#KEVINSTRONG

Many of you are aware that our brother in law, Kevin Cogar, was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer 2 days before Christmas in 2020. His port was implanted in January and he began chemo treatment the day before his 46th birthday. The goal was to be able to shrink his tumor in order to safely remove the cancer and its margins. However, Kevin's body didn’t tolerate it well and his team was forced to give him a reduction in chemo medications. On May 4th, his appointment at the IU Med Center in Indy determined he was not a candidate for the Whipple procedure as the tumor was wrapped around his hepatic vein. At that point, Kevin made the decision to not proceed with chemo treatments and instead chose to try radiation. After 5 rounds of radiation (and still struggling to work whenever he could), he had a new scan done on July 16th which revealed an increased size in his tumor and a new spot on his liver. A biopsy was done and on August 6th his surgeon delivered the devastating news: the spot on his liver was metastatic cancer, his cancer had progressed to stage 4, and he was only given months to live. He started chemo treatments the same day and has been unable to work since then. Although none of us can possibly understand what he and his family are going through, I think many of us can imagine what an emotional roller coaster this has been for all of them. In turn, Natalie has had to take time off of work to care for her husband, tie up loose ends, take him to his appointments, etc thus putting undue financial stress on them at the worst possible time. Those of you who know Kevin well, know that he is the most selfless person and would literally give the shirt off of his back to anyone in need. He has spent the past 16 years volunteering his time to coach youth football, even spending his own money to pay for kids who couldn’t afford the enrollment/travel fees. He is THE MOST amazing dad, husband, and provider which has been even more evident during this past year with his perseverance to try to continue working and attending his kids' school/sporting events (sometimes even the same day as his chemo/radiation treatments)! He is also one of the most loyal friends any of us could ever ask for! In addition to all of this, he took care of his wife during not one, but TWO bouts of cancer and never asked for any help, financial or otherwise. It’s now time for us to return the favor and show Kevin how much he is loved and appreciated! On top of the ever increasing medical bills and everyday living expenses, they now face a ridiculously large monthly Cobra premium. Candice and I would LOVE to not only help reduce their financial burden, but also raise enough money to send them on an amazing family vacation to make memories and cherish what precious little time is left. We implore you to rally around this amazing family and support them in any way you possibly can! Please donate if you are able to and share this page! *for those of you who prefer to use Venmo, Kevin and Natalie’s Venmo information is as follows: @Natalie-Cogar (the four digits they will ask for is 9017). Their address is 10519 Sun Hollow Place Fort Wayne, IN 46818 for those of you who prefer to send a check or an encouraging card/letter. Thank you all SO MUCH in advance! #KEVINSTRONG