I use them out of habit in many of my posts that relate to music, and wasn’t trying to exploit the story here.

To address thivai’s concerns below: we have insurance, but it has limitations and caps, as you’d expect.  We’ve already worked through about a third of our annual limit, and that was just within one month.  So it’s not unrealistic to expect that we’ll be covering a lot of the treatment costs out of pocket.

E.g., as my kind co-worker mentioned above, Noah just underwent a  stem cell harvesting for a future bone marrow transplant (basically where he supplies his own bone marrow transplant from his own harvested cells), a very expensive procedure ($200k) that isn’t covered by our insurance.  We’re doing what’s necessary for Noah, and will sort out the finances later.  Hopefully the insurance will, upon appeal, at least cover the procedure partially (since our hospital is “in network” for everything but this transplant, for some incomprehensible reason).  But this is one example of the uncertainty we face.  I didn’t want us to have to be making decisions about treatment that were in any way driven by financial factors, if possible.  Thus, the public appeal.  My older sister died of a brain tumor a few years back, and my parents made every effort to help her, including weekly cross-country flights for experimental treatments at UCLA, none of which was covered by insurance.  

To address your question about where the money is going:  I’ve created a minor account for Noah M. Masse at Chase Bank, where all of the donations are being deposited directly.  A minor account means the money has to be spent for the welfare of the minor (and not for something like HBO, as you suggested).  So we’re trying to exercise the appropriate stewardship for the money that’s been entrusted to us by the generosity of strangers.  For what it’s worth, we live modestly and within our means.

I have no idea how much we’ll end up needing, or collecting.  And I’m guessing it’ll be years before we really know, if we’re lucky to be able to continue this fight for at least that long.  I totally respect anyone who doesn’t want to contribute–there are so many worthy causes in need of resources out there.  But I’m grateful for those who have chosen to help out.  Hopefully Noah will one day be able to thank many of them personally.

Take care,

Mike

We do indeed have insurance.  However, the insurance company is refusing to pay for one of the treatments that the hospital considers the standard of care for Noah.  Mike is still working, but public defense is something you do out of love, and not because of the money.  

There have been plenty of internet scams, so I can’t blame anyone for being suspicious.  But as one of Mike’s friends, I can tell you that this one isn’t a scam.  

consequently the Golgafrinchams suffered a total planetary devastation from a disease caught from a dirty telephone…

Now I understand why a large portion of our Olympic opening ceremony was devoted to a celebration of the NHS. 

It might me hard for Americans to understand the complete WTF? reaction this will get from Europeans.

Imagine reading a story about the UK, where a murderer is allowed to go on a rampage because, “It’s not the government’s business to intervene in the case of murders. Citizens should be free to make their own decisions about whether or not to employ a private security force for their personal protection”.

And personally I don’t see any importance to whether or not he has insurance, or is using the $$ to directly pay a bill or to pay his rent after paying his bills. Either way, he needs my $20 far worse than I do, and I’m glad to help.

Edit: Also! In the US we attempt to use chemistry to compensate for poor engineering.

20% of a lot is still a lot.

There are also things that insurance doesn’t cover.  Mike probably has 10 sick days per year that he can use to deal with his son’s cancer, and maybe – MAYBE – 20 vacation days.  That gets used up very quickly when dealing with a major illness or a chronic disease. Chemo is ridiculously expensive. Check out Xeni’s posts about the cost of a single pill.

Insurance isn’t enough.

I am so sorry for your lost, kullervo.  It sounds like you loved your dad very much.

If you don’t know your neighbor’s name who’s fault is it? Some people in suburbia treat everyone as hostile and don’t associate as freely with neighbors but you would be amazed at how much people will warm up if you give them home-made cookies/brownies.

Having a one-year-old boy myself makes me want to immediately hand over my entire giving budget, but I do have to ask some questions first, and since this is me giving away my money freely to do the most good, it does not make me (or anyone else who practices due diligence) an ass for asking questions.

1. Does this guy have insurance? Nobody seems to know. A lot of people assume he doesn’t, but since the kid has already gotten surgery and one round of chemo, I bet there is some insurance. How good is it? Nobody seems to know except Masse, and he isn’t saying one way or another.

2. Is the money going directly for Noah’s treatment or as a general fund for the family? Again, Masse’s answers are vague. I get not wanting to disclose all your financial data to random people, but if you are asking the world at large for money, it is reasonable for donors to expect some details about how you’re going to use this money. “For the long road ahead” is not much of an answer. I don’t need to know his yearly income, but I would like to know how much of the  money is going to treatment and how much to supporting the family’s lifestyle.

For me, no insurance and/or money going directly to get Noah the right treatment is different from keeping the family in their current standard of living.  I’m willing to help pay for chemotherapy for a one-year-old or buy the family groceries for a week because they went broke from the bills. I’m not so willing to help keep his dad’s subscription to HBO active while they deal with treatment. And right now, I don’t know what my money would be used for or how much need there is, so I’m researching.

Due diligence makes sure your money does the most good, whether you’re investing it or donating it. The only ass is the person who ignorantly belittles others for doing their homework first before giving.

Of course, in those books, that ship crashed leaving those folks as the major lifeform on Earth, so be careful of what you wish for…

 http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-cVzfNfbVp88/T_KyFHHf4PI/AAAAAAAAAI8/8x8VxpYpkjI/s320/SNV31901.JPG

Also, with cancer, you have to go through chemo, radiation treatments, surgery, rehab, home care, etc..  The costs can run into the millions pretty quickly. I nearly did a spit-take one day when I saw an accounting of how much my insurance had paid for my chemo after only 8 rounds of treatment.  (Way over six figures.)  If my employers hadn’t consciously sought out a “Cadillac” policy for them and their friends who worked for them, I would have had to sell my house to raise a little bit of extra money and  probably would have died homeless and unable to feed my children.