Help Rudy Fight Brain Cancer!

My name is Jennifer, and I have been the loving wife of Rudy Aguirre for the past 23 years. Rudy (a middle school teacher) is a God-fearing man, a loving husband, and a father who loves his daughters, Katelyn, 20, and Kassilyn, 17, more than anything in the world!

 

Rudy's fight with brain cancer began in October 2017 when he was at the age of 37. One day in the middle of teaching, Rudy felt what he said was the worst headache of his life. We rushed to his doctor's office, and Rudy was getting an MRI within an hour. His doctor gave him some anti-nausea medication and told us to go home, and he would be calling us with the results that afternoon. We were walking in the door when his doctor called and said we needed to rush back to his office. When we got there, he gave us hospital admission papers. The MRI showed a large mass in his right frontal lobe. We spent one night at our local hospital, and the following day we were transferred by ambulance 5 hours away to MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, TX. Needless to say, in less than 24hours, our lives had been turned upside down.

 

In Houston, Rudy underwent a 17hr craniotomy to remove about a ¼ of his brain. The brain is such a marvelous organ; the doctors said that because his tumor showed to be a slow-growing tumor, Rudy wouldn't have any deficits because the part of the brain the doctors were taking was already dead, so the goal was not to damage any good brain tissue around the tumor. And the amazing doctors at MD Anderson did just as they planned. They removed the tumor, and Rudy had no lasting effects. However, unfortunately, the pathology report came back as brain cancer, Astrocytoma grade II. Rudy underwent 30 rounds of radiation. With God's strength, faith, prayers, love, and the support of his family and friends, Rudy overcame his fight with cancer. By January 2018, he was back in the classroom doing what he loves, teaching. He was on a cancer surveillance routine check-up schedule for the next five years.

 

In August 2021, Rudy began having seizures; however, his MRI scans for his surveillance check-up in August showed no abnormalities. His amazing neuro-oncologist wanted to be more conservative. Instead of an eight-month follow-up, she decided to do two-month follow-ups and put Rudy on anti-seizure medication. In January 2022, Rudy began having episodes of numbness and tingling to the left side of his face and left-hand fingers. His surveillance scans for January showed what we dreaded the most, two areas of concern that were suspicious for tumors. His oncologist had us return in 4 weeks for rescans and, if need be, a consultation with his neurosurgeon for a possible brain biopsy. To say the least, we were in disbelief. The four weeks passed, and the results of his scans in February were what felt like a gut punch. It was now confirmed they were indeed tumors and had shown growth. One tumor is on his right motor area, which explained the numbness and tingling episodes he had been experiencing, and the other tumor is in the deep center closer to the left side of his brain.

 

On March 4, 2022, Rudy underwent a brain tumor biopsy. On March 15, 2022, we were devastated to learn that Rudy would be fighting brain cancer once again. This time a more aggressive brain cancer, Astrocytoma Grade IV (Glioblastoma). Rudy will need several weeks of radiation and 12 5-week sessions of chemotherapy. We have a challenging year of fighting brain cancer ahead; however, our faith is strong, and we know God is in control.

 

And just like that, we have been plucked out of our normalcy. We are both teachers, and unfortunately, there is no extended sick leave with pay. We have to rely on the gracious sick day donations that other teachers can possibly give us to at least get us through the following weeks of Rudy's radiation treatments in Houston.

 

As one can imagine, the expenses of battling cancer are significant. We are still paying medical bills from his 2017 initial diagnosis, treatment, and his surveillance scans and follow-ups. Now, we have a more substantial financial challenge for treatment, travel, and maintaining living expenses without the certainty of our salary. No matter how small, your donations are a blessing to our family, and we thank you from the bottom of our hearts. We believe in the power of prayer and ask you to please share our story with others.

 

May God Bless you, and I leave you with some of Rudy's favorite scriptures, a quote, and a family video.

 

https://youtu.be/6eAlymEF8Gg

 

"If God is for us, who can be against us?"

-Romans 8:31

 

"But those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength. They shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint." -Isaiah 40:31

 

Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, 'Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous?' Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.

-Marianne Williamson