Good Ol Boy

All around good guy, DJ Stewart has much to be thankful for and this is not lost on him. If All You Need Is Love, then this story would be complete because DJ appears to have won the Love, Family and Friends lottery. In spite of all the love, DJ has been presented with some health challenges lately which he's approached head-on, with positivity and faith. Clearly, DJ is a loved man, but more than that, he's a survivor, a champion, and a badass. But first, DJ's story. DJ went to the doctor for knee pain in September 2018 and walked out with a Leiomyosarcoma (smooth tissue cancer) stage I diagnosis. Because he caught it early, he feels he has beaten it with 2 surgeries. DJ IS a SURVIVOR. With that in the rear view mirror, he approached 2019 head on! DJ proposed to Erin, the love of his life, in March 2019. With big plans for a lifetime together, DJ and Erin closed on their first home together in just April. In May 2019, DJ had a seizure at work and was diagnosed with a Glioblastoma, a complicated brain tumor. This tumor is unrelated to the cancer which attacked him just 10 months prior. For the Glioblastoma, a craniotomy was performed in May just days after the seizure with subsequent treatment to include radiation, chemotherapy, Gamma Knife surgery and the use of an Optune therapy device. DJ expects to wear his Optune device 24/7 for the next two years and only removes it every few days for a short while. In the midst of all this, DJ and Erin's love story and plight won the favor of Kansas City. DJ and Erin won a dream wedding and reception. Their wedding was televised in June of 2019 from the heart of the West Bottoms District in Kansas City, which incidentally is the same space Erin was hoping to source. Late in 2019, DJ and Erin won an all expenses paid honeymoon which they took early spring in 2020. Everyone loves a good love story with a happy ending. For DJ and Erin, their story is just beginning. At the one year anniversary of DJ's craniotomy, DJ had a recurrent glioma in May, 2020 which necessitated a second craniotomy. In DJ's words, "a minor setback for a major comeback!" Unlike the first brain surgery, this one was in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic so the family was not allowed inside the hospital because of the shutdown. Nevertheless, Erin was able to FaceTime just hours post op when DJ demonstrated that you can't change the spots on the leopard! A screenshot captured his smile and the love between them and his only complaint was that he was a little sore. Do what? YES, he really IS that nice of a guy. Once again, he demonstrates that he's a warrior, a champion and a badass! So that DJ can receive the most advanced, ground breaking treatment anywhere, he's going to MD Anderson Cancer Center in the world renowned Texas Medical Center. DJ and family will travel to Houston next week to receive the best possible treatment, because nothing should stand in the way of the best treatment. with a serious diagnosis. On behalf of DJ Stewart and family, this GoFundMe has been created and updated to assist with immediate and ongoing medical expenses and travel to enable DJ to get the most advanced cancer treatment available. I'm asking you to walk hand in hand with DJ on this journey by doing what you can to facilitate this journey by making a contribution to this GoFundMe and by sharing DJ's story within your own circle of influence. Together, we will kick ass on this cancer thus enabling DJ and Erin to write their own story. Much thanks for the outpouring of love and support.