Pay it Forward Stories 2019

While at work, I heard about a young boy who was just diagnosed with a cancerous brain tumor. The doctors said they had discovered it soon enough, it had not spread and he should be ok. But this will require numerous trips to Denver for chemo and radiation therapy. This brave young boy spent his 12th birthday in Denver for his first round of treatments. I donated my card to the Crichfield family to use for any expenses they wanted to use it for.

I would like to thank the Dennis and Phyllis Washington Foundation for allowing me to give my card to a family that can really use the extra funds. My thoughts go out to the Crichfield family for a full and speedy recovery of their son.

I gave my card to a deserving lady who takes care of my and other Washington Company employe’s children at the YMCA Learning Center (a daycare in Missoula). She was in a time of need and down on her luck.

Dear John Wilson,
On behalf of Missoula Church of the Nazarene, I would like to thank you for advocating for us in the pay it forward program with Montana Rail.

We challenged our congregation to bring in diapers to care for some younger families both inside and outside of our church. The church responded generously and we were able to help 4 families. We used the gift card we received from you to give 3 families $100 gift cards and made a $200 gift card donation to Mountain Home, an organization for young mothers that our church partners with.

Thank you for helping us to spread God's love in a tangible way to our community!

Sincerely,
Pastor Josh Allen and the congregation of Missoula Church of the Nazarene

I sponsor 2 Compassion International girls. One lives in Columbia and the other lives in Ethiopia. They are both very poor and just need food and clothes for daily survival. I split the money between the two of them and their families to help them with their needs. Compassion is a wonderful organization that helps poor countries and their familys with medical, educational and food and clothing. I was very glad to be able to send this giving card to them.

I gave my card to a family very much in need. The mother of this family is going through her second round of breast cancer and has been off work for 6 months. The father works with my wife and has had to use all his comp time plus time donated by co-workers taking her to her treatments and juggling their children to school and sports. They are the type of family that would give the shirts off their backs to help anyone and are very thankful for the help in their time of need. Thank you for the opportunity once again this year to be able to make someone's day a little better by receiving the much needed help. The pay if forward program is so amazing and I am thankful to be a part of it. Thanks so much. Brian Palmer

I choose to give my Pay it Forward Card to the Crichfield Family of Big Timber. The Crichfield's Oldest of six children Aaron Crichfield 12 years old was recently diagnosed with Brain Cancer. He currently is undergoing Chemo treatments his first Treatment was done in Denver Colorado. He will be able to complete his next treatments in Billings but then will have to go back to Denver to go through 4 weeks of radiation. The card will be able to help offset the costs of medical bills, travel expenses, and so on. Aaron spent his 12th Birthday 3/15/2019 getting his first round of Chemo a thing no 12 year old should have to every do.

The Family as well as myself would like to express thanks to The Dennis & Phyllis Washington foundation and Montana Rail link or making this program available. I would also like to take an opportunity to thank Chris Beaulieu a Carmen at MRL who after hearing about Aaron also choose to give his Pay It Forward card to the Crichfield family. My thoughts and Prayers to the Family. #AARONSTRONG

my giving card was given to the Stafford Animal Shelter.

Stafford Animal Shelter is a no-kill, open-door shelter that accepts all pets in need regardless of age, species, breed or medical condition. We have no length of stay restrictions so animals are welcome with us until they find their forever homes. We accept every pet in need: abandoned or homeless, unwanted litters from unspayed and uneutered animals, and those confiscated by control officers for cruelty. The only nonprofit animal care facility in Park County, we serve the people and pets of the greater Southwestern Montana community including Gallatin, Sweet Grass, Stillwater, Meagher, Fergus counties and beyond. As the only Shelter in the region that accepts all lost or unwanted pets; not just dogs and cats, we have a “Zoo” where we can care for a wide range of pets from exotics to rodents to birds to small mammals. We also serve as the care facility for animals running at large, cruelty cases, and emergencies by city and county animal control officers. Of all the animals we take in approximately half are reclaimed and half are adopted. Every adoptable cat, dog, kitten and puppy are spayed or neutered, vaccinated, dewormed and microchipped prior to adoption.

I have personally matched this donation.

Thank you!

There is a newer teacher Mrs. Pantoja that is teaching 2nd grade elementary at Boulder school in Billings, MT. I chose her because she is a very genuine person and there are multiple people that I know that have kids that go to Boulder Elementary that work for Montana Rail Link. Her classroom definitely needed some supplies and upgrades. I have received 3 of these cards in the past 5 years and I can honestly say that this card was more appreciated than any other card that I have given to anyone! Thank you so much for the opportunity to Pay it Forward!

