Aaron's Recent Diagnosis of Terminal Cancer

My name is Misty Mattix and I am fundraising for our very dear friends Aaron and Heather Johnson. At the end of June 2022 our friend Aaron went to the ER for acute kidney pain. They did an X-Ray and MRI and discovered a 10-inch mass in his abdomen, which turned out to be a GIST (Gastrointestinal Stromal Tumor). The Doctors initially believed it was a slow-growing type of cancer. Aaron was scheduled for surgery rather than Chemo because they thought there was enough time for the complete removal of the tumor by the end of August.

A week before the scheduled surgery, Aaron went to the ER again for being lethargic, dizzy, and in intense pain. It was discovered that the tumor had grown to 18 inches and metastasized to his liver and stomach lining. Surgery was no longer an option. Therefore, he was started on Chemo right away. Two weeks later, he returned to the ER for his alarming new symptoms and found that the tumor had grown to 20 inches and metastasized further. On September 12th, 2022 he was told by the oncologist that there was nothing more they could do for him, and he was sent home to begin hospice care only two and a half months after the discovery of the tumor. Although the doctors could not give an exact timeline for his prognosis, they did make it clear that the time he has left is very short.

Aaron is loved by his wonderful wife Heather and children. He is currently in hospice from the comfort of their home. To try and ease their minds and bring some financial peace before and after Aaron is gone, we would appreciate any donation to help them cover these unexpected medical bills, end-of-life expenses, and caring for the home and their daughter in the wake of his passing.

UPDATE: Aaron passed away this Sunday, September 18th in the comfort of his home surrounded by his family. We are so thankful to all of you for your love and support. It would mean so much if you would continue sharing this GoFundMe, as we'd like to continue raising money to, not only help with celebration of life costs, but to also set Heather and Harper on the best possible path, making sure that they don’t have to worry about trivial financial burdens in the midst of their grieving and all that comes with this life-change. Financial support will also help Heather as she looks to the future as sole supporter of her family.