Give Alex a Chance to Fight Cancer
Donation protected
We are opening a fund to hopefully help ease cancer-related costs for Alex (medical and living expenses).
Alex is thirty years old and has two young children. He lives alone and works as a manager at a national auto parts store. He was also going to school, a 4.0 engineering student, but was forced to take time off after his grades and attendance declined as his sickness progressed.
He was admitted to the hospital with severe stomach and bowel issues at the end of July. At that time he was diagnosed with extreme inflammation in his pelvic area, which created a stricture in his colon and caused a tear. He was treated, had biopsies taken and was released.
In August, a week before the new school semester started, he was preliminarily diagnosed with colorectal cancer. That diagnosis was confirmed in September. After weeks of battling through severe pain in his lower back and right leg and continuing to work, Alex ultimately returned to the hospital in October when he developed a large abscess on his lower back and had emergency surgery to drain it. At that point he had lost 70lbs in 12 months. His surgeons decided he also needed a diverting ostomy to lower the chances of the symptoms reoccurring, and he now lives with the inconvenience, embarrassment, and added costs of an ostomy bag. Two weeks into his stay, he was so weak that he could not walk on his own. All in all, he spent three weeks in the hospital (part of that time battling a terrible infection) and was out of work for five weeks. At discharge Alex weighed 150lbs, then down 90 lbs from the previous September. He was also left with two open surgical wounds to care for, as they will not heal without eliminating the inflammation.
His prognosis started out very good (and he was in the beginning stages of colon cancer) and we were told his cancer would probably be curable. Alex was actually scheduled to begin treatment within a couple of weeks of the infection and abscess showing up. Had he already started treatment, thanks to the compromised immune system that typically accompanies cancer treatment, the infection could have easily killed him.
However, thanks to these new symptoms and the gamut of new tests during his hospital stay, his surgical team is now saying that, due in part of the inflammation, they can’t get to where the tumor is located and that his tumor is likely inoperable. However, Alex continues to be a pillar of strength. Hope and his fighting spirit remain paramount! We are interested in exploring a second opinion, but right now he doesn’t have the funds for that. As many of you know – time can be of the essence when dealing with a cancer diagnosis.
He doesn’t live a crazy life, doesn’t drink, doesn't own a TV (it, along with anything else of value, has long since been sold to pay his bills - he did all this long before asking anyone else for help) and his computer is older than his children. He takes the bus or walks to work. He lives very simply. He spends his nights reading, and listening to music until he can sleep.
He returned to work in a limited capacity in Novemeber, but with his limited hours, his paycheck barely covers his child support. He has not seen any income since October. He has relied entirely on the kindness of his few friends, his small family, and his coworkers.
However, mounting medical costs and living expenses have really overtaken Alex. He has prescriptions he cannot pay for, he is facing eviction, and time is running out. He always remarks about how the worst thing about having cancer should be the fact that you have cancer, not where your next meal is coming from. We are hoping to help him get back on his feet - so he can focus more of his energy on healing and FIGHTING this terrible disease.
He will continue to work as much as possible, for as long as his health allows. He wants to go back to school now that his symptoms have become controlable (thanks to the ostomy). He wants to continue improving himself, and living his life, despite the hand that he's been dealt. It may all be for naught, but he has been fighting the odds from birth and that's not going to change.
Please, even if you cannot contribute directly, you can help tremendously (just as importantly, but differently) by clicking one of the links below and sharing this campaign with your friends! A lot of these campaigns get stuck because the same group of people just keep sharing the link amongst themselves. It's not a bad thing by any stretch of the imagination, but it just takes one new person to break that cycle and potentially bring the campaign to the eyes of thousands of others.
So again, even if you can't help directly, you can still help tremendously just by sharing this campaign on Facebook or Twitter by using one of the buttons below! Thank you all so much!
Please note: The "goal" above does not have to be reached, and can be exceeded. It's just a random number and it shouldn't, for any reason, discourage anyone from donating.
All claims made in this campaign are true. Anything you'd like to know more about, you can ask Alex himself, as well as any alternate methods of donation. He also enjoys talking with and meeting new people, so feel free to send him a message, or friend request!
