Stappert Family Fight Cancer Fund

If you’ve ever taken even one English class you probably know that foreshadowing is a tool writers use to hint to readers what adventures lay before them.   I had no idea at the time that the first time I met Travis and witnessed him building a table in his living room for his family was one of these foreshadowing moments. Though it was not so much indicative of the adventures that lay ahead, it was truly indicative of his character. 

Together, he and his wife Amanda love three boys who enjoy the cooking channel, football, and baseball.  They lean on each other and love each other through everything and have navigated the tumultuous oceans of life more gracefully than anyone I have ever witnessed in the flesh.  Together and apart they have suffered more loss and heartache than most ever will. Their story is thick with heartbreak and trying to share it in a few short sentences will surely not do justice, but for them, I will try.

Almost immediately after I met Amanda and Travis I slowly but surely began hearing their stories of life.  I learned how Amanda had traumatically lost her sister just a couple of years prior to the date they were to be married.  I watched as as some weeks prior to their wedding Amanda’s dad had suffered  an awful accident leaving her heavy with responsibility that she still bears. I saw Travis lose his sister to cancer shortly before they married. And now,  just shy of their one-year anniversary, Travis has been diagnosed with stage-three Melanoma. The loss and heartache I have listed here, does not even cover it all.

Before his diagnosis, Travis spent his days building, working, cooking and caring for the family he cherishes. He made jokes, he laughed hard, acted kindly and loved fully. He made the decision to just love Amanda through it all, and that is a decision that he has stuck to through and through.  Despite everything that has been laid at their feet, they still continue to love and feel for other people. I actually don’t think I have ever heard Travis whisper a piece of a complaint even as I’m giving him a ride, b


I must tell you now that the table he built that first day we met is no longer just a table to me, but a testament to the character that was foreshadowed to me the first time we met.  This character is only solidified again in the wishes he shared with me shortly after his diagnosis as he candidly told me that he doesn’t care about what he goes through or what he must now endure and that truly; the only thing that concerns him is his family’s well being. 

So it is here that I ask you to prayerfully and thoughtfully consider making a donation to support Travis and his family with both treatment and living expenses.  It is my hope that with your generosity, Amanda and Travis will be able to focus only on what is important. Together we can help support Travis’ dream of ensuring his family is okay a reality sooner than later.  

Every prayer, every thought, every donation brings a much needed moment of joy to Travis and his family.  So from the bottom of all of our hearts, thank you.

-Shannon

Photographer, Friend and Loving member of #teamstappert