Support Heather and Garth After the Tragic Loss of Azure

Heather and Garth, tragically lost their daughter and our beloved niece, Azure Merinne Hippe, at 35 years old, due to medical complications that began during a routine hospital visit. After 15 years of battling Ovarian cancer, Azure was getting ready for discharge from the hospital to start the first in a series of breakthrough cancer treatments. But just a few days before discharge, she unexpectedly developed septic shock. She entered the ICU the day she was set to go home and died fourteen days later surrounded by her devastated family.

Why are we asking for $47,000? Azure’s total expenses for the last year of her life and after her passing were more than $47,000, but 47 was Azure’s affinity number, from one of her favorite shows, Alias. In honor of Azure, we are asking for your help to raise this for Heather and Garth who lost over $23,000 in wages alone, while supporting Azure in the hospital and ICU, with one of them always with her 24/7, until she passed. Because Azure was diagnosed with ovarian cancer when she was 21 years old, it was too late to get affordable life insurance for Azure. Instead, they focused on doing all that they could for her healing. All of Azure’s expenses to care for her body and honor her courageous life are on top of all of the other expenses from her last year of her life.

Not only has this been absolutely emotionally devastating, but also financially devastating to Azure's family, as everyone was preparing for her promising treatments and not her sudden passing. Your contribution will help with Azure's funeral costs, memorial and celebration of Life to honor her beloved life, lost wages for time off work to take care of her and her affairs and grieve, and family grief therapy from the trauma of her unexpected and tragic ICU experience, so they can focus on the memory and legacy of Azure.

All of these financial worries in the middle of such tragic loss have been overwhelming. Help us support them in any way you can. Your contribution, no matter how small, will make a significant difference and be deeply appreciated. Also, if you would, please share our fundraiser with your friends and family on social media to spread the word. A simple share can make a big difference for them.

For those who don't know Azure or want to know more about why we are asking for help: Azure died in the hospital shortly before her 36th birthday after a series of medical errors that led to her developing hospital acquired pneumonia along with a medication allergy that caused her to hemorrhage. This unfortunately took weeks to be figured out. Though she seemed to improve once the medication was stopped, and she improved enough to be discharged, her body had already begun to develop septic shock. She ultimately died from respiratory and heart failure caused by septic shock.

After 15 years of trying to heal her body from a rare form of stage 3C Low Grade Serous Ovarian Cancer, countless failed treatments, and numerous extensive and grueling surgeries, Azure was set to start not just one, but a series of breakthrough treatments that were identified through the PARIS test by SEngine Precision Medical and the University of Washington. Many of these treatments were tested on organoids grown from biopsies of Azure’s own tumors and found to be highly effective at killing the cancer with only minimal and mild side effects.

We were finally filled with so much real hope. We knew that from these treatments, Azure would truly have the chance to experience the healing results she had yet to experience, because this PARIS test had already been changing the lives of other women, finding them novel and highly effective treatments for their own difficult to treat cancers.

Azure was so close to changing the tide in her battle with cancer. She was grateful beyond words and excited for these unprecedented treatments. We all were!

Azure loved life and was determined to live her life and follow her dreams no matter what it took, despite years of overwhelming pain, countless surgeries and setbacks. Azure truly embraced life with passion and determination. She fought fiercely to live, dreaming of adventures that included traveling to find the best beach on the west coast, attending concerts, cooking delicious food that she hadn’t been able to eat for two years, and one day adopting children to share her love with. Her heart was filled with compassion for all animals and a deep appreciation for nature. She wanted to help heal the oceans, grow her own food, tend bees and help people in need however she could.

Thank you so much for any amount you're able to share and for passing along this story to others who also may be able to help Heather and Garth focus on healing and recovering during this unexpected and tragic turn in Azure's life.

~ Our deepest thanks, Wendy Conarro, Mary Bower, Johnathon Bower, and Katie Behan Azure's Aunts and Uncle