I chose to give the Pay It Forward $500 to Kelker’s Kids which financially assists families with children battling cancer. By assisting families during those difficult times, it allows them to focus on what is most important: the care of their child.

Thank you to the Dennis and Phyllis Washington Foundation for giving me the opportunity to pay it forward.

My older sister Lacey, was born with special needs. She belongs to a group called Little Bitteroot Services, located in Plains Mt. They operate two second hand clothing stores. One in Plains and the other in Thompson Falls. These stores give opportunities to special needs individuals to have and maintain a job and have supervised individual living.
They also are able to, through Little Bitteroot, attend the Special Olympics. Under funded and on a budget, its hard for them to afford to take all of their members to the Olympics.
I feel Honored having been given this opportunity to be apart of the Pay It Forward Program. I contacted Little Bitteroot Services management, and worked with them on figuring out what some of their needs were. We decided to have Light Weight Hooded coats made, with their Team name embroidered in to the left breast of the coats, for the Special Olympics. As the coats that they have are old and in need of being updated. We had 24 coats made in many different sizes. the total cost for these coats came to $667.00. I used all of the Pay It Forward money on this. I paid the difference with money from my own pocket. As well as a $700.00 Donation, to be used towards gas, transportation, food and any other expenses incurred for their Special Olympics Trip.
Once again, thank you for the opportunity to be apart of such a Great Company and a Great Program.
Lee Kinser

Our card was given to a family with a new baby and other medical issues. Although it was only a token payment toward their expenses it was still a blessing to them for the relief the pay it forward program offered.

Linda is a friend of our family and I am using the Pay It Forward card to help her with medical expenses. Below is her story from her Go Fund Me web page. (https://uk.gofundme.com/help-linda-with-her-medical-expenses)

On Sunday, February 10th, Linda suffered a stroke and was taken to St. Patrick hospital where she was quickly treated with tPA, a powerful clot-busting medication used to dissolve the clot and restore blood flow. The drug must be given within a few hours after the onset of symptoms, or the risk of causing unwanted bleeding may outweigh the benefit. The earlier tPA is administered within that time period, the better the chances of a favorable outcome. We are so grateful that she was treated extremely early after her symptoms began and she is expected to make a full recovery. After three days in the ICU and one night on the neurology floor, she was able to come with the aid of in-home health care. Her prognosis is better at home than in a nursing home. When she can manage the stairs to her home, she will continue with out-patient rehab. Friends have generously joined with Linda’s children and given their time to check on her, take her to hospital appointments and just keep her spirits up so she’s not feeling alone. She is currently trying to regain movement in her left arm, leg and her speech.

Linda’s medical challenges started in October when she began to experience critical stage hypertension that couldn’t be controlled by medications. Her primary care physician ordered a test of her renal arteries to see if a blockage could be the cause. They suspected a right renal artery stenosis, but in the course of testing, they also discovered a small mass on her pancreas and ongoing MRI’s will be required to determine if the mass grows. We’ll cross that road when we come to it. Her first pancreas MRI is on February 28th.

Surgery was performed on her renal artery and a heart catheter was also done at the Heart Institute. The results of the renal artery was a 90% blockage and the diagnosis of Fibromuscular Dysplasia which is the abnormal development or growth of cells in the walls of the body’s arteries. As a result of this growth, areas of the arteries can thicken, narrow and even enlarge, making it difficult for blood to flow through them. FMD most often affects the renal arteries, which supply the kidneys with blood, and carotid arteries, which bring blood to the brain. Less commonly, FMD develops in the arteries of the abdomen or the arteries of the arms and legs. In nearly one-third of people with FMD, more than one artery is affected. So we don’t know what the future holds with this. The disease is very rare, affecting 1-3% of the population. It is not curable or treatable with medication. Linda will always require frequent testing in her arteries.

Although the cardiologist said her heart looked great after the surgery, at her post surgery check-up, she was told they had discovered a Miocardial Bridge, a segment of her heart's main arteries tunnels into the heart muscle and back out again instead of resting on the surface of the heart. The bridge refers to the band of heart muscle, the myocardium. that stretches over that section of the artery. In Linda’s case, it’s her left anterior descending artery. You may know this one by the “widow-maker” in heart attacks. A myocardial bridge shows up in fewer than 5% of people who undergo a cardiac catheterization. Most people with this condition, which is generally present from birth, don't have any symptoms. But the segment of the blood vessel that dips into the heart muscle may be squeezed when the heart contracts, especially if the heart muscle is thickened. In rare cases, this causes symptoms similar to those of a heart attack, including chest pain, tightness or pressure in the chest, pain in the left arm or jaw, or shortness of breath. Those symptoms have been present for Linda since a “heart attack” in 2006, however, the cause was not known until now.

