Vickie’s Angel Foundation Saved Me

Lee Cook Jr. is a volunteer firefighter and former captain. His life was active and full. He played softball, enjoyed hunting, fishing, and spending time with his kids. Life was good!

The change started quietly.

In May 2025, Lee began feeling off. At first, it seemed manageable. By October, he had lost weight quickly and walking became incredibly difficult. Sitting was impossible. What was first thought to be a tick bite illness, then a prostate infection, was finally diagnosed as rectal cancer.

A biopsy led to a severe infection and the hospital stay stretched across October and November. He went into the hospital at 215 pounds and when he would eventually leave that first facility in late November, he was unable to walk and weighed just 185.

One of the most devastating moments of his cancer journey occurred at that first hospital when a staff member entered his room, with his family around him, and began discussing plans to make his “final days” as comfortable as possible. They had the wrong patient but the damage was done.

“It was one of the hardest days,” he recalled.

By Thanksgiving, he was at his lowest point, unsure if it would be his last. His daughter helped to get him moved to a new facility, Ann B. Barshinger Cancer Institute. Here, things began to turn around.

Having gone untreated for months, the cancer was now the size of a grapefruit. Wrapped around his prostate and urethra, surgery was not immediately possible but Lee finally began to receive a clearer path forward. 

The first step was a small but critical procedure, placing wires that allowed him to walk again with much less pain. Then came 3 rounds of chemotherapy followed by 28 rounds of radiation.

The treatments were grueling. Radiation drained him. Chemotherapy wiped him out. But slowly, there were signs of progress.

He could walk again. He could function again. In many ways, he was improving.

When the Bills Don’t Stop

While his body fought to heal, another battle had been building all along. Without the ability to work, the bills didn’t wait. Owning his own construction business, he had always been on top of his monthly expenses. “I wouldn’t say I had the bull by the horns, but things were going well.  Growing up on a farm, I’ve had a job since I was six years old,” he said. “I’ve never had to ask for help.”

Now, he had to sell belongings at a fraction of their value just to make ends meet. The weight of it all wasn’t just financial. It was emotional.

“I felt useless.”

That’s when a social worker suggested he reach out to Vickie’s Angel Foundation.

A Beacon of Hope

The call from Mickey Minnich and the family committee was a godsend. So far, the committee has approved three months of Lee’s mortgage payments, vehicle insurance, and trash payment. At a time when everything felt like it was slipping away, that support provided stability. It gave him room to focus on healing, not just surviving.

“Vickie’s Angels saved me,” he said. “I’ll be forever grateful.”

Today, there is progress.

The cancer that once wrapped around his vital organs has pulled back. Lymph nodes are clear and the grapefruit-sized mass is now the size of a golf ball. There is still uncertainty and there are treatments ahead. Surgery remains a possibility. But there is something else now.

Hope.

“Every day I seem to be getting better,” he said. “There was a time I didn’t think I was going to make it. Now I feel like I’ve got a chance.”

He talks about the future again. Seeing his son get married. Getting back on a firetruck. One day, maybe, holding grandchildren. Even small victories matter. “Being able to rake a few leaves… that’s something I couldn’t do last year.”

A Humbling Moment

One day, leaving radiation treatment, a unit more than 200 feet long, he saw something that forever changed his perspective. Around him were pod after pod of cancer patients at all ages and all stages of the same fight. 

What stopped him cold were two young children receiving treatment. “That crushed me,” he said. “I thought, why am I feeling sorry for myself? I’ve lived 54 years.” That moment shifted everything.

The Meaning of Hope

“Hope is what keeps us going,” he said. “It’s given me a new outlook on life.”

His message to others facing the same battle is simple, but powerful: “It’s not wrong to ask for help. There are people and organizations out there willing to help you, like Vickie’s Angel Foundation.”

Vickie’s Angel Foundation is a 501 (c)(3) nonprofit dedicated to providing a temporary financial bridge to help families battling cancer. We provide financial support for essential, non-medical needs such as rent, mortgage payment, utilities, transportation, and food. The foundation operates in an effort to remove the toxic stress of unpaid bills so the individual and their family can focus on their health. Through community-driven fundraising events, corporate partnerships, and generous individual donations, Vickie’s Angel Foundation ensures that 100% of donations directly support families in need. Guided by the values of love, faith, and hope, the foundation has touched thousands of lives by offering not only financial relief but also compassion and encouragement during some of life’s most difficult moments.

In order to give 100% to those in need, we are supported by Guardian Angels.

For many years, Charity Navigator has consistently rated us a four-star charity. As the foremost nonprofit evaluator globally, Charity Navigator has scrutinized close to 200,000 charities, evaluating their financial stability, commitment to best practices, as well as their accountability, transparency, and impact. Check out our profile here.