Couple's Friends Raise Thousands for Life-Saving Surgery

In the past year, Drew Lewis has proposed to his now-wife, celebrated his wedding day and received a life-changing diagnosis of stage 4 colon cancer.

He's also realized the power of social media, the power of friends lending a helping hand and, in this holiday season, the power of giving thanks.

Lewis is scheduled to undergo surgery today just days after their healthcare provider dismissed their appeals to pay for the life saving procedure as well as an earlier surgery. His medical bills, he estimates, will be about $400,000.

But Lewis and his wife, Amy Blansit, 33, of Springfield, Mo., have been buoyed by an outpouring of financial and emotional support from family, friends and strangers who have sent the couple nearly $20,000 in the past week through a Facebook page and the charity website GiveFoward.com.

"It really is unbelievable what people are doing," Blansit told ABCNews.com.

Lewis, a 45-year-old real estate agent, was diagnosed with colon cancer in January after a colonoscopy revealed tumors throughout his body and cancer that had spread to his lymph nodes.

Through nine months of chemotherapy and two surgeries to remove the tumors, Lewis and his wife relied on each other and turned down the often-overwhelming offers of help from friends and family.

"We've had friends from the beginning who wanted to help - bring food, cut the lawn - anything that they can do to help," Blansit said. "We kept turning them away."

The couple, who are raising Lewis' two teenage children from a previous relationship, turned their friends away even as they received the devastating news that Lewis' insurance carrier would not pay for the surgeries to remove his tumors, treatments that doctors told him would stretch his life expectancy from one to two years to at least seven.

Lewis and Blansit got that news just hours before Lewis' second surgery in October but decided to forge ahead with that procedure, as well as a third and final operation - scheduled for today - at the Cleveland Clinic in Ohio.

"We thought this is our only chance and if we have to downsize and change our lifestyle to make it happen then we will," Blansit said. "You can't really put a price tag on what you would do in this situation and what life means. There's really not a number for it."

The couple appealed the insurance decision but found out last week that their appeal had been denied. Lewis' insurance carrier, HealthLink, declined to cover the operations because they were classified as "experimental" and "exploratory," according to Blansit.

HealthLink said the decision not to pay for Lewis' surgeries was made by United Security Life and Health, which it said is Lewis' primary health provider. United Security Life and Health did not return requests for comment from ABCNews.com.

That same week, Lewis and Blansit's friends and family, without knowing the couple's insurance woes, stepped in to help.

"We kept turning them away and then at Thanksgiving they just ignored us," Blansit said.

The couple's friends and family decided to use the social media tools that Lewis had been using to keep them updated on his progress as a way to raise money for the couple, both of whom have been unable to work due to Lewis' treatment.

Lewis' co-workers began a fundraising drive at the couple's bank and shared the information on Lewis' Facebook page.

As Lewis' coworkers helped in Springfield, Blansit's sister and brother-in-law, thousands of miles away in Las Vegas, established the "Drew Lewis Colon Cancer Fund" on GiveForward.com.

In just one week, nearly $10,000 has been raised by Lewis' colleagues and another $9,000 has been collected on GivingForward.com.

"It's one of those things where we're so far away from everyone who is doing it. It's such a neat way to be connected," a grateful Blansit said.

It wasn't until the hospital bills began to arrive this week and their appeal was denied that they let their family and friends know that they were tackling Lewis' treatment without the aid of insurance.
"It's a hard thing to get to and to discuss because it also means that Drew is not able to provide for his family," said Blansit. "It comes to the point that Drew has to say he's sick and can't do it on his own. That was the point we got to. It's a hard place to be in life."

Even more than the financial aid, Blansit says the helping hands have been a beacon of hope for Lewis, with the messages left on Facebook and GivingForward.com motivating his recovery.

"Drew… For the past few years I've been making a $500 donation to a charity instead of having professionals come and put lights on my house for Christmas. This year, I am sharing this gift with you…" wrote one donor.

Blansit says she and Lewis have a mini-command center in his hospital room with a laptop, iPad and two iPhones set up to monitor the overwhelming response.

"We're kind of addicted to social media right now," she said. "We just had so many people who are drawn to Drew and who absolutely think the world of him that we couldn't keep up with our phones."
"It really changes his day to have that connectedness and see that he's changing lives through his process," Blansit said. "He says that's his therapy. That's his means to sometimes manage a day."