As you can see, there’s a long, winding, confusing medical road to navigate. Linda is self employed and has medical insurance with a high deductible and out of pocket costs. Unfortunately, the road behind her for the last 6 months exceeded 2018 and 2019 out of pocket costs. As you can imagine, her medical costs so far run in the tens of thousands, and we are extremely thankful for insurance. But not working, paying higher employees costs for the business and out of pocket expenses are crippling on top of everything else she is dealing with.

We are hoping to be able to raise funds to help with those out of pocket expenses for her medical care. We deeply appreciate the generous support Linda has received and extremely dislike asking for monetary help, but sometimes we have to stop being proud and just ask. Anything you can give is greatly appreciated and we know it will help Linda concentrate on her recovery and not on the bills that are piling up. If you can’t give (completely and totally understandable!!), please keep Linda in your prayers as she continues her recovery.

With love and gratitude,

The Baumann/Pfaff Family

March 24, 2019

To whom it may concern,

Zachary Archer gifted me the $500 Visa Giftcard and I cannot begin to express my thankfulness for it. Zach knowing that I am a single mother and sole support of five children, two of whom have special medical needs. Zach knew what a difference this would make for my family and I. I am constantly struggling to make ends meet as I try and meet the needs of my family. Between extensive trips to the Children’s hospital in Spokane for the neurologist, the numerous therapy appointments my children need, plus attending school full time and working, there is never enough to go around.
Zach gifting me that card meant that for the first time in two years I was able to pay my utility bill current and put the remaining portion towards my power bill, which kept us from getting shut off (he did not know that at the time). For us, it was a miracle that was desperately needed.
I am so grateful for this program and for Zach taking part in it and working to pay forward the blessings.

With many thanks and much gratitude,

Crystal Baines

A fellow Montana Resource Employee has a 14 month old Grandson that had a heart transplant. I did ask his Mom to please share their very touching story. I would like to thank Dennis and Phyliss Washington for giving me the opportunity to "Pay it Forward"
Sincerely, Mike Blom

Hi Mike,
I thought this video would be good to share with you. Its our story in our own words.
https://youtu.be/1JY-FnRX-uo
Currently Jaspers biggest needs are clothes that fit, toys that will assist in his physical therapy and formula. While Jasper was on the LVAD Berlin heart he suffered two major strokes. These strokes caused major damage to the right side of his brain. He currently has weakness on the left side of his body and is unable to swallow on his own. Jasper has a surgically placed feeding button which allows his body to receive formula and medicine directly to his stomach. He is doing wonderful at keeping his feeds down. So wonderful that he has grown out of 18 months clothes and now fits in 24 month clothes! This is huge for us! Many heart transplant patients have failure to thrive and struggle to grow. Our Jasper is once again amazing everyone as he continues to grow and learn at a fast pace.
Words can not express our gratitude for the wonderful gift that Montana Resources has given us. From the bottom of our hearts Thank You for this wonderful gift!
Britney, Teddy and Jasper Dorscher

First I would like to thank the Washington Foundation for providing us with this opportunity. I like to think that I am very thankful for my job and that I show that on a daily basis, but being a part of this always makes me just a bit more thankful to be part of this incredible organization.

Mark Nordby was an incredible person, unfortunately Mark lost his battle with ALS earlier this year. I have not worked directly with Mark for over 25 years as I moved to a different department. However, we were still old friends any time our paths crossed. Mark had a celebration of life last weekend and as a part of the celebration the family organized a fundraiser as well. The fundraiser was twofold, any proceeds were going to be split between The Evergreen Chapter of the ALS Foundation, which is an organization whose mission statement is: To discover treatments and a cure for ALS, and to serve, advocate for, and empower people affected by ALS to live their lives to the fullest. Proceeds were also going to be used to assist with Mark's hospital expenses.

This is a great program that brings hope to both the giver and the receiver.

Jason a young husband and father in our community was recently diagnosed with cancer in the bile ducts of his liver called Cholangiocarcinoma, his treatment requires travel to Salt Lake City and many stays in hotels. Jason his wife Amber and three little girls can use all the help they can get. This card will pay for many trips to his treatment. When I gave it to him his wife cried and asked me to thank Dennis and Phyllis for them.

Thank you very much! Amber

I would like to thank the Dennis and Phyllis Washington Foundation for the opportunity to pay it forward!! This is such a great cause and I'm honored to be part of it.

