Help newly-weds Mandi & Nick fight against Lymphoma!

For those of you that know me, you have likely had the pleasure of meeting my best friend Mandi. She is an incredibly kind, outgoing and energetic person. As soon as you meet her you can’t help but enjoy her company. She recently got married this past August to the love of her life Nick. They also recently spent their honeymoon in Mexico and returned with hopes of starting a family together.

Shortly after their trip they both became sick with the flu. Thinking it was just something they caught on their trip they didn’t think much of it. Mandi got better but unfortunately Nick did not. As his symptoms grew worse he finally decided to take a trip to the emergency room in Kemptville to get checked out.

After reviewing his blood work the doctors recommended that he be transferred to the Ottawa General Hospital immediately for further testing as the results didn’t look good.

Upon arrival at the Ottawa General more tests were completed only to discover that Nick has been diagnosed with Burkitt Lymphoma. It is an aggressive form of Lymphoma that will require multiple rounds of chemotherapy, and other treatments in order for Nick to feel better.

Not all of these treatment options will be covered for him, and as a result his wife Mandi will be continuing to work as much as possible, while also taking care of her husband in the hospital. This will require many trips back and forth between Kemptville and Ottawa for her. It means she is trying her very best to keep up with a mortgage and bills while her husband is unable to work for what will be at minimum the next 6 months.

It also means that the family they were hoping to start together will now involve fertility treatments at the Ottawa Fertility Centre. All of which will cost a significant amount for them both.

In order to help relieve some of the financial burden for these two wonderful people, while they both struggle through this incredibly challenging and stressful time I am hoping we can raise some money to help make things a little easier for them both. Every little bit helps and I know they appreciate it so very much! Thank you to everyone that is able to help. Please send positive vibes and prayers their way so Nick can kick this cancers ass!

UPDATE: (from Mandi & Nick)

Hi everyone... It's been a minute since we have been able to provide an update. Nick unfortunately had a hematoma that occurred from the lumbar puncture, at this time the doctors were worried about nick becoming paralyzed from the constant pressure on the nerves in his spine. Nick was transferred from the general to the civic to meet with a specialist to see if surgery was an option to relieve the pressure. The specialists had decided that surgery would be too risky as Nick's platelets were too low and he wouldn't survive the surgery. The plan was to transfer Nick back to the general. While we were waiting for a bed to open up Nick got an infection. He was moved into the ICU at the civic where he became septic and his organs began to shut down. He became stable enough to transfer him back to the general where he was placed in the ICU. When he wasn't getting better the doctors had to intubate him and keep his sedated while they completed tests. Nick was intubated for 9 days. He was woken up on Wednesday February 5th. Nick is still fighting the infection but his vitals are stable and his organs are working better. Nick will have to fully fight the infection before he will be able to resume any chemo. We are happy to share nick is still able to move his legs and has started working with physio to get some of his strength back. We want to thank everyone for your constant support during this difficult time. We appreciate each and every one of you. Here is a photo nick wanted to take tonight. Please keep him in your prayers and positive thoughts!