Let me just start by saying this.. Chuck Howe, 43 years old, is the most selfless, caring, and lovable person you could ever meet. He is a father to a beautiful daughter, and a bonus-father to another. They are 18 and 21 years old. He is also an amazing uncle for all of his nieces' and nephews'. He would never ask for anything from anyone, and the only time he did ask something he would say, "you need anything buddy?" and even while he is laying in his bed at home with doctors surrounding him, he would ask, "do you guys need any water? Hey Brad, go get these nice people some water."
Now for the story-line. This was a very gradual process. Chuck moved from Utah to Florida to live with his parents, Lora and Doug Howe. He has been in Florida for 4 years and has helped his parents each day with yard-work, watering the flowers, and much much more. For a full year of the 4 years that he has been here, he helped Lora fight through her battle with Breast Cancer. She couldn't have done it without him. A few months ago, Lora Howe started noticing that Chuck could not move his fingers in his left hand. She thought it may have been a pinched nerve, because he already has a bad back and neck, so she didn't think anything of it. A few weeks after that, he started complaining about severe headaches. He also told Lora that he couldn't even bring in the groceries or help plant flowers in the garden (which was his favorite thing to do). At this point, Chuck was in and out of the hospital all through the month of April. They found a mass between his lungs, but they biopsied it and said it wasn't cancer so he went home to follow up further. His uncle passed away unexpectedly on April 30th. On May 1st, as a family, the decision was made to go to Michigan to be with family. The tickets got booked. Within hours of booking the tickets, Chuck called Nichole Howe, his sister, to tell her that he couldn't feel his legs, and said that it might be circulation because he was always sitting. He then tried to take a walk to try to help it. At the end of the street, his legs gave out and he fell onto the asphalt with a thump. He could not get up. He had to call his brother, Nathan, to come pick him up and bring him back to the house. At this point, we knew there was something wrong. He was admitted to the hospital again that night, where they then found 5 lesions in his brain. They said it could either be Tuberculosis, or Cancer. The only problem is that the lesions were bleeding, and TB rarely ever gets into the brain.. nor does it bleed. Not too long after that, Chuck Howe was diagnosed with Terminal Lung Cancer that has Metastasized to his Brain. They also think that he has it in his lymph nodes and bones. They couldn't give a time frame for death because he was a "determined 43 year old man," but after a couple days of seeing his brain diminish in front of our eyes, they gave him about two months.. then two weeks.. then just days. We took him home, got him a new electric scooter, bed, and toilet because he could not move (or feel) his left arm or either leg. Chuck has needed 24/7 surveillance for the past 4 days. He wakes up in the middle of the night (about 2 or 3am) every night because he forgets where he is. There has been family by his side at all times trying to palliate him before it's his time. He told all of us that he wants us to do something special with his ashes. He wants us to get a tattoo and sprinkle his ashes into the ink. If you are reading this and you've had to cremate someone, you know that it's hard, and it is also expensive. We are so very thankful for all of the people/family members who have made food and sent food gift cards, but now we need to think ahead. Whether it be funeral costs, or medical bills, the Howe Family needs your help. Please find a spot in your heart that will let you help this sad family during these hard times. Thank you for your time, God Bless.
Now for the story-line. This was a very gradual process. Chuck moved from Utah to Florida to live with his parents, Lora and Doug Howe. He has been in Florida for 4 years and has helped his parents each day with yard-work, watering the flowers, and much much more. For a full year of the 4 years that he has been here, he helped Lora fight through her battle with Breast Cancer. She couldn't have done it without him. A few months ago, Lora Howe started noticing that Chuck could not move his fingers in his left hand. She thought it may have been a pinched nerve, because he already has a bad back and neck, so she didn't think anything of it. A few weeks after that, he started complaining about severe headaches. He also told Lora that he couldn't even bring in the groceries or help plant flowers in the garden (which was his favorite thing to do). At this point, Chuck was in and out of the hospital all through the month of April. They found a mass between his lungs, but they biopsied it and said it wasn't cancer so he went home to follow up further. His uncle passed away unexpectedly on April 30th. On May 1st, as a family, the decision was made to go to Michigan to be with family. The tickets got booked. Within hours of booking the tickets, Chuck called Nichole Howe, his sister, to tell her that he couldn't feel his legs, and said that it might be circulation because he was always sitting. He then tried to take a walk to try to help it. At the end of the street, his legs gave out and he fell onto the asphalt with a thump. He could not get up. He had to call his brother, Nathan, to come pick him up and bring him back to the house. At this point, we knew there was something wrong. He was admitted to the hospital again that night, where they then found 5 lesions in his brain. They said it could either be Tuberculosis, or Cancer. The only problem is that the lesions were bleeding, and TB rarely ever gets into the brain.. nor does it bleed. Not too long after that, Chuck Howe was diagnosed with Terminal Lung Cancer that has Metastasized to his Brain. They also think that he has it in his lymph nodes and bones. They couldn't give a time frame for death because he was a "determined 43 year old man," but after a couple days of seeing his brain diminish in front of our eyes, they gave him about two months.. then two weeks.. then just days. We took him home, got him a new electric scooter, bed, and toilet because he could not move (or feel) his left arm or either leg. Chuck has needed 24/7 surveillance for the past 4 days. He wakes up in the middle of the night (about 2 or 3am) every night because he forgets where he is. There has been family by his side at all times trying to palliate him before it's his time. He told all of us that he wants us to do something special with his ashes. He wants us to get a tattoo and sprinkle his ashes into the ink. If you are reading this and you've had to cremate someone, you know that it's hard, and it is also expensive. We are so very thankful for all of the people/family members who have made food and sent food gift cards, but now we need to think ahead. Whether it be funeral costs, or medical bills, the Howe Family needs your help. Please find a spot in your heart that will let you help this sad family during these hard times. Thank you for your time, God Bless.