Hi! My name is Jessica Hopkins. I am married to Jon’s brother, Bo. As many of you know Jon has been struck with some pretty tough news and is facing a lot of life changes moving forward.

On Thursday, January 9th (ironically the 3 year anniversary of his father’s passing) Jon was admitted to Good Sam after a mass was found on his brain. On the 13th he went into surgery for a biopsy and was diagnosed with a highly aggressive malignant brain tumor. It will take about 2 weeks to get the staging results back according to the doctors.

How did Jon get here?

Over the past several months he began having dizzy spells, headaches and losing control of his left arm. The symptoms were random and not enough to be too alarming until Christmas Day and then again last Thursday. He was losing total control of his left arm and it was moving on its own. Kim said enough was enough and they were going to the hospital. This is when they found the mass on his brain. He was transported by ambulance to Good Sam where they did more testing including an MRI and CT scans on the chest and abdomen. Thankfully, they found zero tumors anywhere but his brain.

What’s the plan?

Hopefully Jon and Kim will be headed home today after meeting with an oncologist. He will go through radiation, chemotherapy and steroid treatments. There isn’t an actual plan in place just yet but the doctors have communicated this will be part of the treatment. The tumor cannot be removed as it would leave Jon’s entire left side paralyzed.

Life Changes:

Jon can no longer drive a truck, which is his source of income. He needs to quit smoking, give up his love of sweets (sugar feeds cancer) and cut down on that extreme love of Mountain Dews. Good news… he can still have PIZZA!

How can you help?

As most know Kim retired last year so she’s on a fixed income. Jon will not be able to work and soon the medical bills will be rolling in. Obviously, this will create financial hardship for them. The last thing they need to worry about while in the fight of his life is how they will keep the lights on. Jon is a Hopkins.. so I KNOW he’s prideful and would never ask for help so that’s why I’m asking for him! If you could donate to help them through this difficult time it would take a lot of stress off Kim’s shoulders. If you can’t donate, prayers are greatly appreciated too.

Thank you!!