Family appeals for help with medical bills

(CNS): A young man, awaiting lifesaving heart and lung transplants, is appealing to the public for contributions toward accrued medical bills and future costs. Brian Rigby, 37, who lives in East End with his wife, Sonya Scott-Rigby, and their six-month-old son, Nathaniel, has been dealing with serious medical issues and mounting costs since 2011, when he was diagnosed with lupus.

In that year, he inhaled fumes from some cleaning chemicals, which triggered pneumonia and activated lupus, a pre-existing but latent condition. His insurance, based in his native Turks and Caicos (TCI), did not cover treatment at Cayman hospitals so he and his wife, who is Caymanian, moved to TCI in 2012.

Over the following years, he was in and out of hospitals in TCI, the Bahamas and finally the Dominican Republic, where in 2015 the damage to his heart and lungs was discovered.

“All the while we never appealed for help,” Rigby’s mother-in-law Cynthia Scott said. “We kept it right here in the family,” she added, while at the same time thanking her East End Church and the Adventist Church for their support through all the crises.

Recently the family decided to appeal to the public as they have almost depleted their financial resources, exacerbated by a February hospital stay in Cayman, which cost $8,000.

“We have been through some serious expenses, but every time God has seen us through,” Scott-Rigby said. “I believe that God has given us this trial because he knew that he could rely on us to trust Him.”

A radio appeal in Cayman recently raised about $2,300, with additional pledged donations expected.

Rigby will soon be heading back to TCI with his wife and son to finalise paperwork and then wait in a location to be confirmed until organs are available. While the TCI insurance company will cover the surgery, the family’s resources have been diminished by the many prior hospital bills, leaving them concerned about coping financially going forward.

“We don’t know how long they will be waiting the transplant,” Scott said. “The doctors have told us that could take up to two years, based on the experiences of others.”

She said in advance of the move to await the transplants, the family launched an appeal for a $1-a-month personal contribution from those who are moved by their plight.

“As Sonya and Brian will need money to live on while they await the transplant, we thought a $1-a-month sustained contribution would be a big help,” Scott said.

Rigby said he sees a bright side — he is now pain free and no organs other than his heart and lungs have been affected.

His doctors warn, though, that time is of the essence. The side effects of the medications are beginning to affect Rigby’s sight and have brought on diabetes.

Asked how he was coping with his condition and the prospect of the transplant, he said, “Sometimes I am up and sometimes I am down – but mostly I am up because of the encouragement of everyone around me – my family and friends. I have learned to adapt to what I need to do.

“God has sustained me through it all and He will continue to do the same. I believe that this battle has already been won.”

A Cayman National Bank CI dollar account (#012-37129) has been set up for donations for the Rigby family under the name Brian Rigby/Sonya Scott-Rigby

Tags: Featured

Category: Donations, Medical and Health