Life Insurance Tips: Reasons to Buy Right Now

Unlike car or home insurance, life insurance is considered optional by most people. But InsuranceHotline.com reminds those who haven’t yet taken out a policy of the important reasons they shouldn’t delay. These tips make it clear why buying now is the smart choice.

(PRWEB) November 28, 2012
Many people believe they don’t need life insurance, but for everyone there is at least one good reason to take out a policy. InsuranceHotline.com’s life insurance buying tips make it clear what the reasons are and why delaying can be a big mistake.

Young People Get Better Rates
The younger the person applying for a life insurance policy, the lower the rate they will qualify for. Every year of delay can mean higher rates as the risk of health problems increases. Insurance companies give the best rates to people who represent the lowest risk of a claim. When it comes to life insurance, that means people who are young and healthy.

"When taking out a permanent life insurance policy, those who are young can lock in a low premium and have coverage that will last a lifetime" says Tammy Ezer of InsuranceHotline.com. Rates are typically better on term policies as well. Lower premiums are a good reason to buy now.

Protecting Loved Ones
Even in a family where both parents make a good living, it’s hard these days for anyone to get by as a single parent. For those who have children, those kids are the top reason to buy life insurance now. And it’s not only for the breadwinner; a homemaker needs a policy too. Consider the cost of child care in the event that a working parent suddenly has to pay for it.

Raising children is expensive, and life insurance ensures that a sudden death doesn’t force them to give up their lifestyle and dreams. It can keep them in their home, pay for school and activities, and keep good food on the table. It means stability in an unstable time.

Health Changes Happen
Even a person who is healthy now can be struck by an unexpected illness, and after that illness strikes it is much harder to get life insurance. Thinking that health problems are not going to happen until old age can be a big mistake. Young people are diagnosed with cancer and other terminal illnesses every day. And it doesn’t have to be a terminal illness. Things like high blood pressure or diabetes can reduce the ability to qualify for insurance and also raise the rates.

Good health is a good reason to take out a policy now – healthy people get better rates, and a sudden change in health status can’t affect the rate once the policy has been issued.

Everyone Has Final Expenses
Even those who have nothing else to plan for financially will still have final expenses, and those can be a major burden on grieving relatives. A life insurance policy takes that one burden away and allows your loved ones to move forward without the strain of more bills.

No one wants to think about death, but it happens every day in unexpected ways. Life insurance provides for those left behind, and making a difficult time easier may well be the main reason everyone should obtain a policy right away. Take the time to obtain life insurance quotes and know your options.

About: InsuranceHotline.com is a free online insurance rate comparison service that directs consumers to its large network of more than 30 insurance companies and licensed insurance professionals and provides quotes based on the lowest rates available through its network. In business since 1994, InsuranceHotline.com does not sell insurance, is not a licensed broker, and is not owned in whole or in part by an insurance company, agent or brokerage; ensuring consumers get a truly unbiased quote.

Aptitude Life Reports Significant Demand for its "Zero Carb" Health Beverages

Aptitude Life Ltd (OTC Pinksheets: SUNB), an energy and health drink company based in the UK, reports a significant increase in orders for its 1-calorie "Zero Carb" health drinks for the months of December / January based on strong initial demand for its products. 

The company reports that preorders/sales for December 2012 /January 2013 have exceeded 200,000 units, as the Company's products continue to gain market acceptance as consumers opt for healthier beverage choices.  Aptitude Life customers are choosing a healthier lifestyle and increasingly more discerning about what they are putting into their bodies.  Aptitude's products meet the growing need for increased energy and nutritional benefits for the active consumer. The drinks were designed to appeal to those seeking a healthy alternative to the majority of beverages on the market, which are very high in sugar content and have no nutritional benefits to consumers.  Aptitude Life's formulas have been developed from time proven formulas and decades of research from around the globe.

Aptitude Life's group of products include; Aptitude Raspberry, Aptitude Green Tea, Aptitude Coffee and Aptitude Extreme. All of these flavors are blended to provide optimal health benefits and great tasting flavors that appeal to consumers. Aptitude Raspberry is proving to be one of the company's most popular drinks because it features Ketones, the world's best weight loss extract. Ketones are the element in raspberries that kick start weight loss by triggering the body to increase the release of adiponectin, a protein hormone that helps the body to regulate glucose and reduce body fat.  Aptitude Green Tea is blended with a concentrated extract of Camellia sinensis and trace vitamin supplements that work together to not only jump start weight loss but also promote overall health.  Aptitude Xtreme combines the benefits of the raspberry and green tea products to provide an amazing energy boost and overall rejuvenation benefits. All three of these products are just one calorie and contain zero grams of carbohydrate making them among the most effective energy drinks on the market.

