Joseph Wakaria
Donation protected
Dear friends and family,
In 2012 our father started getting these headaches. He went to work and by the time he got home his head was pounding. He was stressed. He had several deadlines he was trying to meet and there was a lot of pressure. It was normal. The headaches were happening more often and we just thought he was under a lot of pressure at work. Then he started getting dizzy spells and we all thought is was weird. We thought he had to see a doctor and he agreed. The doctor did some tests and diagnosed him with vertigo and put him on medication, but the headaches kept on and so did the dizzy spells.
The day we got worried he wanted us to have a day of fun. He had a headache but at this point they’d become so normal it was easy to ignore it. We went to the movies and while he was buying our tickets when he fainted...twice. He finally agreed to go back to the doctor because clearly the medication wasn’t working. From then on it’s a bit of a blur but we found out he had brain cancer… and it was terminal. He fought it as hard as possible and in 2014, we were informed that the cancer had gone into remission. He was only going to get better.
That was our hope. In May of 2016 on one of his regular check ups his doctor saw something on one of his scans. That littles something the doctor saw was a new tumor. They put back on previous medication Temozolomide, due to its ability to reduce the cancer in the past. Unfortunately it did not work like it previously had. The tumor had advanced. His doctor gave him the option of trying a new form of medication, Avastin. He was informed that the medication was extremely dangerous, as it was a blood thinner working on a cancer patient. He was told it could either kill him or reduce the size of the tumor. He thought the risk was worth it and they began with a low dose. After several treatments and no results the doctor then increased his dosage, again we saw little results, but we still had hope.
On July 28, 2016, he had a terrible seizure during the early morning. We woke up to my banging of the wall. He’d collapsed and the the seizures were so disabling he was unable to get up and had to call for help. This seizure was a result of the intensive chemotherapy he had been going through for the last month. Following the seizures his left side of his body was severely weakened and unable to move the left side of his body.he was moved to a rehab center in hopes that he would begin to heal and function on his own. Through significant struggle we see him push and will himself everyday to lift or move the limbs on his left side. He has made great improvements being able to sit up stand and walk, whereas before he wasn’t able to in the aftermath of the seizure. He has refused to let this seizure as well as his cancer paralyze his body as well as fog up and try to destroy his motivation and purpose in life.
We have been with him at every stage and process of his well being. We see that family is very important in motivating and encouraging him to improve as he continues his therapy.
A good family friend helped us to set up this account so we are writing this on behalf of my father. He had undergone brain surgery, done chemo radiation therapy and by the grace of God he went into remission. Then he was put back on concurrent Chemo radiation therapy.Our family celebrated the allowance of god to extend his life by giving him a new beginning. Since his diagnosis he has been in and out of doctor's’ offices and has gathered $70,000 in debt, all because of his fight to live. $70,000.00 in fees that includes medicine, treatments, hospital stays and chemotherapy that insurance was unwilling to cover. We are asking you all to lend your helping hand and help him during this time of hardship. With just a small donation from each and one of you, his medical bill will decrease leaving him with less stress allowing his healing to progress.
Thank you again to our friends who helped us in creating this GoFundMe and to everyone who can help. Your support is much appreciated.
The Daughters of Joe; Ji-Yung Wakaria, Ji-Mi Wakaria, Samouhan Wakaria, and Sharon Wakaria
In 2012 our father started getting these headaches. He went to work and by the time he got home his head was pounding. He was stressed. He had several deadlines he was trying to meet and there was a lot of pressure. It was normal. The headaches were happening more often and we just thought he was under a lot of pressure at work. Then he started getting dizzy spells and we all thought is was weird. We thought he had to see a doctor and he agreed. The doctor did some tests and diagnosed him with vertigo and put him on medication, but the headaches kept on and so did the dizzy spells.
The day we got worried he wanted us to have a day of fun. He had a headache but at this point they’d become so normal it was easy to ignore it. We went to the movies and while he was buying our tickets when he fainted...twice. He finally agreed to go back to the doctor because clearly the medication wasn’t working. From then on it’s a bit of a blur but we found out he had brain cancer… and it was terminal. He fought it as hard as possible and in 2014, we were informed that the cancer had gone into remission. He was only going to get better.
That was our hope. In May of 2016 on one of his regular check ups his doctor saw something on one of his scans. That littles something the doctor saw was a new tumor. They put back on previous medication Temozolomide, due to its ability to reduce the cancer in the past. Unfortunately it did not work like it previously had. The tumor had advanced. His doctor gave him the option of trying a new form of medication, Avastin. He was informed that the medication was extremely dangerous, as it was a blood thinner working on a cancer patient. He was told it could either kill him or reduce the size of the tumor. He thought the risk was worth it and they began with a low dose. After several treatments and no results the doctor then increased his dosage, again we saw little results, but we still had hope.
On July 28, 2016, he had a terrible seizure during the early morning. We woke up to my banging of the wall. He’d collapsed and the the seizures were so disabling he was unable to get up and had to call for help. This seizure was a result of the intensive chemotherapy he had been going through for the last month. Following the seizures his left side of his body was severely weakened and unable to move the left side of his body.he was moved to a rehab center in hopes that he would begin to heal and function on his own. Through significant struggle we see him push and will himself everyday to lift or move the limbs on his left side. He has made great improvements being able to sit up stand and walk, whereas before he wasn’t able to in the aftermath of the seizure. He has refused to let this seizure as well as his cancer paralyze his body as well as fog up and try to destroy his motivation and purpose in life.
We have been with him at every stage and process of his well being. We see that family is very important in motivating and encouraging him to improve as he continues his therapy.
A good family friend helped us to set up this account so we are writing this on behalf of my father. He had undergone brain surgery, done chemo radiation therapy and by the grace of God he went into remission. Then he was put back on concurrent Chemo radiation therapy.Our family celebrated the allowance of god to extend his life by giving him a new beginning. Since his diagnosis he has been in and out of doctor's’ offices and has gathered $70,000 in debt, all because of his fight to live. $70,000.00 in fees that includes medicine, treatments, hospital stays and chemotherapy that insurance was unwilling to cover. We are asking you all to lend your helping hand and help him during this time of hardship. With just a small donation from each and one of you, his medical bill will decrease leaving him with less stress allowing his healing to progress.
Thank you again to our friends who helped us in creating this GoFundMe and to everyone who can help. Your support is much appreciated.
The Daughters of Joe; Ji-Yung Wakaria, Ji-Mi Wakaria, Samouhan Wakaria, and Sharon Wakaria
Organizer
Litzy Centeno Vega
Organizer
Ft. Washington, MD
