Ron’s Rescue Stories: Doug

Over the course of just two days, Nancy Winslow’s husband, Doug, lost his job and was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. “To say we were blindsided would be putting it mildly,” says Nancy. “On top of losing half our income, we’d opted for a health insurance plan with a large deductible because we were reasonably young and healthy.” What happened next will be familiar to anyone who has had a critically ill family member – the Winslows were left with a huge financial burden. “There came a point where I had to decide if I should pay the hospital or the mortgage because I couldn’t pay both,” Nancy explains. “That’s when our Nurse Navigator told me about Ron’s Rescue Fund.”

With a history of working for nonprofits, the idea of asking for help was new territory to Nancy. “I’m used to giving and to be honest I was a little embarrassed, but I was running out of options.” She sent an email through the Ron Foley Foundation website on a Thursday telling her story. The following Monday, Marge DiGalbo, the Foundation’s Ron’s Rescue Director, called her. “Almost immediately, Marge said to me ‘I want you to know, we are going to help you.’ And they did. I think they put a check in the mail that day. It’s truly unbelievable what this small, local organization has been able to accomplish.”

Sadly, Nancy lost her husband to this horrible disease on September 15, 2014. “I was devastated. Although we’d only been married for seven years, Doug was the love of my life. I can’t tell you how thankful I am for the Ron Foley Foundation. They were so supportive, not only financially but emotionally as well.”