Cathy Day's Cancer Fight

Mark Finn is organising this fundraiser.

Donation protected

Back in June of 2018, my wife Cathy was diagnosed with ovarian cancer, stage 3. This revelation came in the middle of my own health crisis, and knocked us out of commission for the rest of the year. Cathy is currently undergoing chemotherapy and taking blood thinners to remove a blood clot in her leg as we await her inevitable surgery. I will be having two minor surgeries at the end of the year that, while necessary for my health and survival going forward, will require two weeks of recovery time. On top of all of this comes our insurance renewal and we are uncertain if we'll get to keep our existing plan, or if we will have to switch, and if they will allow our extant pre-existing conditions. Both surgeries will happen AFTER our deductible has reset.

That's a lot to deal with, along with ongoing expenses, a brace of prescriptions, and regular trips to see doctors in Wichita Falls and the Metroplex.

Our friends have been so helpful and encouraging with well-wishes and support and we were hoping we wouldn't have to do this, but the recent discovery of the clot in Cathy's leg has forced our hand.

The amount above covers our out of pocket expenses that we have already incurred, and will have to pay out at the beginning of the year. Some of the fees associated with my surgeries are not covered by insurance, either. Finally, the above amount includes time when we won't be able to work, but still need to eat food.

Many of our friends and family, and many of my fans, have expressed an interest in helping out. We are profoundly grateful and humbled by all of this. Your positive energy has kept Cathy afloat on many days when she was overwhelmed by side-effects from the chemotherapy and the medicines that go with it. If you are so inclined, we are appreciative of any donation. If you live near us in North Texas and would like to do something more immediate and face-to-face, one of our friends set up a Meal Train account for us that you can check out here.

As Cathy and I were raised by Baby Boomers and feel tremendous guilt at even asking for this kind of help, I have decided that anyone who makes a donation of $25 dollars or more will get a PDF copy of our wedding comic, On Our Marry Way, emailed to them. This was an actual comic book we gave out at our wedding and later sold through Diamond Comic Distributors in 2004. I wrote the stories, and my artist friends provided the artwork; John Lucas, Bobby Diaz, Bill Williams, Jeff Parker, Doug Potter, Shannon Wheeler, and Martin Thomas all gave up time and talent to make the comic one of the highlights of the wedding. If you like stories about how people meet people, and fall in love, then On Our Marry Way is the romance comic for you!

My surgeries happen in Early December. With luck, Cathy's surgery will take place in January or February. This will be followed up with more chemotherapy. We're not out of the woods yet, but we are keeping our heads up and taking great joy and comfort in the people who matter to us: friends and family, neighbors and fans. And of course, each other and our goofy dog, Sonya. It's been a difficult, emotional year for us, and yet, we are closer than ever.