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EDWARDSVILLE - David and Amanda Gill are having a very difficult time at the moment and desperately need help.
David was recently diagnosed with Stage 4 colon cancer at age 48.
“He got really sick two days prior to when we rushed him to the hospital,” Amanda said. “His kidneys were shut down and he had a tumor it looked like in his colon. I am working trying to make the bills; I don’t want my family to suffer. David is off on disability at the moment.
Amanda is working two jobs, at McDonald’s and Dollar Tree, to try to enable the family to continue on.
“He was working at Amazon and is now on short-term disability. He started June 19 last summer. We moved here because my grandparents were very ill. I was born in Belleville. We were living in Greensboro, North Carolina."
Eventually, the Gill family will have to move out of their present location because the home is up for sale. The Gill family can’t afford to buy the house, so they will have to find another place to live, another concern.
“Edwardsville has been amazing to us and several people helped us at Christmas time. Roxana schools also did a lot to help us at Christmas. I feel like it has been great to be blessed by people. It has been a tough winter for David, he is cold all the time. He is doing chemo treatments.”
Marilyn Anderson, David’s mother-in-law, and Amanda’s mom set up a Go Fund Me page for David and Amanda and hopes it will help the family.
“We are a very unique family,” Marilyn said. “We consist of eight people: David and Amanda, their four children, Marilyn the grandmother and Heather the Aunt. We are supporting our family in the following ways: David is fighting stage 4 colon cancer as of December. Heather, Amanda, and David lost their homes last year to repression. I am a retired 55-year-old. I was living with my parents before they went to the Nursing Home last May. I am disabled myself. We found out last month that our landlord is losing our rental home. She has worked very hard to keep us here.
“It is a 7-bedroom home with a basement apartment included. We live on the first floor between two apartments on this level. We have struggled greatly since the diagnosis. We only have one income from outside the home. Amanda works two jobs, about 45-plus hours.”
Heather blesses the home by working within the home caring for Amanda and David's youngest son, Avery, who is 22 months. Heather is the house manager so to speak, along with cleaner, cook and head bottle washer.
“Avery is too heavy for grandma now,” Marilyn Anderson said. “David is struggling with chemo treatments and doctor's visits. We would love to purchase our home but have always been poor. We would need $300,000 to purchase it with closing and utilities turned on. David had a great job at Amazon before his diagnosis, from which he is on short term disability. While it is a blessing to have 50 percent of that income, it is not enough to pay all the bills.
“We have tried many avenues to help our income but mostly live on the blessings of others who choose us as their donation, including Christmas. David has applied for disability but is not done with the application process. With the government shut down we can't get food stamps or help from the government. We will have to move when everything is sold, she is currently showing the home. It needs some work but we love it here. We have had a lot of grocery donations or we wouldn't be eating. We are trying so hard to get through this troubled time with God's help. We have no credit so no one wants to rent to us, let alone buy a house.
"We only have a 5-passenger car for everyone to share. Even Amanda and David's family won't fit anymore. We need a van for the whole family. If we need the car, we must take Amanda to work at 4 a.m. or 5 a.m., then return for her pickup. Then we have to get the kids from the bus and any errands before her evening shift. As you can see our plate is full. We have no funds to take care of David if he passes. We believe God will see him through.”
Amanda is worried about having to find a new place to live at this point.
"Our landlord told us this week we need to try to see if we can find a place to live besides here," she said. "And we don't know how that is going to be possible. We are trying to figure that out."
Amanda closed by saying: “I believe God answers prayers, so we are hoping only for little things," Amanda said. "We have to figure out a place to live and we hope God answers our prayers and cures my husband of the cancer.”
Call or text Amanda at (618) 334-0290 if you want to help the family in any way.
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