With the giving card, I purchased two visa gift cards. One of the gift cards went to an individual of a local Missoula church who will be going on a missionary trip this summer to Honduras to work in an orphanage. With this gift card they will purchase school supplies (pencils, notebooks, coloring pencils, crayons) and some personal hygiene products (tooth paste, tooth brushes, floss, socks) to take down with them to distribute to the children in the orphanage.

The other gift card was given to a local community member in Missoula who has some financial hardship and will be using the funds to purchase a stethoscope and books for nursing school this semester at the University of Montana.

I choose to give these gift cards to individuals because they are in a position of need that I personally know about and I know the funds will be used appropriately and solely for the purposes as stated above. I wanted to make an impact directly to somebody who I know could use the help.

I decided to give the Pay It Forward gift card to my friends Brooke and Jacob Buckingham. Their son Oliver was born November 30, 2018 with special needs which buried them under a mountain of medical bills. Also during this time the federal government was shutdown, leaving them without an income for about a month since Jacob works as a TSA manager and Brooke was at home taking care of Oliver. Please read their story below for more details.

Hello!
My name is Brooke Buckingham. Oliver is my son, and I would like to share his story! I’ll start at the very beginning…please bear with me, as I can be long-winded at times.
My husband and I found out we were pregnant with our first baby, Aizen, while we were dating in January of 2018. We were terrified, but also excited at the prospect of being parents. We had already been discussing wedding plans and planning our future together in general. We found out we were only about 4-6 weeks pregnant, so pretty early. We decided that if we were going to be having a baby together, we needed to be married. So, he proposed, and we decided to get married in Bozeman, MT only 9 weeks later. I picked out my wedding dress and had it sent for alterations, sent out invitations, and made plans for our wedding and honeymoon.
Shortly after that, I found out I was losing the baby. I tried to allow my body to miscarry my child without extensive measures being taken because I hoped, by some miracle, maybe I would be able to keep him. I was in pretty serious denial that I was losing him. We were about 8-9 weeks at the time, and I had been under a considerable amount of stress between planning a wedding and working full-time at a hospital with a shortage of staff.
I came to my last appointment for Aizen, and they did an ultrasound to be sure it wasn’t ectopic. He was a normal pregnancy, but the doctor referred to him as “a bad egg.” My heart broke. They elected to give me a drug called methotrexate. It is a highly toxic drug used for treatment of rheumatoid arthritis, some cancers, and ectopic pregnancies. They told me it would help me miscarry sooner.
I could go on because there is a lot more that happened that day, but I will stop at the fact that we lost Aizen officially on February 20th, 2018.
My husband, Jacob, and I got married on March 31st, 2018. Our wedding was everything I wanted, and we were excited to try again for another baby when the time was right. I asked our doctor if we would be okay to consummate our marriage on our honeymoon, and I was told, “Oh yes. It’s too soon for you to get pregnant again. There’s no possible way you would get pregnant again this fast.”
Long story short, Oliver was conceived April 2nd, on our honeymoon.
When we returned from Florida, I just knew I was pregnant. I took about a thousand pregnancy tests until I finally got a positive test. My gut wrenched as I researched the effect of methotrexate exposure to an infant in-utero. The pictures and stories I saw were heart-breaking. So, when we went in for our first appointment, I was pretty well-prepared for the worst.
They set me up with a high-risk specialist doctor from Fargo, ND. He would travel down to Williston, ND on the second Tuesday of every month to see patients.
When he first saw me, I was 12 weeks pregnant. Babies are still pretty tiny on an ultrasound at this point, but he sat in with me to see if we could find any immediate concerns. Right away, we found out Oliver didn’t have legs. They thought he might have a hole in his heart. They also had some concerns that his jaw would be set too far back for him to have an airway. Medical care in Williston, ND is very, very minimal. If you are having any sort of complication with your pregnancy here, you can pretty much count on needing to travel for obstetric care. So, with these findings, we went to Billings, MT for a second opinion.
In Billings, we had another ultrasound done. I was 20 weeks pregnant at the time. When the doctor there got a look at the images, he confirmed that, without a doubt, Oliver would not have legs. He didn’t see a hole in his heart, but he could not confirm whether or not there was one there. (Oliver was a serious challenge to get ultrasound pictures of through the whole pregnancy.) He made no comments on his jaw. But, he made a recommendation that we get to a better medical facility before Oliver was born. He recommended we get to a major children’s hospital that specialized in all pediatric specialties. We were told that Oliver was diagnosed with sacral agenesis (nothing below the sacrum). There are varying severities with this condition, but the doctor in Billings told us to prepare ourselves for the idea that Oliver could survive either only minutes after birth, or he would live a long happy life. He couldn’t determine his life expectancy based on the ultrasound photos. Then, he referred us to a genetic counselor there. So, we stepped across the hall and spoke with the genetic counselor. We were offered an abortion straight off the bat and turned it down. Both my husband and I value the life of an unborn child, especially our own, no matter the circumstances. We discussed our family history and determined that it was likely not a genetic problem. The genetic counselor offered us amniocentesis to see if his medical problems were part of mine and Jacob’s genetics (even though it didn’t seem that way) or if it was something else entirely. We decided to go ahead with that, and had amniocentesis done. This was in the beginning of August, 2018.
On our way back to North Dakota, we made the decision to move to Boise, ID. My husband’s family lives there and offered us a place to stay. We moved at the beginning of September, 2018.
