23 December 2014 – Los Angeles, California – For filmmaker Anne Lower, June 14, 2014 was just another day. Named “Hollywood’s Hardest-Working Indie Filmmaker” by critic Casey Ryan, and featured in such publications as Social Hollywood, Learnist, and Women in Hollywood, Lower (rhymes with “flower;) was completing her part time job at the Los Angeles Equestrian Center, helping a young rider slip on a pair of boots.
Lower worked that job in order to help make ends meet for she in her husband. When not doing that, or making films, she could be usually found helping others. From providing shelter and food for a homeless stranger, to helping animal rescues, she could always be found helping others. On one occasion, after seeing a disturbing post on Facebook, she contacted Seattle police and literally stopped the suicide of a man she had never met. “When I read his posts,” Lower said, “Immediately, I knew something was wrong, and this man needed help.” Help was there, due to Lower’s intervention, and the man now lives a happy and healthy life.
Lower had no idea that she herself would be in great need – and soon.
On the above mentioned date, Lower was helping a young student get a pair of riding boots, when she struck her head on the corner of a cabinet. There was a huge crack, followed by horrific pain. Immediately, Lower knew something was wrong, Her fears were confirmed at Cedars – Sinai ICU, where she learned that she had broken her neck – and that a massive tumor on her spine was responsible for the break. Months of testing later, and Lower was handed the diagnosis of Multiple Myeloma – cancer of the bone marrow plasma.
Multiple Myeloma is an insidious disease; it is silent, until it bursts forth, eating through bone like a ravenous lion. There is no cure for Multiple Myeloma; however, there are many protocols for treat, including stem cell transplants, that can extend life for 15, even 20 years,Lower’s insurance offers the most scant of coverage, and does not cover any of the current MM protocols other than traditional chemotherapy, which offers less than stellar results. Lower has completed surgical repair of her spine – she has two steel rods from c5 through to her skull and 12 screws, all held in place by a steel plate screwed to her skull. She faces a very changed life and mobility, and yet, she still continues to create, writing a script with a cancer – based metaphor, and supporting projects of others.
Lower’s insurance offers the most scant of coverage, and does not cover any of the current MM protocols other than traditional chemotherapy, which offers less than stellar results. Lower has completed surgical repair of her spine – she has two steel rods from c5 through to her skull and 12 screws, all held in place by a steel plate screwed to her skull. She faces a very changed life and mobility, and yet, she still continues to create, writing a script with a cancer – based metaphor, and supporting projects of others.
A group of Anne’s friends have launched a fundraiser through Go Fund Me, to help Anne and her husband Don Shirey, pay off her mounting medical debt, which is mounting fast. Lower and her husband desperately wish to acquire a stem-cell transplant, the only proven method of treatment for multiple myeloma – and one which her insurance carrier will not cover. A stem cell transplant could cost hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Lower has a lifetime of helping others. She raised money for the “Delores Fund” – a stop-need grant, which provides monies for housing and education for victims of domestic violence and sexual assault. In Los Angeles, she started the outreach programs “Writers on the Verge” and “Global Voices” for Final Draft, Inc. These programs brought disabled and under-served writers together with Hollywood leaders, in able to help nurture their voices and their careers.
Time is running short for the couple, as they hope to enter more aggressive – and costly – treatments for Anne’s disease. Those who wish to help can visit the fund www.gofundme.com, in order to make a tax-deductible contribution. As Lower says, “Through all my years of fund raising, I never imagined I’d be asking for help to save my life. Our lives are tenuous – and special. We’re all part of the same tribe.”
For questions about the fund, please contact campaign director Dari Knight at djknight @me.com
