BRICK – Family and friends of Bill Kratzoff, who served as the captain of the Herbertsville First Aid Squad in the 1990s, are seeking the public’s help in navigating “catastrophic” medical costs.
Kratzoff has Stage 4 cancer in his kidney, lung, stomach, and hip bone. He is uninsured.
“He spent years volunteering to save lives in Ocean County, and now he needs our help,” said Peggy Orost Becker, who started the fundraiser for her lifelong friend at gofund.me/6978b37eb
“Billy has worked as a mechanic at Briggs Transportation on Route 35 in Point Pleasant Beach for more than 30 years. Throughout those years, he has been much more than a hardworking and dependable employee – he has become a trusted friend to countless people in our community,” she said.
“When someone desperately needed help with a vehicle but did not have much money, Billy understood. He would do everything he could to make the repair affordable so that the person could get safely back on the road without going broke. That is the kind of man Billy is: hardworking, compassionate and always willing to help someone who needs it,” she said.
Doctors plan to begin treatment with oral cancer medication and immunotherapy, she said.
“Facing Stage 4 cancer is frightening enough. Billy and his family should not also have to carry the overwhelming fear of how they will afford his treatment and continue paying for rent, utilities, food, transportation and all the ordinary bills that each of us faces every day,” she said. “The money raised will help Billy obtain the medical care and medications he urgently needs. It will also help him and his family manage their essential living expenses while his health affects his ability to continue working.”
