Thanks everyone for your replies! Now I won't waste any time looking for a patch panel. I found a fender in a junkyard by my house but the guy wants like $300 for the fender (it's damaged/wrecked but rust free and straight in the place where mine's rusted). I have no idea if this is a ripoff or if this is really what damaged fenders are going for? I have heard from other people around here that this guy is kind of a con artist so I will keep looking.
I need to take a better look at the entire fender underneath to see if there is a bunch more rust. This car spent its entire life up until a few years ago in Butte, Montana, and was driven often in the snow and road salt... so I'm sure the fender lip is rusty under the trim. I'll see what I can find out and keep you posted on how it goes. Thank you again!!
Here's a photo of the car in case you couldn't view the first one.
Best,
Stacie