Pete and Jesska Support Fund

"In April of 2022 Pete and I went to the emergency room in hopes of getting migraine medication for a relentless headache he'd been having. It had been a month of pain, nothing was working, and the health insurance from his new job still hadn't kicked in. Instead of a migraine, it turned out Peter had a large tumor in his frontal lobe. A craniotomy was performed to remove the mass, and he was diagnosed with grade four Glioblastoma Multiforme, a particularly aggressive and terminal brain cancer. Ever since, we've been navigating all of the changes and treatments as privately as possible. This might be the first time many of you are hearing, but if you know Pete, you know he is strong and stubborn and deeply uncomfortable with the idea of people bringing over a casserole or asking whether he needs anything. It's been isolating. Most people were beginning to relax their covid protocols as we were intensifying ours, separating us from our community. After radiation, months of chemo, and a trial drug through UCSF, the tumor came back in February. Another brain surgery and many more medications followed, but the tumors have continued to progress. Pete and I got married May 20th after more than ten years together. It was a beautiful day I will never forget. In the last year we took a few small trips, we had some hard conversations, we treated each other sweetly. Now things have changed again.

Two weeks ago, July 27th, he had a large seizure that took the time I hoped we had left. He is in a stage that is a lot like dementia, here but not here. This is such a heartbreaking loss on so many levels as Pete's analytical mind, pragmatism, and sweetness kept everything blooming around us. I can't stop thinking about his recipes, his wines, his art, he was the keeper of so much of our history. He remembered every place we ever went, restaurants, freeways, and

dates. The world suddenly feels like a much smaller place without the wisdom of this man I love so much. I'm not the only person reeling from change at the end stage of this disease. Pete is so well loved by his big family and many friends, having played in bands for years, operating his record label, working with Maximum Rocknroll for more than twenty years, etc., we've been lucky enough to have people rallying to offer the around the clock care he needs to stay comfortable now.

However, I have a few more asks. Please don't reach out to him directly now, but leave a message for him here, or message me with something you would like me to share with him: a memory or a well wish. I might not text you back, I'm exhausted and overwhelmed most days, I can't seem to remember much of anything anymore, but know I will share every word. Also if you are able to offer any financial support it would go a long way for food, care, upcoming funeral expenses, THERAPY, and every other thing you can imagine that comes up in a time like this. Thank you so much for considering, we love y'all so much. "

-Jesska