When we got to Boise, our doctor there requested that we get a fetal MRI done to determine 1) the severity of his micrognathia/short jaw and 2) whether there were no legs at all or partial limbs. We also confirmed with a fetal cardiologist that Oliver did not have a hole in his heart.
Our MRI came out inconclusive as far as his jaw goes, but they thought maybe they could see a portion of a femur. They weren’t sure because Oliver would absolutely not hold still for the MRI. We spoke to multiple doctors that would be part of our delivery, and the neonatologist there told us that staying in Idaho might not be advisable. The procedure they would need to do had only been done one time by one physician, and we were told it was not impossible but that they didn’t do many of them and that, if we were looking for the best care, Boise wasn’t the case.
The procedure they were wanting to do goes like this:
When I was scheduled for a c-section, they would cut me open, and remove Oliver from my body. They would leave him connected to my body by his umbilical cord. This would allow my body to supply him blood and oxygen so they could try to intubate him and have a little more time. If they could not intubate him, they would cut a small hole in his throat to insert a trache and provide him an airway before they cut the cord.
Basically, it was a very difficult and dangerous procedure, and if anything happened, we would be life-flighted to Salt Lake City, UT. Also, depending on the case, I might not have been able to go with him and it could have been a while before I could get down there, especially after a c-section. They said they could do it for sure, but that it would be risky. So, we made to choice to move to Salt Lake City, UT.
When we got to our doctor in Salt Lake City, they observed that my amniotic fluid was very low. It was something they had been monitoring in Idaho, but they weren’t as concerned. By the time we got to Utah, it was concerning enough that the doctor thought maybe my water had broken, and I just didn’t notice. I was 30-32 weeks pregnant at the time, so it could have been okay to deliver, but she admitted me to try and keep Oliver from coming so he had more time to develop before I went into labor.
But, I never went in to labor is the crazy thing. So, I had a round of steroids and antibiotics to keep the baby safe from infection and to help his lungs develop a little more. In the end, they could never confirm my water broke because there was that little fluid. It would never come up positive on the tests they did, so they didn’t want to just deliver him. I was sent home on bed rest with instructions to return if I was concerned I was going into labor. I was also instructed to come to the hospital twice a week for non-stress tests and every other week for doctor visits.
We were also sent for a second fetal MRI to get a better idea of what we were getting ourselves into before our delivery. This MRI showed that Oliver had no lower extremities and that he had a solid airway and that we would not be needing that procedure I mentioned above. However, we did find that he had a small congenital diaphragmatic hernia that would need to be repaired after delivery.
I was on pretty high alert after that. Oliver is my first child to make it to delivery, so I didn’t know what contractions felt like, and I was pretty convinced I wouldn’t feel myself lose my water, since there was hardly any in there. I’m fairly certain I drove my husband crazy, but he faithfully drove me to the ER anytime I was concerned…which was honestly at least once a week.
Well, for the next several weeks, every time we came in for a non-stress test, Oliver would fail it with the exception of 2 times. If they fail, you are sent for something called a biophysical profile, where they do an ultrasound to be sure that baby is moving, their heart is beating, and that there is amniotic fluid. So what should have taken 20-30 minutes always turned into a 2 hour appointment. They were long, stressful days. We made plans to be induced on December 6th, 2018, which would put us at 37 weeks, provided Oliver had not chosen to gift us with his presence sooner.
On November 30th, 2018, I woke up, got dressed, and went in for another crazy day of testing. My husband and I picked up breakfast together before we headed in, but we had no idea what we were walking into.
When we got to the office, I went and did our non-stress test which, as expected, Oliver failed. We were sent for a biophysical profile, as I expected, since I had this down to a science. I was having a good attitude because I knew we were only a week from being induced, so I was just going through the motions.
Well, when we were done, my doctor came in to visit with me. She asked if I had been having contractions or anything, and I told her I had but not many and they were not consistent. She told me that Oliver seemed to be desatting (his heart rate was dropping dangerously low) and that she didn’t feel safe sending me home. She hooked me up to a monitor and told me if he deserted again, we would be delivering that night. Sure enough, less than an hour after they hooked me to the machines, Oliver desatted again. Baby time.
My husband had gone to pick up our cell phone chargers since we honestly did not think we would be delivering that night. I called him and urged him to hurry back because we were making pretty important decisions and the baby would be coming tonight.
Oliver was desatting when I would have a contraction, and I was only less than a centimeter dilated so my doctor didn’t think induction would be safe. So, I elected for en emergency c-section.
Oliver came out crying, which means his airway was intact. I got to see him for a brief 5 seconds before they rushed him to the NICU. My husband stayed with me while they sewed me up, and then I asked him to go be with Oliver in the NICU. I had a very hard time in the recovery room after our delivery. I reacted poorly to the spinal block, and my blood pressure dropped dangerously low. I remember throwing up uncontrollably, feeling hot but my body was freezing, and the nurse and anesthesiologist arguing about how to fix it while they held my stitches together. Everything after that was pretty foggy until I woke up the next day.
