This plumfund is closed.
Make Your Own!
Returning Love to the Head Family
Started by: Lisa Head
Returning Love to the Head Family
The Head family has been a pillar of strength and help in their community, and now is the time to show them love and thanks by offering them some assistance.
Last year, Robert, the head of the household, was diagnosed with cancer. He underwent treatment which caused congestive heart failure, but he soldiered through. Everyone thought he was fine until he was diagnosed again this year with cancer that returned, is incurable, and will require him to undergo treatments for the rest of his life.
As a result, Lisa's workload has been cut in half, and now they have, and will be having, medical bills that will be insurmountable including traveling three hours round trip so he can have the treatments.
Robert is a Vietnam vet, career law enforcement officer, father, stepfather, husband, uncle, cousin, and brother.
He gives regularly to the needy and to the homeless and less fortunate in very tangible ways such as things like the school supplies drive which was held the year before he entered treatment. He and his family were able to help over 30 kids with school supplies and clothing.
He has a genuine love for kids and animals and both adore him.
So, please, open your hearts and help them, as best you can, get through this trying time for their family. Every little bit helps, so don't feel any amount is too small.
Thank you for returning some love to the Head family.
~ Lori Mandriota
Latest Update
This fund was started two years ago to assist us with all of the added expenses that comes with fighting cancer. You all have been a bright light in the darkness for us, have helped us to maintain a roof over our heads and food in our bellies, and have shown us an unwavering love and friendship that few get to experience. For that we say thank you. Plumfund is closing this fund down, but that is not the end of the updates nor, sadly, the end of the need. We'll see you over on the Love is Greater Than Cancer page and across Facebook. We love you all so much and thank you for your support!!
Posted by Lisa
December 8 at 4:17pm
Y'all have managed to raise over $6,000 over the past year to help us fight this disease and I can't thank you enough! As with all things horrific, this one is progressing and we're starting to enter into the territory of needing to replace our car with a van or SUV so I can haul around a wheelchair and walker with us, depending on what he needs each day. We're to the point of needing to purchase some durable medical equipment to equip our bathroom and bedroom for his needs. So I ask you once again to help in whatever way you can. This is the big push where we need to raise thousands and thousands of dollars to ensure his safety and well-being while he goes through this very taxing treatment regimen. Thank you and we love you so much for being such amazing friends to us all.
Posted by Lisa
September 13 at 5:27pm
Use Facebook to add your own comment to this update.
We got Robert started on the new treatment, made it through Hell Week (week 1) & got good news from the cardiologist! He's so pleased with how Robert's doing that we don't have to go back & be seen for 6 months unless there's a problem. This is HUGE. In all of the craziness that has been the past 3 months, all of the doctors' appointments, the time away from home being seen & fighting this beast, it's great to get some good news. But friends, this past 3 months has taken its toll. We need some help. Lisa's income has been a fourth of normal levels. We've got to pay utilities & phone bills & rent & school physicals & all 3 of us need glasses. So I'm going to ask you to boycott Starbucks for a day & help our family instead. We hate to have to ask for help. It kills me every time I have to type one of these out when we have to ask. But we need your help. Thank you to those who have so selflessly helped us during this journey and to all of you who donate, pass it on or pray. We love you.
Posted by Lisa
August 1 at 5:52am
Use Facebook to add your own comment to this update.
News from the radiation oncologist is encouraging! We started the new treatment this week and boy is it almost chemo with the side effects! Robert's having a very tough time. One of the medications, he only takes at night and it is horrible. I imagine this is what chemo is like, or close to it. It's been a tough month all around. Lots of running around to doctors' visits and imaging appointments, starting a new treatment, and all of that has resulted in Lisa's income being about a third of what it normally is. Cancer steals so much from you. But in the words of Jimmy Valvano, it cannot touch the mind, it cannot touch the heart, and it cannot touch the soul.
Posted by Lisa
July 22 at 7:10pm
Use Facebook to add your own comment to this update.
