Help Gary(JR) and His Family!

Hi!

My name is Katie Torkelson and Gary Myers (also known as JR) (38) is my oldest brother. I am putting together this fundraiser as a way to help my brother and his family.

JR has been sick for a few months and we were all shocked to learn the cause of why he had suddenly become so ill. JR went to the doctor February 14th, 2023. After realizing that most of his blood counts were off, a CT scan was preformed. The CT scan showed some spots in the lining of his stomach as well as a build up of fluid in his abdomen/lungs area. After waiting for what seemed forever (really only a little more than a week), JR was diagnosed with Peritoneal Mesothelioma.

Peritoneal Mesothelioma is a rare and aggressive cancer that affects the lining of the abdomen, known as the peritoneum. There is no cure. The current treatment plan is to lengthen JR's life as long as possible.

At this time, JR's best option for having a longer and better quality of life is immunotherapy. Immunotherapy works by modifying and improving the immune system's ability to recognize and eliminate cancer cells. JR will be traveling to Madison every three weeks (three hour roundtrip) to get the medication via intravenous as long as his body can handle it.

JR is a son, a brother, a loving husband to Emily, and most importantly- A father. JR is the father to four amazing children: Zander (17), Aubri (14), Mavrick (5), and Ryker (3). JR went from working around 60hrs a week to now being off of work for the past few months with no idea if or when he will be able to return to work. Thus, his wife Emily has been doing her best to work from home while still caring for JR and their children.

With JR being the main financial provider for the family, this news has been very hard/stressful in every way possible. My hopes in this fundraiser is to at least take a little bit of the financial stress away as that should be one of the last things they should have to worry about. My other hope for this fundraiser is to bring awareness to JR and his family's story as they should not feel alone in this fight.

The money donated will be used for gas, food, and any unexpected bills that accumulate. If you cannot donate, please share some kind messages for JR and his family as well as sharing this fundraiser since no one should ever have to fight this fight alone.

Thank you for taking the time to read this as well as any way that you can help. Our whole family appreciates anything provided to JR and his family as JR and his family are very loved and we will do anything possible to help them.