A SPECIAL NOTICE FROM AUTHOR LORI FOSTER

 

How much does it cost to buy two eyes?
Hi, my name is Julie "Christie". My 24 month old (as of Jan ?06) son Josh
was born missing his right eye and blind in his left. It is a rare
genetic disorder called bilateral microphthalmia.

In August 2005, Josh had to have his left eye surgically removed due to
glaucoma. Josh was left with no eyes. But in November 2005, Josh received
his first set of prosthetic eyes! (See picture) With donated items from
friends, family, etc., my husband and I have started selling items on
E-bay and Craig?s List to raise money for his 2 prosthetic eyes. Each eye
costs between $2000 - $3000 each.

Josh will need two new sets of eyes every year for the next 12 years to
accommodate him as he grows. That comes to at least $48,000! Because I
can no longer work, due to the amount of therapies that Josh requires
weekly, this has been a huge financial strain on us.

As crazy as it seems, insurance companies do not cover these costs
because they consider the prosthetic eyes as cosmetic and therefore
unnecessary. Josh has had 2 surgeries so far and will require a minimum
of 8 more cranio-facial surgeries to help the bones in his skull and face
grow and develop properly. Because of the immature development of his
optic nerves, Josh will never be able to see.

I hope that you will help us in our effort!
Please contact us at hgolden2@sbcglobal.net, if you would like to donate
items for us to sell. If you live local, I will gladly pick up items. We
live in Simi Valley, CA, USA.
************************************

So authors... if you want to help out, and you have a book you can spare,
especially one that is hard to find or out of print, please consider
sending it to Christie. (but any book will do!)
If you're unpublished and just want to contribute, that would be
wonderful.

You can send to:

Christie Goldenberg
615 Overlook Road
Simi Valley, CA 93065

What you send directly is different from what I hope to collect at the
Get Together in June, so if you're able, please send something now, and
also drop a book into a donation box at the gathering.

If you're unable to contribute, I understand. I know we all have budgets
and individual circumstances.
Thank you everyone for reading this!
If you do send to Christie, please let me know just so I can keep track
of our success.

Hugs to all of you!
Lori

www.lorifoster.com
Oct - THE NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS, Kensington antho
Jan - TRUTH OR DARE, Kensington reissue antho
Feb - JUDE'S LAW, Kensington single title
Mar - WILDLY WINSTON, Berkley antho & single title trade reissue