It's impossible to put into words the feelings that come along with celebrating your wedding anniversary in the face of fighting Stage 4 cancer. We spent the day shuffling between the cardiologists's office and the hospital for x-rays and trying to figure out what's happened with his pacemaker and setting appointments for further discussion and a planning session with the melanoma specialist over at Emory to figure out what we do next. Very romantic, huh. LOL It wore Robert out. He was nauseous and almost passed out in my car. Let's hope the pacemaker isn't going to require repositioning because that will mean surgery which will mean delaying cancer treatment. As always, thank you for your thoughts and prayers. And for those of you who continue to support us, I don't have the words to tell you what it means. Lisa's income is half what it used to be because of the cancer and all of you are keeping a roof over our heads and Robert in treatment. Thank you so much. We love you.
Posted by Lisa
July 11 at 8:23am
Use Facebook to add your own comment to this update.
Not good news. From May 20th until June 1st, 1 brain lesion turned into 2. He has another CT scan the 15th, so we will see if any more have popped up. The SRS targeted radiation that was to take place on the 12th did not because of some very frustrating administrative snafus. So we drove 3 hours plus to get to meet Dr Khan face to face. It's so frustrating to know that the cancer is growing and we're stalled and in a bit of a holding pattern yet again and unable to fight it back. We still don't know what the next treatment course is going to be after the SRS and how that will change depending on the results of the upcoming CT. Thank you, as always, for sharing our story, for supporting us in assisting to pay the mounting pile of medical bills (we're now getting collection agency letters too), and most of all for praying for us. We love you all so much.
Posted by Lisa
June 13 at 3:19pm
Use Facebook to add your own comment to this update.
Lori Mandriota — 6 years ago
You are always in our thoughts and prayers. Love you guys. xoxoxo
The latest update on our progress is too long to put here, so those of you who normally follow along simply with these email updates, head on over to our Facebook page Love is Greater Than Cancer for the full story!
Posted by Lisa
June 3 at 7:51pm
Use Facebook to add your own comment to this update.
We talked with the radiation oncologist and her team. She's actually standing in for the RO who will be making all of the decisions, but he's out of town this week. So the plan for now that she feels confident he's going to give the green light on is for Robert to receive linear -- something. It's not gamma knife, but it's similar. It's a concentrated dose of radiation straight to the tumor. Our very own brain SCUD missile. We will know more Friday on that after he goes for the prep appointment that includes a CT scan and they make a mask and take pictures. If it weren't cancer, I'd have tons of jokes about it. LOL Keep praying, friends, and thank you all for the support. The first of the month is the hardest time for us because it's when all of the bill collectors come calling. And we appreciate all of you who have faithfully loved us throughout this journey. I hope God just heaps blessings on all of you. XOXO
Posted by Lisa
June 1 at 1:16am
Use Facebook to add your own comment to this update.
It would be great if life were easy, but it's not. Robert has had another hospital stay to work out some medication adjustments that were causing episodes of confusion and other neuro symptoms they weren't happy with. (They thought he had had a stroke!) In the midst of all of this, Lisa has continued to have increasing problems with her back, resulting in multiple chiropractic visits, 2 massage therapy appointments, 1 ER visit, and 1 urgent care visit. They think it's a herniated disc. Thanks to ACA, we can't afford insurance on the rest of the family. So everything is out of pocket. Please pray that our family finds relief soon. The back issues are pulling Lisa away from her work and making everything stack up even more than they already were. Thank you for loving us. Thank you for praying with us. Thank you, everyone, for the support you've provided that was so desperately needed and still is. We love you.
Posted by Lisa
May 27 at 10:53am
Use Facebook to add your own comment to this update.
This is one of the hardest posts I've had to write thus far in our 2-year cancer journey. I know all of you have been waiting for the update on his scan results, so here it is: the Keytruda isn't working. The lesions (they like to call them lesions instead of tumors) in his lungs and his hilar lymph node have grown. Pretty significantly. There's one in his right adrenal gland. And the cancer has breached the brain barrier and he has his first brain metastasis. Thankfully it's a small lesion, but it's there. He has to have what's called a gamma knife procedure done within the next 2 weeks. Think of it like a concentrated laser beam with GPS to go straight to the lesion and kill it. Then we have to determine which treatment to go to next: the aggressive one that will damage his heart (and can his heart even take it?) or the slower acting one that has some promising long-term results. We don't know yet. Please continue to pray for us as we digest this information and make decisions.
Posted by Lisa
May 20 at 2:15pm
Use Facebook to add your own comment to this update.
Denise Carter — 6 years ago
I am praying for Robert, you and the family. Sad to hear this news, be strong!
