The Scherf Family Fund
Donation protected
Only four months after being told he had stage four cancer, Chris Scherf died to this world on December 14, 2020, less than a week after his fortieth birthday. This fund is being gathered in order to help cover the cost of unsettled medical expenses while Chris battled cancer as well as provide some long term and short term support for Chris’s wife, Sarah (38), and his four children, Jesse (8), Ruthie (7), Andrew (4), and Mary (2).
Chris was the primary source of income for his family and unfortunately did not have life insurance. The goal of raising $100,000 has been set in order to hopefully cover a known medical expense of $6,000 and the remaining $94,000 on their house’s mortgage, but we would love to raise even more in order to allow Sarah and her kids the time and space they need to process this significant and sudden change to their family. All donations will go directly to Chris’s wife Sarah Scherf. Any amount—however large or small—will be a great comfort and, we hope, a blessing to you as much as it will be for this family.
You may read Chris and Sarah's story in their own beautiful words here .
Any questions about donations, credit card fees, or any other ideas about ways to help the Scherf family can be sent by contacting the fundraising organizer listed below.
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Chris Scherf’s Full Story:
In early August 2020 at the end of a family vacation, Chris Scherf went into the emergency room in the middle of the night because he was experiencing acute abdominal pain. A CT scan later, he was told that he had stage four cancer that was believed to have originated in his stomach and had already spread to his liver. This, of course, came as a complete shock to him, his wife, his four young children, and all of his family and friends. The news began a season of waiting and worry but, most importantly, a season of earnest prayer. Friends and family began gathering around Chris regularly to pray for healing and peace.
Within weeks, Chris’s physical health had deteriorated faster than anyone, including doctors, expected. Weeks passed and even after multiple tissue samples no one could give Chris a specific diagnosis in order to begin treatment. Two months after his original emergency room visit, Chris was admitted to the hospital with difficulty breathing. Chris’s health continued to decline in the hospital, but eventually he received a diagnosis. Chris had Follicular Dendritic Cell Sarcoma, a form of cancer so rare that only a few hundred cases have been reported worldwide over the last 30 years.
Targeted chemotherapy was attempted but Chris’s cancer was advanced and his body was weak. Surrounded by people that loved him, Chris died to this world on December 14, 2020.
When Chris spoke about the moment he was first told he had cancer in the ER, he explained how he was deeply saddened to realize he might be leaving his family soon but that, even in that moment, he also felt excitedly drawn into the presence of his Heavenly Father. Those close to Chris, though mourning, take great comfort in the rest and peace Chris has now received on the other side of this earthly life.
Chris was the primary source of income for his family and unfortunately did not have life insurance. The goal of raising $100,000 has been set in order to hopefully cover a known medical expense of $6,000 and the remaining $94,000 on their house’s mortgage, but we would love to raise even more in order to allow Sarah and her kids the time and space they need to process this significant and sudden change to their family. All donations will go directly to Chris’s wife Sarah Scherf. Any amount—however large or small—will be a great comfort and, we hope, a blessing to you as much as it will be for this family.
You may read Chris and Sarah's story in their own beautiful words here .
Any questions about donations, credit card fees, or any other ideas about ways to help the Scherf family can be sent by contacting the fundraising organizer listed below.
-
Chris Scherf’s Full Story:
In early August 2020 at the end of a family vacation, Chris Scherf went into the emergency room in the middle of the night because he was experiencing acute abdominal pain. A CT scan later, he was told that he had stage four cancer that was believed to have originated in his stomach and had already spread to his liver. This, of course, came as a complete shock to him, his wife, his four young children, and all of his family and friends. The news began a season of waiting and worry but, most importantly, a season of earnest prayer. Friends and family began gathering around Chris regularly to pray for healing and peace.
Within weeks, Chris’s physical health had deteriorated faster than anyone, including doctors, expected. Weeks passed and even after multiple tissue samples no one could give Chris a specific diagnosis in order to begin treatment. Two months after his original emergency room visit, Chris was admitted to the hospital with difficulty breathing. Chris’s health continued to decline in the hospital, but eventually he received a diagnosis. Chris had Follicular Dendritic Cell Sarcoma, a form of cancer so rare that only a few hundred cases have been reported worldwide over the last 30 years.
Targeted chemotherapy was attempted but Chris’s cancer was advanced and his body was weak. Surrounded by people that loved him, Chris died to this world on December 14, 2020.
When Chris spoke about the moment he was first told he had cancer in the ER, he explained how he was deeply saddened to realize he might be leaving his family soon but that, even in that moment, he also felt excitedly drawn into the presence of his Heavenly Father. Those close to Chris, though mourning, take great comfort in the rest and peace Chris has now received on the other side of this earthly life.
Organizer and beneficiary
Amy Kross
Organizer
Birmingham, AL
Sarah Scherf
Beneficiary