Hazleton man admits to molesting unconscious girl

web1_AAA-Mid-Atlantic.jpg

Average gas prices for Oct. 28

<p>ASHLEY &#8212; Although Donna Kline smoked cigarettes since she was a teenager, she quit earlier this year. She did it for her husband, her daughter, her son-in-law, her grandchildren.</p><p>Looking back, the Ashley resident, diagnosed with cancer in March, wishes she never started.</p><p>&#8220;I stopped immediately, right away,&#8221; she said. &#8220;I wish I had never started.&#8221;</p><p>The mother, grandmother and sister used to win karaoke competitions.</p><p>Now she is battling lung cancer.</p><p>She asks the community to join her in that battle, which she said not only takes courage and determination, but money.</p><p>Tom Kline said since his wife&#8217;s diagnosis in March, the couple has tried to pay bills associated with her medical treatment &#8212; bills, he said, that are coming from &#8220;all different directions.&#8221;</p><p>&#8220;I love her with all my heart.&#8221; Tom said. &#8220;We have been married 43 years, with one daughter, a granddaughter, a grandson and a son-in-law who we think of as a son.&#8221;</p><p>The cancer has spread from Donna&#8217;s lungs to her brain and her liver and she needed both chemotherapy and radiation treatments.</p><p>The good news is that in September, her treating physician said he looks forward to seeing her every 13 weeks for the next two years.</p><p>The bad news is, despite their best efforts, the Klines are over $20,000 in medical debt, most of which represents a hospital bill.</p><p>&#8220;She&#8217;s needed so many different kinds of treatment and seen so many different kinds of doctors,&#8221; said Tom. &#8220;We&#8217;ve been trying to make payments toward each bill on a regular basis.&#8221;</p><p>The future, Tom said, will surely hold additional medical treatments (and bills), including periodic Pet scans which will allow doctors to learn if the cancer has spread.</p><p>Although the couple has Medicare, they never purchased a secondary insurance, thinking they wouldn&#8217;t need it.</p><p>&#8220;She was only 60 years old when she got sick,&#8221; Tom said. &#8220;We didn&#8217;t expect it.&#8221;</p><p>Although her illness has left her short of breath and feeling a bit foggy, Donna continues to serve her family.</p><p>She continues to care for her sister Kim, 48, who has Down Syndrome, as she has done since the mid 1990s. Kim, who loves Greg Brady and Michael Jackson, has a ready hug for her sister and visitors entering the small trailer, which she calls home.</p><p>When asked if she wants her sister to get better, Kim answers with an enthusiastic &#8220;yes.&#8221;</p><p>Donna&#8217;s illness started with a cough early this year.</p><p>&#8220;I thought I might have pneumonia or a bad cold,&#8221; she said.</p><p>Her doctor sent her for an X-ray.</p><p>&#8220;I remember they told me to stay by my phone,&#8221; she said.</p><p>When she returned for further testing, Donna, unable to breathe, was admitted to the hospital.</p><p>Initially, her prognosis was grim, with doctors telling her she had only a year to live.</p><p>That prognosis has improved and filled Donna with hope.</p><p>&#8220;When I read the obituaries, they always say people died &#8216;after a long battle with cancer&#8217;,&#8221; she said. &#8220;I know it&#8217;s possible that I might lose this battle, but I want to continue to wake up and fight.&#8221;</p><p>Although challenged by the financial burdens that accompany the disease, the Klines have been buoyed by the medical treatment they have received which they both say &#8220;has been wonderful,&#8221; crediting the offices of Drs. Bruce Saidman and Norman Schulman for making her progress possible.</p><p>A former Marine, Tom said while working in the construction field, he always tried to help others.</p><p>&#8220;If an older person didn&#8217;t have enough money to completely pay for a project, we&#8217;d give them a discount,&#8221; he said. &#8220;That&#8217;s who I am.&#8221;</p><p>Encouraged by their daughter and son-in-law, Donna and Tom have set up a gofundme account, something they never anticipated having to do.</p><p>The account is accessible by accessing gofundme.com and searching for &#8220;Donna Kline.&#8221;</p><style>
.neFileBlock {
	margin-bottom: 20px;
}
.neFileBlock p {
	margin: 0px 0px 0px 0px;
}
.neFileBlock .neFile {
	border-bottom: 1px dotted #aaa;
	padding-bottom: 5px;
	padding-top: 10px;
}
.neFileBlock .neCaption {
	font-size: 85%;
}
</style>
<div class='neFileBlock'>
<div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/web1_TTL102015KlineCouple.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Tom and Donna Kline, of Ashley, are struggling to pay medical bills for Donna&#8217;s cancer treatments. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/web1_TTL102015KlineCouple.jpg</photo0><caption0>Tom and Donna Kline, of Ashley, are struggling to pay medical bills for Donna&#8217;s cancer treatments. </caption0><photoCredit0></photoCredit0></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Geri Gibbons</p><p>ggibbons@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><factboxMeta><p><strong>For those who want to stop smoking: </strong></p><p>Access the American Cancer Society page at <a href="http://www.cancer.org/healthy/stayawayfromtobacco/guidetoquittingsmoking/guide-to-quitting-smoking-toc" target="_blank">http://www.cancer.org/healthy/stayawayfromtobacco/guidetoquittingsmoking/guide-to-quitting-smoking-toc. </a></p></factboxMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Geri Gibbons at 570-991-6117 or on Twitter @TLGgibbons</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Ashley resident Donna Kline, facing physical and financial battle with lung cancer, encourages people to stop smoking