'Anything helps'

MILTON — Milton resident Brenda Dill and her daughter Miranda Starling have been living with a chronic disease, Gardner’s Syndrome for over 10 years. Now, doctors have determined that both will need to go to Mayo Clinic for treatment.

According to a note from Dill’s doctor, Bill Bautsch, Gardner's is an “extremely rare disorder which progresses to complications of the bowel leading to cancer of the colon and other debilitating medical problems.”

Dill said the cost of the trip to the clinic is high and they cannot afford it and so they are asking for help. Dill said the doctors have given them until September before they will have to go to the clinic.

“It’s hard for me to ask for help,” Dill said.

Dill's husband Terry Dill died this year from complications due to Crohn’s Disease. Starling lives with her and together they're surviving on their disability checks. Dill said she does not receive any benefit payments from her husband’s life insurance due to an error in the paperwork.

“We are just barely making it,” She said. “I don’t know how we are going to be able to get to the clinic.”

Dill said she has a grandson, Michael, who will also be tested for Gardner's. She said she hopes it has skipped a generation.

Currently, Starling is back in West Florida Hospital with severe colon and pancreatic issues Dill said.

According to an article on healthline.com, the outlook for people with Gardner's can vary depending on the symptoms. Symptoms include growths in the colon, development of extra teeth, bony tumors on the skull and other bones and cysts under the skin.

"The main symptom of Gardner’s syndrome is multiple growths in the colon…also known as polyps," the article said. "Although the number of growths varies, they can be in the hundreds."

The article also said that there is no prevention for Gardner's because it is an inherited disease and doctors will conduct genetic testing on a person to see if the person carries the gene mutation.

Dill has set up a GoFundMe account with Pen Air Federal Credit Union. Dill said she is asking between $2,000 and $5,000.

“Anything helps,” she said. “God bless you. Thank you.”

Click to listen:

LISTEN: From the Newsroom of the SRPG

This article originally appeared on Santa Rosa Press Gazette: 'Anything helps'