As some of you already know, Laurie has been fighting breast cancer for the past four years. Although she has done remarkably well and defied doctors' predictions, she has had a very tough time. The cancer metastasized throughout her body and she is in constant pain. It broke her right arm, left hip, collapsed a vertebra, and has left her unable to walk or use her right arm. Until she heals some more from the neurosurgery to repair the vertebra, she can only spend a few hours a day out of bed in a wheelchair. She still manages to handle the phone and email correspondence for RDS (most days anyway - our apologies if we are ever slow getting back to you!).

As you can imagine, my need to care for Laurie has seriously impacted my ability to get out to launches and show our wares. Not being able to take a trip for a day to pick up parts from manufacturers means having them shipped and a smaller profit margin. Having to not only run the business but do all the household work and take care of Laurie too has reduced the amount of time I have for making an income. We are very grateful to our loyal customers and for word of mouth referrals.

Meanwhile, Laurie's medical bills continue to grow and her health insurance premium goes up each year. It is now a staggering $1344 a month - just for her! We have to keep this lifeline though, as the monthly treatments she receives to keep her alive average $4000 a month. Of course that's not counting the occasional surgery or round of radiation.

We are in the process of moving to a much smaller house and shop, in a less expensive area. The process of moving itself takes time away from making an income though. Once we are through it, I will be able to get back to putting more time into the rocket business, and we will have less expenses each month.

Right now though, we are having a very difficult time coming up with the payment for Laurie's insurance premium, and we are terrified that it will get cancelled. Of course, with her health situation, that's just not an option. We have very little family and they have helped all they can. Now we are turning to our rocketry "family" in the hopes that some of you may feel led to help out a little.

We have created a PayPal button below to make it easy, but we can take credit cards over the phone and checks are certainly welcome too. So are prayers!! If you can't help personally but would be willing to put out a coin jar at a launch or a club meet, there is a link below to a pdf with Laurie's picture and a brief summary of the situation.

Thank you for any assistance through this difficult time! We hope to be around to serve you for years to come!

Please click the Donate button to enter a donation in any amount you choose using PayPal or a credit/debit card.

Click here for a pdf flyer you can print out to take to launches or meetings, possibly with a jar for donations. Thanks!