Help Opal Thai through family illness

Opel's wife, Aoy, was diagnosed almost two years ago with carcinoma and neuroendocrine cancer. Since then, the family has done their best to balance her treatments with keeping the restaurant open to serve the customers that have become family over so many years. Opel and Aoy, with the addition of their son, Lio, have been a strong team bringing their desire to share good Thai food with the island for the past 16 years. The family is the heart and soul of Opal Thai, and this struggle of Aoy's has been shouldered and felt deeply by them all. They have stood strong together through all challenges, and this has been their greatest one yet. Opel has been by her side for the past two years of surgeries, visits, treatments--always making sure she is taken care of, as he always has us all.

Unfortunately, her last scan in June revealed a large tumor along her spine, necessitating further surgery in late August. The surgery went very well, and we are still waiting for results of the outcome. Aoy has been lucky enough to have been put into a specialized drug treatment program and will be only the 38th person on island to receive it. This is the third surgery she's undergone and the third time the restaurant has been closed for a period of time for her recovery. In the past, we've been able to weather this challenges on our own, but the struggle has gotten too big for just our small family.

Due to the severity and agression of this last bout of tumors, Opel, Aoy, and Lio were once again faced with the difficult choice to shutter the restaurant. They are hoping to return sometime in the next few months, but until then, medical treatments and keeping the restaurant on hold for a third period have been a financial challenge. For this reason, we've started this GoFundMe campaign. The money will help the family manage the expenses required to continue holding onto the restaurant with the hopes they can soon return. The progress of her treatment over the next couple months will help to determine whether she will regain the strength and ability to step back into the kitchen once more, or whether the best decision for the whole family will be to step down and give her a longer break to recover. As she fights this battle, we humbly ask for prayers and financial support from family and friends.

Anyone who knows Aoy knows she is an amazingly loving person--someone who would drop anything to help you and a person who deeply cares about all those she has come into contact with. We thank the Opal family from the bottom of our hearts for all of their support over the years and especially these past two years when things have been so challenging. We hope that we will see you again soon and you will all be able to enjoy Aoy's cooking once more! ❤️

Lots of love,

Opel, Aoy, and Lio