After enduring Crohn's and multiple medical emergencies her entire life, she's now diagnosed with Stage 4 Cancer and her family needs our help.

Crystal has always lived life like it’s a stage and she’s both the performer and the audience. If something embarrassing happens, something chaotic, something that would make most people cringe into silence, Crystal usually just shrugs and delivers her favorite line:

“And we laughed.”

And usually, everyone does.

She has the kind of humor that sneaks up on you; silly, sometimes dark, always unexpected. She’s the person who will start dancing in the middle of a room for absolutely no reason, perform dramatic reenactments of things that happened earlier in the day, talk to strangers like they’re old friends and has an uncanny ability to end up somewhere she technically wasn’t supposed to be.

Her husband Tim has long since accepted that this is simply how life works with Crystal.

Tim is quiet where Crystal is loud. Thoughtful where Crystal is spontaneous. He’s happiest painting miniature figures for board games, playing board games, or quietly watching the chaos unfold around him. Crystal often says Tim makes her laugh every single night like she’s never laughed before. Not just a chuckle, the kind of laugh that leaves you breathless and wiping tears from your eyes.

Where Crystal runs ahead into the world, Tim follows behind with a quiet smile that seems to say, “That’s my wife. I love her.”

Their love story is built on inside jokes, shared hobbies, and a kind of companionship that feels effortless. Their unofficial love song, “Call Me Maybe” by Carly Rae Jepsen, started as a joke that they’d never date and ultimately became a permanent part of their life together.

Against medical expectations, their son Parker eventually arrived, a moment that felt nothing short of miraculous.

Parker is nine now, full of energy and curiosity. The three of them move through life like a small team. They go to concerts together, festivals in the summer, and spend evenings around board games or video games. Crystal’s parenting style is honest and real because life has asked a lot of her body, but everyone sees she loves Parker with a depth that is impossible to miss.

Crystal has always carried illness with her, but she rarely lets people see how heavy it is.

She has lived with Crohn’s disease since she was a teenager, a condition that has brought years of unpredictable pain, hospital visits, and medications with harsh side effects. There have been surgeries, frightening complications, and moments where doctors were unsure how her body would recover. Following doctor’s wishes, undergoing surgery in 2023 for a colostomy bag, her quality of life would improve, and it did. But now, against her biggest fears she’s battling a cancer diagnosis.

And even with all of that, Crystal has never allowed illness to become the defining feature of her personality.

Instead, she has built a life full of color.

She loves dressing up and performing, whether that means cosplay, dancing around the room, or covering herself in glitter before heading out to a Kesha concert (something she has never missed). When Crystal prepares for a concert, she becomes a walking celebration of joy: glitter, rainbows, music, and excitement. Two summers ago, she bought an older, used Mini Cooper convertible, and it quickly became a symbol of how happy she finally felt. She spent warm evenings driving with the top down, head wrapped, dressed like she belonged in a postcard from the Italian countryside, smiling the entire time.

For the first time in many years, life felt stable.

Crystal and Tim even opened their home to foster children, something deeply meaningful to her. She wanted to give children a safe place to land — a home filled with laughter, stability, and kindness.

And then, just as life felt like it had finally settled into something beautiful, everything changed again.

Crystal is now facing the most serious medical battle of her life.

Yet even now, she still finds ways to laugh.

Even now, she still says,

“And we laughed.”

--MEDICAL TIMELINE--

Crystal has lived with serious health challenges for most of her life, many of which have required surgery and long hospital stays.

Teenage Years :

Crystal is diagnosed with Crohn’s disease, a chronic autoimmune condition that attacks the digestive system. The disease causes severe pain, digestive complications, weight fluctuations, and unpredictable flares that can strike without warning.

Early 20s :

Crystal is diagnosed with glaucoma and faces the frightening possibility of losing her eyesight. She undergoes multiple laser surgeries and ultimately requires lens replacement surgery to preserve her vision.

2010 – Emergency Surgery
:

Crystal experiences a life-threatening medical emergency when her appendix ruptures without being detected for several days due to Crohn’s symptoms masking the pain.

She undergoes emergency surgery including:

• Bowel resection

• Appendectomy

• Hernia repair

• Fallopian tube repair

Doctors warn that due to complications from Crohn’s disease and these surgeries, having children may not be possible.

Years Following
:

Crystal continues battling Crohn’s disease with multiple treatments and medications. The illness remains unpredictable and painful, often forcing her to manage symptoms privately while maintaining everyday life.

2023
:

After years of struggling with severe Crohn’s complications, Crystal’s doctors recommended a stoma and colostomy bag to improve her quality of life and help manage the ongoing damage caused by the disease. Crystal agreed, hopeful that this would allow her to live more comfortably and regain some stability after years of painful flare-ups and medical interventions. It helped, but has minor ongoing complications.

2026 – Major Surgery :

Earlier this year, doctors discovered large masses on Crystal’s ovaries measuring approximately 6 cm and 16 cm. PET scans also revealed additional masses and dark spots throughout her body, including areas in her bones, lungs, throat, and abdomen, raising immediate concern for widespread cancer.

Crystal recently underwent biopsy on her throat and has already begun radiation treatments to address her body as a whole.

Ultimately, doctors determined that surgery was necessary to remove the largest masses located in her pelvis.

Crystal underwent major surgery to remove:

• Both ovaries

• Fallopian tubes

• Additional affected tissue

• A portion of bowel

Because both ovaries were removed during this surgery, Crystal is now also facing sudden, forced menopause and the devastating reality that she will not be able to have any more children.

Crystal is currently recovering from this major surgery. Once her body has healed enough, she will begin chemotherapy as the next step in treating the cancer.

 

SUMMARY - CANCER DIAGNOSIS :

Biopsy and surgery revealed devastating news that Crystal has Stage 4 Metastatic Colon Cancer, which has already spread to her bones. She is currently recovering from surgery and awaiting further cancer treatment, which will include more radiation and additional oncology care.

This diagnosis comes after a lifetime of already managing serious chronic illness.

--WHY SUPPORT IS NEEDED --

Crystal and her family are now facing an incredibly difficult time.

Because of her surgery and ongoing cancer treatment, Crystal is unable to work while she focuses on healing and preparing for the treatments ahead. Tim has taken on the sole responsibility of caring for their household and their son Parker while supporting Crystal through this medical crisis.

Tim is currently unable to drive and is relying on the help of family and friends to get to appointments, run errands, and manage day-to-day needs while also tending Crystal as she recovers at home.

In addition, Tim lives with a mental health condition that requires ongoing medication and care, which adds another layer of challenge as the family navigates this difficult time together.

During this period, their household income has been reduced primarily to Employment Insurance while they face significant medical and living expenses.

The funds raised through this GoFundMe will help support Crystal and her family with:

• Vehicle repairs, so they can sell one or both vehicles to help cover upcoming medical and living expenses

• Prescription medications and treatment-related costs not fully covered by insurance

• Mortgage payments and household expenses while Crystal is unable to work

• Basic cost of living as the family focuses on treatment and recovery

This support will allow Crystal and her family to focus on what matters most right now: healing, stability, and time together.

Any help, whether through donations or simply sharing Crystal’s story, will make an enormous difference during this incredibly difficult time.

--ABOUT THIS FUNDRAISER--

This GoFundMe was created by:

Chris and Sheri Hatzis (Crystal’s aunt and uncle)

Crystal helped share her story, with editing support from:

Kyle and Kristin Joy (Crystal’s brother and sister in law)