Woman needs to raise money for bone-marrow screening
Kay Seymour, who found out she had leukemia after a blood test in October, remains active by walking as far as four to six miles on the track at The Summit, up to six days a week. She is in need of a bone marrow transplant, a $20,000 procedure her and her family need help paying.
The Seymour Family
Kay Seymour of Kalispell is searching for a bone-marrow donor — and donations to help find that donor.
Seymour, 45, needs a bone marrow transplant as she battles leukemia, but she needs to raise money to pay for screening of potential donors.
It will cost an estimated $20,000 for Seymour and her siblings to get screened to see if they are good matches for their sister.
The screenings in Seattle would be done as soon as possible, according to Seymour’s husband, Robert.
They are looking to get her a bone marrow transplant so she doesn’t have to go through chemotherapy indefinitely.
The Seymours have five children: Elizabeth, 25, Daniel, 21, Michelle, 20, Jacob, 17, and Andrea, 14.
Until Dec. 1, they had no health insurance.
Thanks to a provision of the new health care reform law, the Seymours were able to purchase insurance through the Montana Affordable Care network that covers Kay Seymour’s pre-existing condition. But the insurance doesn’t cover the bone marrow screenings, which could cost up to $5,000 each.
Kay would like for her brother and two sisters to travel from their home country of Japan for the screenings.
Kay found out that she had leukemia after a blood test in October, Robert said. She was tired and exhausted at the time.
The Seymours have received $8,000 so far, most of it from a Modesto, Calif. church they didn’t even know about. Kalispell resident Danny Lynch, who pastors a German Baptist church here, has connections with the church. Another $250 came from a woman Robert met while waiting in line at a local credit union.
That money will help cover a $2,500 deductible and a 30-percent co-payment, but not the bill for the screenings.
The Seymours are asking for donations in Kay’s name at any Whitefish Credit Union branch or by mail to: Lamb Services, P.O. Box 105, Ceres, CA 95307. A donation made to the nonprofit organization is tax deductible.
Robert, 49, who works as an auto equipment salesman in Evergreen, also dabbles in metal sculptures. He created a small brass-and-copper version of a Komodo dragon that he would like to sell for $1,500. That would help pay the $170,000 in medical bills the Seymours racked up before they purchased insurance.
The Seymours met while attending Messiah College in Grantham, Pa. Kay came to the States as a foreign exchange student for high school and decided to stay for college.
They have been back and forth between the United States and Japan ever since getting married. Now they will be going back and forth between Kalispell and Seattle, possibly with a little help in their time of need.
Reporter Caleb Soptelean may be reached at 758-4483 or by e-mail at csoptelean@dailyinterlake.com.