Mama Lu and Papa Wu!

Yeezy K Lu is organizing this fundraiser on behalf of Helen Wu.

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Hi, we are 2 brothers and a sister, Kevin, David, and Helen.

I (Kevin) will be sharing this story on our behalf, which is the same story behind the above photo, which I also happened to share on Facebook. I haven't explained the photo to most of you on Facebook, so I hope the following will be worth the long read.

Both of our parents were diagnosed with stomach cancer in 2015.

Dad was diagnosed in March, and he soon began neo-adjuvant chemotherapy, which was extremely rough on him, and he could only finish 6 of the 9 weeks. He was supposed to have surgery in September, but Mom was diagnosed in August. Dad was more concerned about our mom than himself, and he delayed his surgery while her work-up was sorted out. Unfortunately, our mom was very scared of chemotherapy and surgery, and time was not on our side. From my perspective, there was an extra twist of cruelty in this because it seemed like Dad didn't want to have his definitive surgical treatment without her.

After multiple ER visits and ICU admissions for both Mom and Dad, Mom's condition really worsened rapidly the last 1.5 months and another CT scan was done Dec. 31st showing obvious obstruction. She hadn't been able to keep any food or water down since mid December. Cleveland Clinic was able to get both of our parents in last minute January 11th 2016 for surgery.

All 3 of us made it to Cleveland to be there with them, and they were supposed to have total gastrectomies on the same day, one immediately after the other. We thought this was going to be a big step forward, but unfortunately, both operations had to be aborted midway because both were found to have spread to other organs, and thus proved to be unresectable.

Mom had lost so much weight, weighing 77 lbs the day before her surgery. She has tubes now for her obstruction and nutrition that were placed during the surgery.

Our option now for her is chemotherapy to control the spread, but she cannot start until she regains weight and nutritional status because of the tremendous burden of the chemotherapy.

Unfortunately, her cancer has turned aggressive and by the time she puts enough weight back on from the tube feeds to start chemo, the cancer may have spread to the point where the doctors would just recommend palliative care...we pray to God that this doesn't happen.

For Dad, chemotherapy and radiation as soon as possible.

But both are incurable.

I will share a side story about my mom. She recently became a Christian, along with my dad, during her battle with cancer. I am glad she found God. The night before her surgery, she told me how these people she really only just met had showed so much support for her, as they had collected a small donation on her behalf to help with medical costs. She took so much comfort in that. Of course, friends from our close Chinese community had also come together to help with some of the medical costs, but she just couldn't get over the fact that strangers in her new church could find it in their heart to donate to her and my dad.

The funds donated here would be used towards our parents' medical expenses, namely, the recent surgeries and hospital stay. Any additional leftover donations would go towards their future medical bills/house mortgage. Last year was hard, and we had hoped 2016 would be better, but here we are. Definitely, this would help the financial burden, especially because both of them won't be able to work anytime in the immediate future.

Moreover, I can't think of anything else that would warm my Mom's heart more than showing her the donations people she probably mostly has never met donated to her and my Dad, and the long list of names that goes with it.

Obviously, any amount is most appreciated. Not everyone is in a position to support in this way, but GoFundMe has the option to leave a message/comment with each donation. Even if you leave a $1 donation, please leave a message/comment for me to read to my Mom and Dad as they recover. The overwhelming support I have received in phone calls, texts, Facebook messages/comments brings me to tears, and I'm tearing up right now as I type this. I'm sorry I haven't been able to reply to everyone yet.

I know my brother and sister have received the same support from their friends and family of their friends. I would love for my mom and dad to feel this support and love from you all, and also any strangers, through these messages/comments. I can already feel my mom's usual positive outlook slipping. She can't even enjoy food anymore, and she's slowly realizing the gravity of the situation. My heart aches for her.

The above photo I took before the surgery; we were anxious but so hopeful. When I shared this on Facebook after their surgeries, I suppose it was unclear if things had gone well or not...at that moment I just needed to portray my beautiful parents in the moments before their surgeries, hours before the life-changing news.

Again, we appreciate the continued love and support in all forms.

Big ups to my brother, David, (not a big social media guy, so if you're reading this) for putting his life on hold to stay local and help care for Mom and Dad. Sis, you'll read this later, I'm sure...finish your senior year at Northwestern strong! We're so proud of you!

Please share/repost. Please don't take for granted your time left with your own parents/family/loved ones.