Fifteen years ago, Dolly and Felix met for the first time. Dolly lived in Colombia and I lived in Belgium. Two years later, we got married and I sold my apartment to move to Colombia. But six months after my arrival, Dolly was diagnosed with breast cancer. In Colombia, healthcare and insurance are not like in Belgium, which meant that my savings quickly ran out. I was forced to return to Belgium to work and send as much money as possible to Dolly, while I was already on early retirement (SWT).

 It took until January 2021 before I could finally return to Colombia with my full pension. But on August 14, 2024, disaster struck again. Dolly fell and had unbearable pain in her right chest. After several examinations in the hospital, it turned out that the cancer had spread to her vertebrae (T10, T11, T12) and ribs (5 and 6). The doctors told us that surgery is not possible for the time being, and that the pain will only get worse in the future. 

My biggest wish is to keep Dolly with me for a while longer with bearable or no pain. 

About Dolly.

Dolly is a cheerful person who likes to laugh (out loud). 
She is a romantic soul who is married to me... and the latter is not sooo romantic. For example, she often gets teary-eyed when listening to a deep and romantic text and sometimes she dares to sing without taking into account the right tone. 
She has many dreams that she (still) wants to make come true.
Helping people is in her blood, even if she herself has little, she will always share. 
She is religious and prays regularly, alone or with some friends, mainly for others. 
Music is also important in her life, which is why it often happens that she starts dancing... or worse... she invites me to dance too... Fortunately, we both like the same kind of music. 
Sometimes she uses her imagination while cooking and miraculously a great dish comes out.

This and much more is Dolly, which is why I need to help her so that she can spend more time with us.

The first step is radiotherapy to stabilize the situation, along with various aids such as a back brace, special shoes, an orthopedic bed and moving to Bogotá for better medical care. The costs of this quickly add up; a consultation with a specialist alone costs around €100. 

**Estimated costs first phase: €10,000**
- Bed, mattress & bedding
- Special shoes
- Moving to Bogotá
- Medical expenses
- Home care
- Brace and belt
- Etc..

Step 2: After radiotherapy, we want to move on to bigger interventions, such as fusion of the vertebrae and removal of the affected ribs. We want to perform these surgeries in Bogotá or, if necessary, in Europe. 

**Estimated cost of second phase: €75,000**
- *Europe:* Rib resection €10,000 - €30,000, 
spinal fusion €30,000 - €70,000
- *United States:* Rib resection $30,000 - $100,000, 
spinal fusion $80,000 - $150,000

We urgently need your help to give Dolly the care she deserves. Every contribution, big or small, brings us one step closer to our goal: to give Dolly a chance at a better quality of life and more time together. 

Thank you for your support.