Michelle, Josh and Baby Chaffee

Family, friends & to all others this may reach,

My name is Bryan Nolan and I’m writing to share my sister Michelle and brother-in-law Josh’s story to fundraise on their behalf.

Even though Josh & Michelle met 12 years ago, it wasn’t until recently that they reconnected and fell quickly in love. There was never a night or weekend where they weren’t trying new things, places, working together, playing board and card games like a classic old couple and just having fun together.

Being the typical older brother I was skeptical of anyone dating my sister. The plan when I first met Josh was to give him the cold shoulder and be judgmental . Well I’ll skip ahead and tell you that we instantly hit it off and in short time we became very close, in fact I was looking through messages & up until a few weeks ago, there was barely a day we went without talking or hanging out.

Josh has blended perfectly into our family.

Over the last 8 months, Michelle and Josh not only received the incredible news that they were becoming parents but also closed on their first official home together. Their next chapter of their life was unfolding and we were all so excited for it.

Their home was a fixer upper and they immediately jumped in on all kinds of projects to ready the house for their upcoming family of 3 (plus 2 dogs)!

In early May, Josh complained about some headaches and was treated for a sinus infection but the headaches never really went away. On May 22nd, after a beautiful day to shower baby Chaffee, while they both should have been unpacking so many perfect baby boy gifts, Michelle instead found herself at the ER with Josh. His headache was worse and more symptoms occurred & she knew something wasn’t right.

The CT scan that night showed swelling and a mass on his brain and in that very moment their world completely fell apart. Hospital stays, Josh's speech declining, doctors appointments, a biopsy and what has felt like years of waiting and Josh was officially diagnosed with a High Grade (4) Glioblastoma.

They now have gone from a 2 income family to a 1 income family and although Josh is insured, there are numerous medical procedures and unforeseen expenses that are not covered by insurance. On top of medical expenses, there are unfinished house projects, a new baby arriving in a very short 5 weeks & Michelle having to take time now from work, taking away from her maternity leave.

Just one month ago Josh had started a new job, they were excited to be doing projects around the house and couldn’t wait to meet their son in July. Now Josh is being referred to hospice services & Michelle has to make decisions some of us will never have to face.

Michelle and Josh mean the world to me but I know are never the type to ask for help. They are the ones who always want to help others instead. The amount of support we have seen so far in so many ways has made such big impacts already in their lives but I needed to try and continue that support during this devastating time.

Any donation you make will be going directly to Michelle, Josh and Baby Chaffee. No amount is too small and every bit is more than appreciated.