My husband Merlin, an enrolled member of the Blackfeet Tribe, is a 70-year-old Grandfather of 13 children. We are currently raising 5 of those children. Our only income is social security. On our 49th anniversary, we were told that Merlin has stage 3 adenocarcinoma of the esophagus.
Merlin has always been active in the community. He is a retired custodial, maintenance and transportation supervisor at our school for 38 years. He owned the only store in Heart Butte for 20 years, closing it last Sept because of health issues. He also started the only food pantry in Heart Butte realizing that the needs of our community went deeper than just needing a store. There are many that live below poverty level and needed the extra help.
We also are active in genealogy, family and community history. He has collected pictures and had them displayed at our store. He loves telling the stories that he grew up with for future generations. He enjoys sharing this history to people who pass through Heart Butte.
We live on the southern portion of the Blackfeet reservation bordering Glacier National Park. Traveling to cancer treatments have taken a toll on our finances. We made daily trips for 28 days of radiation treatments, traveling over 200 miles a day. Now we continue treatment twice a week for blood transfusions and treatment.
Hospital and Dr bills are coming in and we don’t have extra money to keep up. His health is very important, and his faith and positive attitude is what keeps us going.
We are so thankful for the caring staff at Sletton Cancer institute and the care they give him.Their support has been a blessing. We are happy that God has led us to them. We pray we can continue receiving that care.