At just 2 calories and 1gram of carbohydrate, Aptitude Coffee is a vitamin-infused drink loaded with antioxidants and designed for heavy coffee drinkers, but with superior hydration effects. This cold coffee beverage formula increases energy, metabolic rates and mental alertness and is produced with a blend of organic coffee beans and made with 100% natural ingredients.  The beverage is the perfect choice to rejuvenate and hydrate the body through natural ingredients while satisfying the craving for coffee. Aptitude Life's product offerings are designed to provide the ultimate in health benefits while offering consumers a variety of choice and flavors.

Larger-than-life mystery of love and murder

Bill Roorbach’s new novel, “Life Among Giants,” is a bighearted, big-boned story about a young man’s entanglement with celebrities. Without a hint of satire, it offers a savvy reflection on America’s conflicted relationship to fame: beguiled one minute, horrified the next; desperate to touch the Beautiful People, but just as eager to rebuke them. The novel’s 6-foot-8 narrator, David Hochmeyer, reminds me of that star-struck neighbor who once fell under Gatsby’s spell and felt “simultaneously enchanted and repelled.”

In fact, the opening pages of “Life Among Giants” make a nod to Fitzgerald’s classic: Across the water from David’s modest home sits “a mansion the size of an embassy” that draws everyone’s attention and sparks fantasies of impossible romance. Full of vast ballrooms, secret passages and luxurious bedrooms, it’s like something Steven Millhauser might have designed for Paris Hilton. The woman who lives there — Sylphide — is “the greatest ballerina in the history of the world,” and she twirls through David’s life for 40 years.

(Algonquin) - In a novel transfixed by celebrity, billionaires, best-selling authors, world-ranked tennis players, Super Bowl veterans, epoch-making choreographers and trend-setting foodies thunder through the pages.

True to his title, Roor­bach has created a story populated with giants. Superlatives grow so thick in these pages that there’s barely room for an ordinary person to turn around. In addition to the world-famous Sylphide, there’s her husband, a Bono-like rock star whose melodies and images have seeped into our cultural DNA. Billionaires, best-selling authors, world-ranked tennis players, Super Bowl veterans, epoch-making choreographers and trend-setting foodies thunder through these pages.

But not everyone can gain admittance to this Olympian realm, and that frustration is what kicks off “Life Among Giants.” David’s glad-handing father is a struggling financier in Westport, Conn., “always finding ways to make himself taller,” always just one shady deal away from the good life. For this intoxicated dreamer, the mansion across the pond is a flame he can’t resist. Depressed and desperate beneath a shiny veneer of overconfidence, David’s father falls in with some very tough men, and in the early pages of the novel, they murder him in a fancy restaurant. That bloody assassination leaves a mysterious connection to Sylphide that will mystify David for decades to come.

“Life Among Giants” reads like something written by a kinder, gentler John Irving. There’s no bear, but David is a familiar Irving character: the extraordinary but modest young man, fatherless, involved with an older woman, drifting through the lives of strange people, pining for love, tender toward sexual outliers. There’s even the requisite paternal mystery that simmers a little too long.

Roorbach takes his time, following his endearing narrator from high school to middle age, repeatedly folding his story back on itself like an origami master. That opening hail of bullets is still ringing in our ears when David returns to the months leading up to his father’s murder. We watch his sister babysitting for the famous rocker and his ballerina wife. David nervously falls in love with Sylphide, while his father tries to ingratiate himself with the famous couple across the water.

Roorbach spends the novel hopscotching between plausible and implausible. Periodically, a weird dreamlike quality wafts over these scenes, a reminder of the reality-distortion field that world-famous people exercise over everyonearound them.

It’s all endlessly entertaining, but endless, nonetheless. Originally, “Life Among Giants” was even longer, at 600 pages, but an editor prevailed on Roorbach to cut it down, and he should have kept prevailing. The tendency to cycle back on events already described taxes the novel’s pacing. Other sections of the book churn when they should drill down. While his increasingly unbalanced sister obsesses over their father’s death, David goes on to Princeton, where he’s a football star, which leads to a position on the Miami Dolphins, but the Ivy League campus never really materializes, and we get little visceral sense of the crunch and crash of a professional athlete’s life. This is big-time sports labeled, but not experienced. His affair with a masseuse therapist seems equally contrived (hours-long lovemaking sessions — sure). And the whole time, arcane clues to his father’s murder are polished over and over like coins that begin to lose their inscriptions.

