Brenda Koch

Family & Friends,

When I entered Senior Noncommissioned Officer Academy (SNCOA) at the end of August 2022, I could never have guessed or prepared for the whirlwind of what the following months would entail for my family and I.

My very first week of SNCOA started with multiple calls from family members - “just to see how my TDY was going.” All of us who share the common bond of military service know that’s odd. Red flags and warning bells rang and I knew something was up. What we initially thought was a possible stroke, turned out to be far worse than any of us could have imagined for my stepmother. On 11 September 2022, my stepmother, Brenda Koch, was diagnosed with a rare form of brain cancer called primary central nervous system lymphoma; an aggressive form of lymphoma, and is currently being treated by the Barnes Center in St. Louis, Mo.

Her course of treatment has entailed weeks and weeks of inpatient care, outpatient treatment, blood transfusions, platelet transfusions, countless medications, and now we are about to embark on stem cell treatments. Unfortunately for her, her fight is not over and we still have at least 10 more months of treatment.

Up until recently, my father has endured almost daily drives back and forth to my home town of Quincy, Illinois (2 1/2 - 3 hrs away). He has lovingly provided around the clock care to his wife as her health drastically declined to the point where she could no longer bathe, walk, use the bathroom, get dressed, or do anything without assistance. She is slowly starting to regain some of her strength, but continues to have set backs. After all, healing is not a perfect process.

Never would I have thought I would be on the other end of the Shirt table, receiving Red Cross messages, needing my Shirt to write and route letters to allow me to finish SNCOA virtually, and help me expedite my humanitarian request.

3 months later, Taylor and I PCS’d to Scott AFB, IL on a humanitarian assignment. Now that I am at Scott, we have moved my parents down with us for the foreseeable future so we can help care for my stepmother and help relieve some of the financial strain.

Cancer is not pretty. Caring for someone who can no longer care for themselves is not pretty. These are the parts of life that aren’t easy. It’s hard. Really hard.

What I also learned is cancer is extremely expensive. The medications, gas to and from STL, insurance premiums, hospital equipment, in home health care, adult diapers, over the counter medication, etc., is expensive. I guess being in the military and having TRICARE has lead to my naivety. I was surprised to see how little insurance covers at times. To make matters worse, she cannot work and she has not been approved for disability yet. But, as you know, that doesn’t stop the hospital bills and expenses from coming.

If you can financially afford to donate any money to help my father and stepmother during this very difficult time, my family and I would be so extremely grateful. I know not everyone is in a financial position to be able to help- prayers and good thoughts are always appreciated, welcomed, and go a long way!

These funds will go towards medical expenses, medications, and medical bills as we continue to move forward through treatment.

With love and gratitude,

The Rogal, Alexander, & Koch Families