Please help Randy Maertz's battle against cancer!

Hello to all of the friends and family of our Daly/Maertz clan. With a heavy heart we have some hard news to share, Randy has been diagnosed with Stage 4 Follicular Non Hodgkins Lymphoma.

Randy Maertz is a golf loving, slightly OCD, dry humor kind of guy and a truly great one at that. Being Lori Daly’s partner of nearly 10 years, he has become a beloved part of our family and this community. As Lori’s daughters, we’ve been blessed to have a close knit family who stands together and have gained Randy and his wonderful family in the process. Our family is also lucky to have so many connections in this community due to Lori and (ex husband) Steve Daly’s long history in Valpo. Lori has been the Director at the Porter County Expo Center for 10 years this year and Steve Daly is the proud owner of Perma Green of Valparaiso Inc. Both of our parents have been involved in the community regarding charity work through the Kiwanis Club as well as volunteering their time and money for events such as the Special Kids Special Needs Golf Outing (recently renamed Lorrie Woycik Special Kids Golf Classic), Hilltop House, The Caring Place, and more. Knowing that our parents have these wonderful local connections and great relationships, we are asking for some help.

Back in September of 2023, Randy began experiencing lower back pain. After a few too many ER visits and some testing done over the course of the last two months when the origin was still not discovered, the spinal doctor found that he had 2 tumors on his spine and a third in the vicinity as well. After seeing a specialist, it was determined one of the masses was embedded in/wrapping around his spinal cord and could cause paralysis. This became an immediate concern and he was able to get in for surgery on February 9th. The doctor removed as much of that specific mass as possible for biopsy and to alleviate the immediate danger. To do this required a severing and subsequent fusion of 3 vertebrae with screws and rods just to get to the mass. While Randy is currently recovering well from the back surgery, the whirlwind of testing, doctors’ appointments, and treatment planning have already begun. There are still many unanswered questions of what lies ahead, but they are starting with 6 rounds of chemotherapy as soon as possible. While all of this is happening, Randy has recently gone on short term disability. It is a blessing to still have some income while Randy is unable to work, but the bills have already begun to pile up. We all know too well that even the best insurance doesn’t cover enough to help the financial strain a major medical diagnosis can cause. That is why our family has decided to ask for help.

Randy is a private person and the kind that would not ask for any assistance on his own. He would rather help someone that is in need then ask for help himself. So here we are… with a cancer diagnosis and asking if you have the ability to help in any capacity, it would truly make a difference. Even just sharing this GoFundMe if you cannot donate yourself would be so greatly appreciated. We have set the goal knowing that the current stack of medical bills does not even include his back surgery or the upcoming cancer treatments. Randy will be the sole beneficiary of this fundraiser and we will try to keep everyone updated as the treatment plan is determined, but in the meantime, prayers and positive thoughts would be cherished. From our family to yours, thank you for the love and support.

Cassie Noel & Cydney Daly