When the story gets around to food, though, the plot grows tangible and pungent again. In the final sections, David opens a restaurant in his old home town. He’s borne back ceaselessly into the past, toward a solution to the crime that destroyed his family and toward the ballerina who dared to choreograph his life for “a dance too big for the stage.” After years of deception, subterfuge and outsize personalities, he’s a man who delights in the aroma and texture of real ingredients. “I lingered over the cooking,” he tells us, “rubbed out some sage leaves, rolled a little fresh thyme, taking too much of the other kind of time, two trips to the garden, inefficient pleasure, dry-panning the herbs with just a little more Thai fire-pepper than I thought I should.” (Roorbach recently served as a judge on Food Network’s “All Star Challenge”; what he knows about mushrooms alone could charm a gourmand — or take down an enemy. )

Asked once what he’d most like to change about the publishing industry, Roorbach wished for “many, many, many fewer books published.” That’s the kind of wisdom that can bring me to tears, but publishing infrequently doesn’t help an author’s marketability. Almost 60, Roorbach is one of those fine writers whose career is always just about ready to break out. While teaching at various colleges, he’s published several nonfiction books and placed nature essays and short stories in all the right places — Harper’s, the Atlantic, Granta — but his only previous novel appeared way back in 2001. Consequently, “Life Among Giants” strides out into a reading public largely unfamiliar with his name.

But I hope this delightful if frustrating novel finds an audience. Roorbach is a humane and entertaining storyteller with a smooth, graceful style. Yes, he could rein in his rambling nature, but some readers will relish the ruminative nature of this mystery about love and murder among people bigger than life.

'Diverse' Bacterial Life Found in Ice-Sealed Antarctic Lake

American researchers have found a "diverse" colony of microbial life living in an ice-sealed Antarctic lake. The life survives at temperatures of 8.6 degrees Fahrenheit and could mean that life could survive in extreme conditions on Mars or other places in the Solar System.

Life survives in Lake Vida, near the southern tip of Antarctica, despite the fact that the lake's waters are beneath more than 30 feet of ice, hadn't been uncovered for more than 2,800 years, and are about six times as salty as sea water.

Researchers initially discovered microbes frozen in the ice covering Lake Vida in 2002 and, during subsequent trips funded by the National Science Foundation and NASA in 2005 and 2010, sampled the lake's water. Researcher Alison Murray says what they found in brine samples was a "pretty diverse community" of microbes—with 32 types of bacteria falling under eight different phyla.

[RELATED: 'Fossil' Mountains Entombed by Ice]

"The diversity suggests it's a pretty sable community of interacting parts," she says.

It also might mean life could survive in environments that scientists once thought were inhospitable, such as Mars or Europa, a moon of Jupiter that scientists hypothesize might have subterranean oceans.

"This discovery gives us the indication that life can survive in such cold temperatures and isolated from surface processes," Murray says. "It has expanded our view of the types of ecosystems that are habitable."

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Murray's discovery, published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Monday, is the latest in a series of new research in Antarctica. Earlier this year, Russian scientists announced they'd successfully sampled Lake Vostok, which had remained untouched beneath 2.5 miles of ice for more than 15 million years. If scientists discover life in Vostok, it is likely to look different than the bacteria inhabiting Lake Vida, Murray says.

Vostok's water is also kept in liquid form largely because of pressure exerted from the ice, whereas Vida's water remains in liquid form because of its high salt content. "On all accounts they're very different—Vostok is kilometers below the surface, we're meters below the surface. Vostok is also thought to have much more fresh water compared to Vida," she says.

Nail Life Master Pairs

The two-day Nail Life Master Pairs was won here on Saturday night by Zia Mahmood of New York City and Chip Martel of Davis, Calif. They finished more than one-and-two-thirds boards ahead of Cecilia Rimstedt from Sweden and Meike Wortel from the Netherlands. Third were Joao Paulo Campos and Miguel Villas-Boas from Brazil.

The Smith Women’s Pairs was captured by Victoria Gromova and Tatiana Ponomareva from Russia, who were just over one board ahead of Migry Zur Campanile of New York City and Miriam Varenne from Switzerland. Third were Lisa Berkowitz and Sally Strul of Boca Raton, Fla.

Zia and Martel were only 30th after the first day but had two closing sessions of 67 and 60 percent to move ahead of the field of 182 pairs. This is their second Life Master Pairs title together; Martel’s 30th national championship and Zia’s 24th.

