In Matthew 22:37, Jesus replied: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandments. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.”  As simple as it may seem to love others, it does not come naturally to all. This is not the case with Fred and Brenda. Not only do they openly receive people in their home, they also open their hearts to everyone and invite them to be a part of their family. They are the humblest of people and never ask for much, but will give you the shirts off their backs in an instant. 

Brenda and Fred have been happily married for 15 years.  And in their journey of life together they have crossed many milestones, but the most memorable and cherished one of all is God blessing them with two amazing boys, Michael who is 9 and Eric who is 6. 

In late 2014, this loving family faced challenging times after several months of doctors’ visits, missed diagnoses and Brenda being persistent with doctors to further run tests, only to discover that Fred was diagnosed with stage 3 colon cancer.   As you can imagine the news was devastating, yet they knew that through their faith, love and commitment, Fred would get through it.  A few weeks after Fred had surgery to remove the cancerous area and began months of rigorous chemo treatment.  He came to the end of his treatment and was in remission.  The family was hopeful that this was it; he beat the big bad beast.  Unfortunately a couple of months after Fred found himself fighting a serious blood infection that deteriorated his hip.  This caused him to go through additional hospitalization and surgeries.  In early June Fred had surgery on his hip to infuse the infected area with antibiotic.  He went into surgery with high hopes that the antibiotic would kill his infection, then he would have a final surgery to replace his hip, and maybe next summer he would be able to stand on his own, without a walker and without the help of his wife. He looked forward to standing on his own two feet.

Sadly the week after the surgery the family was informed of abnormalities in his blood.  Fred went back for further testing.  Much to both Fred and Brenda’s horror they received the devastating news that Fred’s cancer was back.  It has metastasized onto his small intestine and lining of his stomach.  Sadly he has been given six months to a year of life and of being able to create everlasting memories with his family. Despite this news the family has faith for a miracle.     

Through it all Brenda has been Fred’s rock.  She has not left his side, she has been there for the surgeries, appointments and treatments helping Fred every step of the way.  Through it all she has juggled working full time and taking care of Fred and her two boys.  They do their best to provide the same quality of harmony and normalcy for their boys despite the difficulties they have endured.  This journey has also taken so much of the family time they so dearly loved to spend together.

Needless to say this has put a financial strain on the family.  Fred has not been working for over a year and has yet to be approved for permanent disability benefits.  Brenda has exhausted all her paid time off, sick leave and available paid family leave provided by the state.  She’s currently using unpaid time off to take Fred to his chemo treatments every two weeks. 

With a humble heart we ask that you open your heart to show this family love through your monetary donations. Let’s show our friends that they are not alone in the biggest struggle of their lives. It’s time to come together as a community of friends and family to show Fred and Brenda the love Jesus spoke of. Your kind donations of any amount would greatly assist the family with medical bills, daily expenses, groceries and perhaps to help the family create their last memories with each other.  Your help would be a great relief to this family and is deeply appreciated.  Above all we ask for good vibes and prayers for the entire family. It is with great hope and faith that our dear Lord will grant them the biggest miracle of all.