Most of you know by now Robert was hospitalized (again) last week. He ended up needing another stent in one of the vessels supplying his heart and was in the hospital for 4 days. I, of course, ended up losing income because of it and now there are even more doctors' and facility bills to worry about. Please share our story with others. Together we can keep this man we all love so dearly in the best health possible for hopefully a long time. But we've got to get some of these bills paid so they don't threaten to deny treatment. So if you could please even just give up your Starbucks for a day in order to show your love for this man of mine, I'd be so grateful. We love you all so much and your support means everything to us. Thank you for being the very definition of a friend to us.
Posted by Lisa
May 10 at 6:02pm
Use Facebook to add your own comment to this update.
I put this trip together last week and he’s up to it, so it’s on like Donkey Kong. We’re going to go play with wolves. Yep. Up close inside their habitat kind of playing with wolves. And it looks amazing from the 500 videos (I might be exaggerating) I’ve watched on YouTube. Seacrest Wolf Preserve, here we come! And we’re taking the VIP tour, baby! The 3 of us — Hubs, me, and our 12 yo daughter — a guide and a photographer. That’s all. We get the place to ourselves. You can read my entire HuffPost blog entry here: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/58d8c0d6e4b06c3d3d3e6f64
Posted by Lisa
March 27 at 1:00am
Use Facebook to add your own comment to this update.
I did it! I booked us for a short trip over spring break so we can cross off Robert's No. 1 bucket list item! We're going to the Seacrest Wolf Preserve and doing the VIP tour so he can spend time up close, personal, and without 50 other strangers coughing and hacking on him and competing with him for the wolves' attention. We'll be in the habitat with the wolves for 2 hours and from what they say, it's a very spiritual experience. You walk through 4 different habitats and I was so concerned that we wouldn't be able to do this while he could still walk it. So I'm throwing everything we have into making this happen for him. If you'd like to help make this a great trip for him, we would be so grateful (and I could sleep!) But I'll be working round the clock if need be until then. My husband's dream is coming true! I'm so excited!
Posted by Lisa
March 17 at 2:36pm
Use Facebook to add your own comment to this update.
Lori Mandriota — 7 years ago
That's wonderful! I'm sure you will BOTH end up having a great time. XOXO
We got the first CT scan results back!! They show that the treatments are definitely working! There was growth in two tumors, shrinkage in the rest, and no new masses! The doctors are thrilled with these results and so are we! Thank you all for continuing to take this journey with us. We now know that the investment of approximately $800 every 3 weeks is worth it.
Posted by Lisa
February 24 at 3:46pm
Use Facebook to add your own comment to this update.
Lisa Head — 7 years ago
Thank you all so much for helping us to get my husband the best treatment possible. Your love and support just means the world to us and I don't think we tell you often enough.
INCREDIBLE and MIRACULOUS news today from the cardiologist!!! Normal heart function is 55-60. Keep this in mind when you're talking about ejection fractions. A little history: When diagnosed with congestive heart failure in Dec 2015, his ejection fractions were 20-25 and he was at risk of sudden death. Maximum medical improvement -- so they thought -- was reached in June 2016 and a pacemaker installed. He was at 30-35. Baseline echo done before treatment was 35-40, not great but not as dire as when he was diagnosed with congestive heart failure. Echo after treatment #1: 30-35. It dropped. Echo after treatment #2: 50-55. So the doctor, a specialized cardio-oncologist, says today that he pulled the images from the past two scans and reviewed them himself because he thought it was a mistake. His words, "I have no explanation for this. Your heart is functioning normally." We don't have to go back to be seen for 3 months. God is alive and he's performing miracles, y'all!!
Posted by Lisa
February 8 at 1:32pm
Use Facebook to add your own comment to this update.
It's infusion day but first we head over to the middle school and celebrate our daughter's accomplishments at the honors breakfast! It's going to be a LONG DAY! We get the orders today to have the scan done to test the treatment's effectiveness so everyone cross your fingers, cross your toes, braid your hair, and say a quick prayer for good results!!
Posted by Lisa
February 1 at 10:48pm
Use Facebook to add your own comment to this update.
