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OUTPOURING OF SUPPORT FOR TRUCK DRIVER FIGHTING RARE CANCER
“We Have Gone Through Our Entire Savings and Lost Our Home”
THOMASVILLE, N.C.—At just 46 years old, Thomasville truck driver William Charles Lounsbury Jr. is facing the fight of his life. In September 2021, he was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer. Through a fundraising campaign, William’s community is coming forward to provide financial help and hope for William and his fiancée during a time of need.
William was diagnosed with dedifferentiated liposarcoma in 2021. The rare diagnosis leads to life-threatening tumors and has a 30% mortality rate. To immediately begin fighting back, William experienced thirty rounds of radiation. In February 2022, a football-sized tumor was removed from his left thigh.
The tumor removal left him with septic shock and the need for multiple urgent operations on his leg. As soon as he’s recovered fully from the surgery, he will undergo additional radiation. Nodules have also emerged on his lungs, leading to another source of concern for William’s family and medical team.
An over-the-road truck driver, William is currently behind on payments on his truck. He and his fiancée, Holly Gable, are considering selling the vehicle just to make ends meet as William’s fight continues. Holly has lived in Thomasville her whole life. After losing their home due to medical debt, she and William are living with Holly’s grandparents.
“We’re so grateful for the help, but we also really look forward to being able to live independently again,” said Holly. “We were planning to get married before this diagnosis. Since then, we have lost everything, so we have had to put that on the back burner.”
While he applied for disability in September when he was first diagnosed, William has yet to hear back from the state, leaving he and Holly on the hook for a wide range of cancer-related medical costs. “We have gone through our entire savings and lost our home in the process,” explained Holly. “The only thing we have left is our car.”
To help lift this overwhelming burden, friends and family members have started a medical fundraising campaign with the national nonprofit Help Hope Live at: https://helphopelive.org/campaign/20176/
Donations in William’s honor are tax deductible and can only be used to cover verified cancer-related expenses. His medical condition is verified by the nonprofit. Because Help Hope Live manages all the funds raised, donations won’t jeopardize William’s eligibility for disability benefits.
Support from the community provides not only a financial lifeline but a source of strength and emotional support for William and Holly. “His whole family is going through this with him,” said Holly. “It makes an impact on the entire family.”
Help Hope Live is a national nonprofit that specializes in engaging communities in secure, tax-deductible fundraising campaigns for people who need a transplant or are affected by a catastrophic injury or illness. Since 1983, campaigns organized by Help Hope Live have raised over $165 million to pay patient expenses. ###
Written by Emily Progin
