My Step-Father is living "Sicko" [View All]

My step-father is in critical condition at a local hospital - he is on life support.

He came down with an infection in his prostate over the weekend which has escalated into septic shock and shut down his kidneys.

The hospital is putting him on dialysis in hopes of restarting his kidney function so that he can take more medication to rid his body of the infection. We should know more in 24-48 hours.

And, that's not all. Since Tennessee's governor did away with much of TennCare for those who aren't offered it at work, he also has no health insurance. My parents were trying to find private insurance since Ron's employer doesn't offer it and were unsuccessful in finding anything they could afford. My mother has diabetes, an existing condition that pretty much priced the average working person out of being able to afford private health care. I really don't know how we're going to pay for everything.

Does anyone know of any charities that help fund catastrophic medical expenses? I tried to do some Googling this morning and can't find anything immediately. I have to go run some errands for my mother - I can't really spend time at the hospital with her because I have a newborn and an 8-year-old who aren't allowed in the ICU waiting room. I can only go to the hospital in the evenings when my husband is home to watch the children.

I can come back and check this thread later for some ideas. I'll be happy to do all the submissions for consideration for my mother since I'm at home on maternity leave right now.

The hospital is trying to get my step-Dad on Medicaid and disability and is providing information about their charity that helps with this sort of thing, but I want to apply to other charities, as well.

Any ideas, thoughts, prayers, good thoughts are appreciated.

My parents only have their house and cars - no other assets. And, should my step-Dad pass, my mother would have to sell the house and move in with us, which is fine, but we wouldn't want the sell of her house to be eaten up by medical expenses - she has to live on something and cannot work full time, which is why she'd have to sell the house. She's 58 and won't be able to collect his social security for two more years.