Joel Dougall Medical Fund

As many of his friends know Joel has had a relapse of his brain tumor. He and Jill are facing another chapter in this very difficult journey and need our help. Please consider easing their stress so they can focus on getting him back into remission.                                                                                                                                                                                                 How this journey began:

Joel and Jill married over 10 years ago. His sense of humor and passion for what he believes in and Jills' sweet nature is what brought them together.  One of Joels' greatest attributes is his drive to work hard and provide for his family. Joel has worked for ODOT (Oregon Department of Transportation) as a survey tech for 11+ years. Being away from work because of this illness has been very difficult for him.

They had their first daughter Evy in 2008. She is a sweet, kind little girl. Smart and respectful, loving and so funny!  Joel is such a good "ducky" to his little girl.

Joel was first diagnosed in January of 2012 with a large mass in his right frontal cortex. The tumor was an Oligodendroglioma with a WHO grade 2 staging. After 2 surgeries and 9 months of time off work for rehab/recovery he successfully returned to a normal life.  They were warned that he would always battle this tumor.  Scans every 3 months became their new normal.

So life continued on and a sense of hope began to set in. After continued infertility, in part due to his cancer and troubled pregnancy they were blessed with healthy twins. Will and Abby have been a source of joy and life beyond words.

Around Christmas of 2015 Joel started exhibiting symptoms again. Local physicians could not find the source so their search lead them to a wonderful neuro-oncologist who quickly identified new tumor growth. Joel completed a round of chemo then had a seizure at work (his first of this kind in 4 years). They quickly returned to Seattle for re-evaluation. The MRI showed not only had the tumor nearly doubled in size, but it had advanced in grading. The tumor is now an Anaplastic Oligodendroglioma stage 3. Brain cancer is horrible and he will never be considered cancer-free. This cancer can not be completely removed safely and if and when the tumor is stabilized they will continue frequent monitoring and trips to the specialist in Seattle.

Joel now faces 6 weeks of radiation and daily chemotherapy for the next year. Until Joel is proving stable he is off work (he has short term disability but this will not be a full amount of income.) Jill has been working but due to appointments, Joel's care, kids and stress she has missed multiple shifts. As a per diem she has no PTO. Medical bills continue, despite decent insurance, and the other needs of life continue. Travel costs and limited assistance is only available with extra notice, often not what they have. 

Joel still may still need surgery but this has not been determined. Surgery is especially risky as his brain has already endured so much.

Jill and Joel have gone through so much. They love each other and their kids beyond words. They laugh often and still find joy in every day life with their 3 silly kiddos. Joel is a fighter but this is more than one family can do alone. It takes a village. Let's show them how much they are loved and that we together can do this! Pay it forward. Love one another and live every day. Life is a precious gift.