
GoFundRudi
Donation protected
If you know Rudi Barth, you probably LOVE him--his warm spirit-his creative talent-his charisma-his big bear hugs! You know he lives to inspire others with his design, creative eye and human kindness. And that he always goes that extra mile while wearing that big smile. And now as a production industry and community of friends & family, we have an opportunity to give back to Rudi and help him and his family get through a very difficult time.
As you may or may not know, Rudi has been in the hospital for almost six weeks surviving Duodenal (stomach cancer). He had a very invasive Whipple procedure surgery on June 3rd (his son Jack’s 4th birthday), removing a “very angry” cancerous tumor that was embedded into his intestine and attached to his liver- gallbladder and the head of his pancreas. Where digestion began in the duodenum (lower stomach), every organ was cut/detached, the tumor removed, and finally all the digestive organs were reattached to become a “re-organized” new healthy digestive system.
This seven hour surgery was incredibly invasive, and painful. While the surgery went well, his surgeon came in on his day off and said if he had waited two weeks, Rudi could have died!
Rudi has quite the battle ahead of him, as sadly, his lymph nodes were cancerous as well. As a precaution and treatment, he will have to do chemotherapy for a year once he is healed from the surgery( 6 weeks).
Last week he went under another procedure to have a stent put into a bile duct, to help with the digestive flow. That set him back a bit with lots more pain. Seems like his digestion is doing much better now. And he’s now at home, recovering and eager to work soon—first via computer, doing designs and producing.
As part of Rudi’s production family for many years, this gofundme page is designed to help support Rudi and his family through this unexpected hardship and non-paid time-off—six-weeks so far and another six-weeks of expected recovery. Many of you in our industry understand how difficult freelance work is, and the personal hardship of not being able to work because of a health issue. We are looking to raise enough money to allow him to stay home and heal with the help of his beautiful wife Katherine. This would help them pay bills until he can heal properly and get his rhythm down with his chemotherapy—managing and balancing his pain and work.
His wife Katherine is available to do Art Direction, Props/Set Dress etc during his rehabilitation as well.
Thank you for reading this, sharing and sending your thoughts, prayers and support to Rudi and his family during this difficult time.
Organizer and beneficiary
Joanie Laxson
Organizer
Santa Ana, CA
Rudiger Barth
Beneficiary