Support Doug's Family After His Brave Battle

Our family did not feel comfortable asking for donations. However, this is in response to many people asking for this to be set up this past year. There are many massive, outstanding medical and other bills associated with this last year’s journey. If friends, family, and perhaps even strangers would like to donate, we wanted to provide a place where they could do so. Thank you, Nate, Doug’s Brother.

Doug’s story

One year ago on 21 October, my brother and I were hiking up in Evergreen, CO. I noticed he wasn’t steady on his feet. I had noticed a few neurological signs over the previous couple of weeks and thought maybe he had a stroke. I convinced him to go to the emergency room and he agreed. They did a CT scan and they found a 6 cm mass on his right frontal lobe. They immediately admitted him into the hospital. This was a Sunday. They scheduled surgery for the following Thursday. But the next day, the tumor was so large and advanced that his brain herniated and he died in the hospital. They revived him and took him in for emergency neurosurgery. His chances of surviving the surgery were small. And then they said he would never walk, talk, swallow, etc. He ended up accomplishing everything except for fully walking. He was a true miracle. But in September, after a nice run of seven months cancer-free, the tumor came back as it does. Glioblastoma is one of the most aggressive cancers, and nobody beats this diagnosis. We were given more time with my brother, but ultimately he succumbed to the disease, passing away on November 11, 2024.

It’s been a remarkable ride that I’ve been next to him the entire time. As long as my brother fights, I fight. Here are a few highlights that I recall that Doug has battled this past year:

- Blood clots everywhere in his body, including a massive one in his brain & lungs

- Pneumonia

- UTI that triggered sepsis (70% of people that die in hospitals die from sepsis)

- Covid while he was still recovering from all the above

- Seizures

- Recurrence of brain cancer (tumors)

- Li-Fraumeni syndrome

In May this year, my mother also passed away. Her heart gave out; she was a casualty of Doug’s diagnosis also. One month later, my sister lost her nearly four-year battle with a very rare and aggressive cancer.