I found out that when my husband got to the NICU, Oliver seemed to be doing well. Then he turned purple and they had to intubate him because he went into respiratory distress. It was later discovered that his spleen had worked its way up partially into his chest cavity, and I am suspecting that’s why he struggled. On December 1st, I got to hold Oliver for the first time, and it was pretty scary. He was hooked up to a ventilator and had multiple IV’s and other machine hooked up to him. His face was super swollen because they had a tough time getting his head out of my pelvis. He couldn’t open his eyes at all at the time. I held him until they took him to surgery.
Oliver needed surgery to correct his diaphragmatic hernia and to place a colostomy bag. He was born with a grocery list of problems:
-micrognathia
-retrognathia
-congenital diaphragmatic hernia
-sacral agenesis/caudal regression
-imperforate anus
-a very, VERY small brain bleed from delivery
-non-descended testicle
-partially closed left nare
This doesn’t include the most recent findings of a tongue tie and a submucosal cleft palate.
After his surgery, Oliver continued to fight as he had been through his whole gestation. He shocked the doctors who cared for him with every step he took forward. We were basically guaranteed a 4-6 month NICU stay, and Oliver met every single one of their expectations in just 19 days! It felt like a very long 19 days, but we made it through Oliver’s constant dance of “two steps forward, one step back.” (He has always been unique that way.) We went from him coding in my arms just 2 days after he was born to being sent home only 19 days after he was born.
Oliver was sent home on oxygen and an NG tube for feeding, since he aspirates. He was allowed to take only 15mLs by mouth per feed. We were also given orders for oxygen to be delivered to our home, medical supply prescriptions to be sent to our door, referrals to home health, speech/feeding therapy, physical therapy, early intervention therapy, a high risk clinic, cardiology, pulmonology, neurology, gastroenterology, ENT, and a request to follow up with the surgical staff.
I have medical training. I earned my associate’s degree in medical assisting from Montana Tech in Butte, MT. But, I don’t know if anything can really ever prepare you to have to do those things to your own child. My husband and I both had to take a refresher CPR course before Oliver could go home, and I was genuinely afraid I would need it. No one can prepare you for the fear you will feel when your baby’s oxygen monitor goes off in the night and wakes you from a dead sleep because he’s desatting. (Most of the time, it was a false alarm, but still.) And no one can prepare you for the stress you feel as a mom, putting a tube down your baby’s nose and into his stomach, knowing that you might accidentally slip it into his lungs and have to start over. We were also instructed to keep him away from people until flu season is over — basically do not leave home unless it is for doctor’s appointments. And no one can prepare you for that kind of loneliness.
We were asked multiple times how we were coping so well with the stress of it all, especially with us being such young parents (21 and 22 at the time). Well, I can honestly say that at first, I was petrified. I cried all the time. And my husband, well, he held me together through most all of it. I will not say it wasn’t terrifying because it was. And praise God that He provided a way for us to be able to move from state to state (especially since my husband works for the government, and they were very helpful with transferring him wherever we went.) We also had Oliver right around the time the government shut down indefinitely, and our only source of income was my husband’s job as a TSA supervisor. Medical bills started pouring in and we couldn’t get Oliver added to our insurance yet because it was federal. And, I needed my husband to stay home and help with the baby because I was still recovering from my c-section. Basically, we were in desperate need of help.
The government finally reopened, and we started to receive income again, but the damage had already taken its toll. We received TONS of financial assistance from the church! This is honestly what held us afloat. But we knew we would not be able to afford our living expenses. My husband was making more money in Williston, ND, and my family lives there. So, we decided to move back to Williston. My parents have offered to let us live with them free of charge until we can get back on our feet financially. We so appreciate this help. My husband is wonderful and has been working from early in the morning until late in the evening to be sure I can stay home with Oliver and take care of him. We are finally starting to get on top of our medical bills, but it will be a while before they’re completely taken care of. Oliver is seeing a wonderful doctor here who is vigorously researching his condition in order to help him develop properly. Oliver sees two therapists — one for feeding and one for developmental milestones. We are in the process of getting his tongue-tie clipped in the hopes that it will be the only reason he was struggling to eat due to aspirating. He is no longer on oxygen or a feeding tube and taking thickened liquids by mouth. He can already hold up his head all by himself and is working on learning how to roll over by himself at only 4 months old. We are so proud of our little boy, and we are so thankful to have been chosen to be his parents. We are so thankful God has blessed us with the families He has and that He has placed us with the church family He has. This is just the beginning for sure, but we’re so excited to be a part of his life.
We know God has big plans for our little guy.
“The mind of man plans his way, but the LORD directs his steps.”
Proverbs 16:9
“Train up a child in the way he should go, even when he is old he will not depart from it.”
Proverbs 22:6
“Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.”
James 1:2-4
“Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will tribulation, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? Just as it is written, ‘FOR YOUR SAKE WE ARE BEING PUT TO DEATH ALL DAY LONG; WE WERE CONSIDERED AS SHEEP TO BE SLAUGHTERED.’ But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
Romans 8:35-39
We can’t wait to see where he goes and what he does with this life God has given him. We are so thankful for all the love and prayers we have received from various people. We know we can trust God to provide when we need it most.
Again, I apologize for being long-winded! If you are still reading, thank you for reading our story and giving us space in your thoughts for today. Please keep us in your prayers as we learn how to raise our little boy!
Sincerely,
Jacob, Brooke, Aizen, and Oliver Buckingham

