Help Ivy and Bohte family Fight Embryonal Rhabdomyosarcoma

Dear Friends and Family,

I’m reaching out to share some deeply personal news and to ask for your support for a beloved young child in our family. My cousin Jeff and his wife Mercedes have recently received terrifying and heartbreaking news that no parent should ever have to face. Their sweet 3-year-old daughter, Ivy, has been diagnosed with Embryonal Rhabdomyosarcoma, a rare and aggressive form of cancer primarily affecting children.

Ivy has a tumor, roughly the size of an eggplant, on her kidneys. The tumor was discovered after she began experiencing pain initially diagnosed as a UTI. Despite multiple trips to urgent care and the ER, Ivy's symptoms worsened, and further testing revealed a mass during an ultrasound. On March 21st, Jeff and Mercedes made the difficult journey from their home in Grand Junction to the Children’s Hospital in Aurora, where Ivy immediately underwent extensive tests and screenings, while also receiving pain management care.  Since then, results from biopsies, blood tests, MRIs, and ultrasounds have been continuously reviewed.  A PET scan on March 28th confirmed that, thankfully, the cancer has not spread—a relief for which we are incredibly grateful.

As a parent to a 4-year-old myself, I cannot begin to fathom the emotional toll Jeff and Mercedes are enduring. Ivy, along with her younger brother Max, is dearly loved by all my family and me. Jeff is an ER Tech at a hospital in Grand Junction and serves as a Technical Sergeant and Flight Medic in the United States Air Force Reserve, based in Colorado Springs. Mercedes is the head softball coach at Colorado Mesa University.

Doctors have informed Jeff and Mercedes that Ivy will require extensive chemotherapy treatments, Radiation and surgery for 42 weeks to fight this cancer. This marks the beginning of a long, difficult, and stressful journey, with both parents facing uncertainty regarding their ability to work and Jeff's military service commitments.

We are humbly asking for your support in any form—whether through financial contributions or your prayers and positive thoughts—to help Ivy, Jeff, Mercedes, and Max through this incredibly challenging time. Donations will be used solely for medical and travel expenses. Any assistance is deeply appreciated.

Jeff has always been close family to me, my siblings, and my mother. Growing up together, he has always felt more like a brother to me. His children are my niece and nephew, and Mercedes has become a cherished sister-in-law. This is not Jeff’s first experience with cancer, as his father, our uncle Andy, tragically passed away in his thirties due to the disease. While that loss was devastating for Jeff, nothing compares to the heartbreak of facing this battle with his own child.

Please keep Ivy and her family in your thoughts and prayers. If you are able to contribute to the fundraising efforts, it would mean the world to us. Thank you, and God bless.