Help Joe #CuffCancer

Talk about toughness personified.

This past weekend my  23 year old brother Joseph was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia, a type of cancer of the blood and bone marrow that affects the blood cells. 

Throughout the course of  the last 6+ months, Joe has been going through the police academy to earn his Class 2 certification. Along the way, he had to deal with the disturbances of a Pilonidal Cyst on his lower back that has required multiple procedures over the last 3 years, a sprained elbow, and a dislocated rib. He was not going to allow any issue stop him from achieving his goals. After his graduation  and celebration just a short few weeks ago, he had begun lining up interviews with the potential to earn himself a job as a full-time officer, and our family could not have been more excited and elated.

This Friday and Saturday Joe worked his usual shifts for the Seaside Heights Police Department, and noticed some unusual bruising and markings throughout his body and was going through some extreme fatigue and headaches. Just hours after working, Joe was in the Emergency Room undergoing tests and learned that he had Cancer, during what should be a time of life he is thriving the most.

Joe has never been one to complain or ask for help. When we lost our home to Hurricane Sandy, he was the one who dealt with it the best. Whenever someone else has an issue, Joe is always someone who wants to be there for them.

My brother went through a grueling academy and succeeded, while fighting off cancer during some of it. I can't get over how absurd of an accomplishment that is. If he can do that, I know he will be able to deal with this. 

Joe is the strongest person I know, and he and my parents are the last people to want to ask for help. But, I know we need it, so here I am asking for any type of help that anyone can contribute.

Joseph will be staying at the hospital for the next month to begin undergoing Chemotherapy under the hospital's supervision. If all goes well, he will continue doing Chemo in shorter bursts every few weeks for 6 months to a year. My father has already had to completely pause working his full-time job, and my mother will have to take numerous days off throughout this journey. Obviously, Joseph will also not be working at all for at least a year, therefore he won't be able to earn money to make student loan payments and try to accumulate savings. With the severe lack of income and immense medical and living expenses that are sure to pile up, I felt this campaign was necessary.

Any donations, thoughts and prayers, and shares of this would be appreciated beyond comprehension and would be directly helping my brother Joseph succeed in his battle against this evil. If when this long, difficult road ends, and any funds went unused for medical reasons, it would be used to help relieve some of the college student loan pressure for Joseph, a recent graduate of Stockton University and finally try to give the kid a bit of a break with something.

Thank you from the bottom of my heart, and of all of my family's hearts, and let's watch Joe kick some butt and #CuffCancer.