My family and I decided to give our "pay-it-forward" card towards the funeral arrangements for my brother Ray, who passed away of pneumonia complications on March 14, 2019, at the age of 46. This was in hopes of helping to alleviate some of the expenses that were suddenly placed upon his wife Tammie, and there children Tristen and Kirsten. The prayers and support from my Montana Rail Link family was awesome and very greatly appreciated.

Our son is getting ready to go off to Job Core so we got supplies for him.

A PAY-IT- FORWARD Essay of Appreciation and HOPE

The Dennis and Phyllis Washington Foundation has created a multitude of positive, life-impacting changes in the communities that are served by the FOUNDATION and has improved and enriched the lives of so many young people as well as touched lives of many others. This essay provides a brief description of the current and heart-wrenching struggle of a young woman battling the most formidable challenge that every human being dreads and prays to avoid in life. The Dennis and Phyllis Washington Foundation’s PAY-IT-FORWARD giving card was provided to this individual to assist in the overwhelming expenses associated with her battle against cancer.

This young lady was born to parents originally from Butte and who raised her in the Helena Valley where she attended local schools and graduated from Helena High School. She is a beautiful, blonde haired, blue-eyed, young lady with many of the fine attributes of her parents. They raised her in a warm and loving home, and she enjoyed growing up in her family with a younger sister and two additional siblings who arrived a short gap in time. She was and is close to her sister and helped her parents with her younger siblings through their toddler years and enjoyed watching them grow.

Pursuing additional education was not an option nor goal of hers to pursue but gaining employment and living an adult life style was. Shortly after graduating from high school she moved to Missoula where she was employed by COSTCO. She enjoyed the work and the people, appreciated her wages and benefits and portrayed a true zest for living her dreams in her own way.

At some point over the course of the next few years she became involved with a fellow who had similar aspirations for the pursuit of the enjoyment that life in that snapshot had to offer them together. She was happy, had a secure network of friends and always remained close to her extended family, particularly cousins. She enjoyed the social media outlets and frequently kept her friends, acquaintances and family apprised of her life experiences, political notions and food recipes.