Well, we're almost a month down in 2017 already and we've had stomach issues (I'll spare you the details), a flu-like virus that struck both of us down, one infusion that brought on almost 24-hour sleep for a few days, a couple of cardiac scares...and a new President! Oy. But we're still here, we're still fighting, and we're still trying to stare this disease down while enjoying the time we have with each other. Scans to check the progress of the treatment will be mid-February so we'll be updating again after we have those results! Thank you all for taking this journey with us and remain by our sides. We love you! #HEADSTRONG
Posted by Lisa
January 23 at 7:33pm
Use Facebook to add your own comment to this update.
Lisa Connell — 7 years ago
You have lots of more years together love you all
Lori Mandriota — 7 years ago
Love you guys. Keep the faith. Love to see your smiles. xoxoxo
Well, today's a good news/bad news kind of day. Excellent news is his ejection fractions (results of the echocardiogram) are up and back to being just below normal! Fantastic! The "holy smokes" news is we finally got some billing for the treatments. Oh. My. LANTA. The treatments themselves are $21,643 each for the facility. (This is only one of the bills from each treatment day. It does not include the doctor's visit or labs.) After Medicare and supplemental insurance, we owe $644 for the facility each time he goes to have an infusion. So $644 every 3 weeks. With the new year comes new deductibles so the expenses this Thursday will be even greater. So I'm going to ask you for your help. Even if all you can do is skip Starbucks for a day, please do. This treatment is my husband's hope for a future. Thank you.
Posted by Lisa
January 3 at 1:16pm
Use Facebook to add your own comment to this update.
It's infusion week again, only this time Robert's also fighting some kind of a virus. He feels awful and has all of the flu-type symptoms. We've definitely learned a valuable lesson in how many people we get him around at one time. We're still struggling to get the car situation taken care of, and it's supposed to snow later this week in the Metro Atlanta area. Let's all cross our fingers they don't mean on Thursday! That old pickup truck is too lightweight for snow! We would certainly appreciate your prayers for some relief with everything that's raining down on us right now. We need them!
Posted by Lisa
January 2 at 11:01pm
Use Facebook to add your own comment to this update.
It's echo day! The first treatment made Robert's cardiac numbers go down some, so we're heading over to Athens Regional today to have another echo to make sure they're not going to drop after every treatment. He's tolerating the treatments okay. Lots of fatigue and tummy issues, but nothing horrific. Please say a prayer for his numbers to at the very least level off and for his tummy to settle down for the holiday weekend as we travel to see family. (And pray no one is sick and we don't have to break out the surgical masks!) To all of you who have supported us and continue to give as you can, we thank you so much and pray that God will our His blessings out upon you. Merry Christmas, everyone.
Posted by Lisa
December 23 at 4:05am
Use Facebook to add your own comment to this update.
There's a new blog post up on my Huffington Post blog about infusion day. Having the rental car was so great because it was FREEZING today and driving back in bumper to bumper traffic in that heaterless stick-shift pickup would have been AWFUL! I'm still waiting to see the final cost on the infusions once insurance pays. Keep your fingers crossed that it won't be too out of control. My workload is maybe half to two-thirds of what it used to be and we're just making it as it is. Your contributions here are what is helping us to stay afloat so thank you so much for your generosity. I'm hoping to have the funds together next week to get my brakes repaired and then we'll have a car with heat again!
Posted by Lisa
December 15 at 5:49pm
Use Facebook to add your own comment to this update.
Thursday is going to be another LONG day for us at the Winship Cancer Institute at Emory! Lab work, doctor visit, and then an infusion. The brakes are out on our car so we're having to drive our little pick-up truck with no heat right now so we'll be dressed in layers with blankets for the almost two-hour drive (each way)! I'm thinking we might be better off if we rent a car but then I hate to go to the expense. But he can't afford to get sick either so y'all please pray that I make the right call on that one and that the weather here in GA warms up a bit for us!
Posted by Lisa
December 11 at 9:25pm
Use Facebook to add your own comment to this update.
It's official!! Through the updates I post here, I have been invited to be a contributing blogger to the Huffington Post! How exciting and crazy and completely magic is that?! Take a look for yourself! http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/58484a2ce4b0ca53e4b9c25b?timestamp=1481132679438
Posted by Lisa
December 7 at 12:06pm
Use Facebook to add your own comment to this update.