Overtricks can be so important in pair events. The diagramed deal was Board 2 in the last session (rotated to make South the declarer).

After a natural auction (East’s redouble was aggressive), Zia was in one no-trump.

West led the heart three, which South knew was lowest from a five-card suit.

Declarer took East’s jack with his ace and ran the club ten, West discarding a diamond.

To hold South to seven tricks, East had to take this trick and shift to the spade jack (or king), but he returned his last heart. Declarer won with dummy’s king, led a diamond to his king and played a diamond to the jack and ace.

Now East led the spade jack, but it was too late. Declarer won with his queen, played a diamond to dummy’s queen, returned a spade to his ace and ran the club nine.

East won with his queen and cashed two spade winners, but at Trick 12 had to lead away from the king-two of clubs into dummy’s ace-seven.

Plus 120 was worth 69.5 matchpoints out of 90. Plus 90 would have scored only 29.5 matchpoints, a difference of nearly half a board.

Hector 'Macho' Camacho's mother says life support will end Saturday

Hector "Macho" Camacho will be taken off life support, his mother said Friday night, indicating she would have doctors do that Saturday. It was a decision the former championship boxer's eldest son opposed.

The boxer's mother, Maria Matias, told reporters outside the hospital where Camacho lay unconscious since being shot in the face that she had decided doctors should remove life support, but only after three of his sons arrived in Puerto Rico early Saturday and had a chance to see him a last time.

"I lost my son three days ago. He's alive only because of a machine," Matias said. "My son is not alive. My son is only alive for the people who love him," she added.

The three other sons were expected to arrive from the U.S. mainland around midnight Friday. "Until they arrive, we will not disconnect the machine," Matias said.

Another news conference was scheduled for Saturday morning at Centro Medico, the main trauma center for San Juan.

The former champion's mother has the final say in the matter, but his eldest son, Hector Jr., said he wants to keep his father alive.

"He's going to fight until the end. My father is a boxer," the son said.

Doctors have said Camacho is clinically brain dead from a shooting Tuesday night in his hometown of Bayamon. But relatives and friends told The Associated Press they were still wrestling with whether to remove him from life support.

"It is a very difficult decision, a very delicate decision," former pro boxer Victor "Luvi" Callejas, a longtime friend, said in a phone interview. "The last thing we lose is hope and faith. If there is still hope and faith, why not wait a little more?"

Aida Camacho, one of the boxer's aunts, said in an interview that the family could decide by late Friday whether to donate his organs.

As some relatives and friends continued to pray for a miracle, condolences kept coming in for Camacho's family and preparations began for memorials and a funeral Mass.

Gov. Luis Fortuno lamented what he called a sudden loss. "'Macho' will always be remembered for his spontaneity and charisma in and out of the ring," he said.

Also offering condolences was governor-elect Alejandro Garcia Padilla, who defeated Fortuno in November.

"The life of Macho Camacho, like other great athletes of ours, united the country," he said. "We celebrated his triumphs in the streets and we applauded him with noble sportsmanship when he didn't prevail."

Camacho was shot as he sat in a car with a friend, 49-year-old Adrian Mojica Moreno, who was killed in the attack. Police spokesman Alex Diaz said officers found nine small bags of cocaine in the friend's pocket and a 10th bag open inside the car.

Police reported no arrests and said investigators continued to interview potential witnesses. Capt. Rafael Rosa told reporters Friday that they are tracking down several leads, but added that very few witnesses were cooperating. He declined to say whether police had identified any suspects.

Hector Camacho Jr. lamented the violence that grips Puerto Rico, a U.S. island territory of nearly 4 million people that reported a record 1,117 homicides last year.

"Death, jail, drugs, killings," he said. "That's what the streets are now."

Camacho's sisters have said they would like to fly Camacho's body to New York and bury him there. Camacho grew up mostly in Harlem, earning the nickname the "Harlem Heckler."

He won super lightweight, lightweight and junior welterweight world titles in the 1980s and fought high-profile bouts against Felix Trinidad, Julio Cesar Chavez and Sugar Ray Leonard. Camacho knocked out Leonard in 1997, ending the former champ's final comeback attempt. Camacho had a career record of 79-6-3.

Camacho battled drug, alcohol and other problems throughout his life. He was sentenced in 2007 to seven years in prison on burglary charges, but a judge eventually suspended all but one year of the sentence and gave Camacho probation. He wound up serving two weeks in jail, though, after violating that probation. A wife also filed domestic abuse complaints against him twice before their divorce.