Life changed for her in September 2017. She suddenly discovered a physical problem and was diagnosed with an aggressive type and greatly advanced breast cancer at age thirty. The type and advancement were so great that the medical profession prescribed a complete removal of the impacted organ and surrounding nodes and tissue to attempt to halt the progression of the disease. The surgery schedule was truncated and was performed in December 2017, indicating the high level of concern in order to restrict and control rapid expansion of the disease and transmission to other parts of her body.

Intense chemotherapy and radiation followed the surgery into 2018. She remained positive in attitude and upbeat in communications during this entire, grueling experience of the treatment and the potentially debilitating side-effects associated with the treatment. Her stories provided inspiration to the readers and prayers and hope for her recovery.

With surgeries, chemo and radiation and associated health effects, her employment was maintained but reduced to part-time status. This adjustment required additional insurance expenses in addition to the usual deductible copay and other costs not covered by insurance. She is grateful of her employer and for the health insurance that she continues to receive.

She made it through this intense regimen and period of physical discomfort and array and was her sisters Maid of Honor on her wedding day in July 2018. It was not only a joyous life experience for her sister and the entire family but among family and those close to her there was also an unspoken, relief and prayer of thanks that she had made it so strong for so far. She looked beautiful on that day and appeared to enjoy every aspect of that life experience.

The breast cancer treatment regimen and goal of eliminating cancer and the possibly of it spreading to other body parts appeared to be successful. Possible “Remission” was mentioned at one point and hopes were high with a positive prognosis.

Other health related issues arose in December 2018 and the doctors diagnosed an inoperable tumor in the cervical spine area near the base of the head. Multiple medical opinions have been sought and currently she is seeking prognosis and possible treatment option evaluation at a nationally known cancer clinic in Houston.

The fellow who was her long-time, significant partner and who shared in the types of enjoyment that their lives provided them decided to depart from the relationship. This event was extremely difficult emotionally, but, true to her form, she emerged with a positive attitude and continues to look forward instead of back.

She was extremely surprised and very appreciative and grateful to receive the PAY-IT-FORWARD card to help pay medical and travel expenses, that in turn helps to reduce the external stresses on her life. I thank you on her behalf and from myself as a WC employee. I know and have seen the great multitude of positive impacts the Foundation has created over the years. I am particularly grateful to the Foundation for this gift to someone in need with whom I have a close association.

This year we chose a single mom with two kids that needed alot of help. She just bawled when we gave her the card. Thank you for choosing me to pay it forward.

Rhett’s Closet is the recipient of this giving card. This is a mission of Shepherd of the Hills Lutheran Church in Rathdrum Idaho. Rhett’s Closet collects children’s clothing from newborn to pre-teen, cleans, and organizes them into the closet. Then the closet is available to anyone in the community in need of clothing for their family. We have been a fully functional mission for a year now and have really enjoyed being able to service the community in this way.
The contribution this year was used toward purchasing items that are the greatest needs to restock the closet. We were able to purchase many packages of new underwear. Then we focused on getting the most bang for our buck for pants and pajama’s. There were also great deals on shirts on the clearance racks. People look at you funny when you buy that much at the store. It is neat to watch their eyes light up when you tell them it is for charity and will help many families.
This church mission was started in memory of a sweet and giving boy named Rhett, who was a member of our church. He knew how to take care of the needs of others and share generously. People noticed his generosity. He made friends wherever he went and knew how to include everyone in games being played. His generosity is remembered and impacted many people’s lives, young and old. Through our memories of his generosity, we are giving back to our community.
We thank your organization for this generous program and how it has helped us service so many families in our community. The employee who nominated our charitable cause is retiring this year. I know it has meant a lot to him to work for a company with such a giving heart. Thank for having this program available to your employees.
While my contribution to the mission is to stock and organize the closet, which suits me talents best, I have also been there a few times while a family has come for their appointment. It is overwhelming watching them have such joy in being able to provide their family with some new/used clothes that fit. The families are so appreciative. We have even had recipients donate back things they have grown out of.

The gift card was used to buy books for a literacy event sponsored by Graduation Matters for the Laurel Public Schools. The event is "Reading Under the Lights" and will take place next fall. Families will be invited to come to the Laurel Sports Complex for an evening of reading. Each family will receive a book that will be read aloud over the sound system and each child will be able to choose another book to read while waiting for the read aloud. All books will go home with the children and families. They will also be given cookies and milk as they leave for the night. This is an event for all families in the Laurel community.
I would like to thank the Washington Foundation for the gift card and the opportunity to pay it forward.

Playing sports in today’s age is...well just expensive! I’ve seen multiple kids not participate in activities they have passion for, because of cost. Pay it Forward has given kids in our community the opportunity to continue doing what they love.

Huge thank you to the
dpwfoundation!