many people have helped, otherwise I would not be able to stand; I would not be able to breathe," said Olsen. Spiritual help has come as well. Gallagher said religious organizations of "every denomination" have put Aidan on prayer lists as far away as Italy.
Olsen is thankful for the charity, which has enabled her to keep going, but she wishes she did not have to accept it. "I have always worked hard to provide for myself and my family, what I needed for my family I went out and got," she said. "It's a miracle that all these people have helped us so much, but to not be able to provide for your own ... I can't stand it."
Contributions for Aidan
Contributions for Aidan Olsen, a 2-year-old Simi Valley boy who has cancer, may be made to the Aidan Olsen Benevolent fund at any Washington Mutual Bank. For more information, go to http://www.caringbridge.org/ca/littleaidan/
Copyright 2004, Ventura County Star. All Rights Reserved.