We had a very quiet Thanksgiving. The older kids celebrated over in the metro Atlanta area and Robert, Zoe, and I headed over to Cracker Barrel and let them do the cooking. It was a nice, restful day, and Robert had a wonderful dinner and was hungry. A lot of days that's a win! We had a lot of fun spending time together, being silly on Snapchat (of course), and people watching. We hope you all had a wonderful holiday as well!
Posted by Lisa
November 28 at 8:08pm
Use Facebook to add your own comment to this update.
We had a last-minute visit with one of the cardiologists today. He is more experienced with oncology patients, so he wanted to see Robert before treatment started and get a game plan together. Looks like we'll be doing echocardiogram with strain imaging every 6 weeks or so to make sure he is not developing myocarditis (inflammation of the heart muscle) and to make sure his heart is staying strong. First infusion tomorrow at the Winship Cancer Institute at Emory University! Thank you all for your prayerful support. Don't forget to like our Facebook page Love is Greater Than Cancer to keep up with us and to spread the love!
Posted by Lisa
November 21 at 7:45am
Use Facebook to add your own comment to this update.
Newest update on the treatment plan: So the first infusion has been pushed back to Tuesday. Our cardiology practice functions as a team and one of the doctors on that team is more specialized in dealing with oncology patients so he would like to see Robert before the first infusion happens. So cardiologist on Monday morning (y'all pray Robert has patience because he's NOT a morning person and we have to be there at 8:30! lol) and then we'll spend the majority of our day Tuesday at Emory getting his infusion. We still don't know total out-of-pocket costs quite yet, but the fundraising efforts so far have helped to pay off some of the old medical bills that we had piling up so thank you so much for that! We love you and are truly blessed to be loved by all of you.
Posted by Lisa
November 18 at 8:12pm
Use Facebook to add your own comment to this update.
The resounding question on everyone's mind when they hear that someone has cancer -- especially Stage IV cancer -- is how long? How long did they give him? Do they know? The short answer is: No, they don't know. No, we haven't been given a number. Robert will be undergoing an immunotherapy treatment. These are the drugs, this classification, that melanoma seems to respond the best to. And no matter where the cancer is residing in his body right now, it's still melanoma. So he'll be getting an infusion once every 3 weeks. They say the side effects reported by most patients are minimal. We're hoping for the same. The success of treatment will be measured in 3-month increments. Scans every 3 months, echocardiograms every 3 months, to see how his heart is tolerating treatment and how the tumors are responding. He has a DNA mutation that happened because of the cancer called BRAF. This means the cancer growth can be more aggressive. So we treat it with that in mind.
Posted by Lisa
November 14 at 1:28pm
Use Facebook to add your own comment to this update.
A little back story: Robert was diagnosed with Stage IIIC melanoma in May 2015. He fought hard & had to stop treatment in December of '15 after being diagnosed with congestive heart failure, a rare side effect of the alpha interferon treatment. He had a clear PET scan & we thought we had beat the cancer! He had a pacemaker installed in July & has been working hard to restore his heart function. On a follow-up PET scan in August, they found something suspicious so testing & biopsies were done. The cancer is back in his lungs & in his lymphatic system. We've been told there's no cure, but they're going to treat it to hold it at bay for as long as possible. There are stories we've found in our research of people with this diagnosis living for 10 or more years, so we're treating with a melanoma specialist (an hour and a half away from our home) and seeking specialized treatment for the best outcome possible. This treatment will continue for the rest of his life.
Posted by Lisa
November 13 at 6:57pm
Use Facebook to add your own comment to this update.
70 Supporters
-
Use Facebook to add your own comment.
- Jerri Costa6 years ago Praying for you.
- Anonymous6 years ago
- Janet Sambataro6 years ago Praying for your family.
- Renda Cornick6 years ago Best wishes.
- Leslie Medina6 years ago Great to hear you have a little rest from the craziness! Every best wish!
- Mary Neel6 years ago Hang in there, Lisa!
- Patty Diaz6 years ago Best wishes. Happy to see some good news!!!
- Brenda Fiscus6 years ago Best wishes.
- Leslie Medina6 years ago I hope the new treatment works miracles! Love and best wishes!
- Leslie Medina6 years ago Stay strong and keep that sense of humor! You people are amazing!
- Show 60 more supporters
Use Facebook to add your own comment to this update.