Helping Nichol become cancer free

     I would like to tell you a story of friendship and love. A story written over the last 18 years. One full of highs and lows, where the two of us added love to the story in the form of our 3 children. She is a mother, a wife, and a friend not only to me, but to so many people.  She has worn many hats in her life, all of which have enriched the lives of others.  A cub scout leader, a Doula for new mothers, a midwife assistant, a CERT member in her community, and someone wise in knowledge and guidance for so many of you reading this.

     Now she is in the fight of her life. A fight for her life and she needs your help. Her path started on September 19th when she was diagnosed with Soft Tissue Sarcoma. The tumor was in the psoas muscle of her left leg. She received chemotherapy and was scheduled for radiation, but before that could happen it grew too fast and too large, so it was decided to remove it from her and within days she was off to surgery. The surgery was a success and the tumor removed. There were setbacks including a severe infection in the surgery site which extended her hospital stay to almost 3 weeks and delayed her next chemotherapy treatments. After a month of delays, we found out that her cancer had spread to her lungs and had grown so fast that her breathing was compromised.  Her doctor decided to try another round of chemotherapy to try to shrink or slow the progression of the tumors in her lungs.  It did not work. The cancer did not respond.
 
     There is a cancer treatment drug being tested in Denver, CO which was believed to be able to attack her cancer at the genetic level. This was her only hope and we asked for your help with finances to get our family to Colorado.  You responded in a BIG way! 

     We traveled to Denver for what ended up being 6 weeks.  When we arrived Nichol was up to 5L/hour of oxygen and in a wheelchair due to the extreme weakness the Cancer had caused and the elevation of the city itself.  What we experienced in Denver was no less than a miracle.  After less than 2 weeks on the study drug Nichol was able to reduce her oxygen use to 2L/hour and was out of the wheelchair except for long walks, after 4 weeks she only used it when she slept or was out walking being completely out of the wheelchair. By the time we return to Oregon she was off oxygen completely and other than her nearly bald head looked as if she'd never been sick.  The study drug has worked better than we could have hoped! Thank you all for your help to get us to Denver. Without you we very well could have lost  her. 


     The way that this drug works, Nichol will have to be on it for the rest of her life in order to suppress her cancer. For this to happen she has to travel to Denver every 4 weeks for blood work and other tests such as CT scans. With the cost of airfare, food, and other expenses on top of the cost of her medical care it has put our already stretched budget under some serious strain. 

     So we are again asking for help. Any little bit can make a huge difference.  Before Denver, we never dreamed how huge.  Now we have faith that everything will work out if we believe.  Grace and Blessings have poured out to our family, not the least of which is having Nichol still with us to be a mother to our three kids and wife to me. Please, if you can, lend a hand to see that it stays that way.


 Nichol's Story on Denver Now ‌ ‌