A Windsor native has spent most of his adult life teaching children, but now he is learning how to cope with a series of life-threatening health issues.
Michael Coalutti, who grew up in Windsor, graduated from the University of Windsor, and whose family founded a successful flooring business, taught school for 33 years. But Coalutti, who now lives in Orangeville, may not see a classroom again as he battles not only lung cancer and heart failure, but also the financial burden of getting experimental medication that could prolong his life.
According to a GoFundMe page set up by his niece, Carleigh Montello, Coalutti's healthcare team has told him to get his affairs in order. There is a chance he may not see the end of 2023.
Montello told WindsorNewsToday.ca that there was always a lot of smoking in the family, which led to respiratory issues, and Coalutti had already had one heart attack. But Montello noticed something more sinister while on a Christmas visit in 2021.
"He told me that he had been having coughing spells that would lead to him being lightheaded and faint," said Montello. "I just said to him while I was there, and watching it actually happen, I said 'It's not normal. I would go back to the doctor and figure out what was going on.'"
Come February 2022, Coalutti could not function as well as before because he was having trouble breathing, and he went to hospital. Doctors diagnosed a lung that had to be frequently drained of fluid, and worse, a stage-four lung cancer classified as a ROS1-EZR gene fusion.
According to the U.S. National Institutes of Health, these gene fusions show up in lung adenocarcinoma, a condition that forms in tissue lining certain organs and glands.
Montello said the situation deepened when doctors prescribed a series of experimental drugs, which helped Coalutti feel better, but are not covered by insurance. So he was on the hook for the cost.
"His experimental drugs are currently around $9,000 a month without coverage," said Montello. "He was on them for the better part of a year, and his lungs kept filling with fluid. Upon looking deeper into it, they found out he was also in heart failure."
Coalutti was able to briefly return to the classroom in November 2022 to help pay for the medication, but Montello said he is no longer working and dependent on oxygen. She added that due to his age of 59, he can't draw from long-term disability, and if he is unable to return to work later this year, he will lose the benefits offered by his school board.
Montello said she started the GoFundMe page to help her uncle pay for the drugs that have prolonged his life. She also wanted to make sure that should Coalutti pass away, his two teenage daughters will be able to pay for secondary education.
As of early Friday evening, the GoFundMe page has raised over $16,200 toward a $40,000 goal.