Alex is thirty years old and has two young children. He lives alone and works as a manager at a national auto parts store. He was also going to school, a 4.0 engineering student, but was forced to take time off after his grades and attendance declined as his sickness progressed.
He was admitted to the hospital with severe stomach and bowel issues at the end of July. At that time he was diagnosed with extreme inflammation in his pelvic area, which created a stricture in his colon and caused a tear. He was treated, had biopsies taken and was released.
In August, a week before the new school semester started, he was preliminarily diagnosed with colorectal cancer. That diagnosis was confirmed in September. After weeks of battling through severe pain in his lower back and right leg and continuing to work, Alex ultimately returned to the hospital in October when he developed a large abscess on his lower back and had emergency surgery to drain it. At that point he had lost 70lbs in 12 months. His surgeons decided he also needed a diverting ostomy to lower the chances of the symptoms reoccurring, and he now lives with the inconvenience, embarrassment, and added costs of an ostomy bag. Two weeks into his stay, he was so weak that he could not walk on his own. All in all, he spent three weeks in the hospital (part of that time battling a terrible infection) and was out of work for five weeks. At discharge Alex weighed 150lbs, then down 90 lbs from the previous September. He was also left with two open surgical wounds to care for, as they will not heal without eliminating the inflammation.
His prognosis started out very good (and he was in the beginning stages of colon cancer) and we were told his cancer would probably be curable. Alex was actually scheduled to begin treatment within a couple of weeks of the infection and abscess showing up. Had he already started treatment, thanks to the compromised immune system that typically accompanies cancer treatment, the infection could have easily killed him.
However, thanks to these new symptoms and the gamut of new tests during his hospital stay, his surgical team is now saying that, due in part of the inflammation, they can’t get to where the tumor is located and that his tumor is likely inoperable. However, Alex continues to be a pillar of strength. Hope and his fighting spirit remain paramount! We are interested in exploring a second opinion, but right now he doesn’t have the funds for that. As many of you know – time can be of the essence when dealing with a cancer diagnosis.
He doesn’t live a crazy life, doesn’t drink, doesn't own a TV (it, along with anything else of value, has long since been sold to pay his bills - he did all this long before asking anyone else for help) and his computer is older than his children. He takes the bus or walks to work. He lives very simply. He spends his nights reading, and listening to music until he can sleep.
He returned to work in a limited capacity in Novemeber, but with his limited hours, his paycheck barely covers his child support. He has not seen any income since October. He has relied entirely on the kindness of his few friends, his small family, and his coworkers.
However, mounting medical costs and living expenses have really overtaken Alex. He has prescriptions he cannot pay for, he is facing eviction, and time is running out. He always remarks about how the worst thing about having cancer should be the fact that you have cancer, not where your next meal is coming from. We are hoping to help him get back on his feet - so he can focus more of his energy on healing and FIGHTING this terrible disease.
He will continue to work as much as possible, for as long as his health allows. He wants to go back to school now that his symptoms have become controlable (thanks to the ostomy). He wants to continue improving himself, and living his life, despite the hand that he's been dealt. It may all be for naught, but he has been fighting the odds from birth and that's not going to change.
Please, even if you cannot contribute directly, you can help tremendously (just as importantly, but differently) by clicking one of the links below and sharing this campaign with your friends! A lot of these campaigns get stuck because the same group of people just keep sharing the link amongst themselves. It's not a bad thing by any stretch of the imagination, but it just takes one new person to break that cycle and potentially bring the campaign to the eyes of thousands of others.
So again, even if you can't help directly, you can still help tremendously just by sharing this campaign on Facebook or Twitter by using one of the buttons below! Thank you all so much!
Please note: The "goal" above does not have to be reached, and can be exceeded. It's just a random number and it shouldn't, for any reason, discourage anyone from donating.
All claims made in this campaign are true. Anything you'd like to know more about, you can ask Alex himself, as well as any alternate methods of donation. He also enjoys talking with and meeting new people, so feel free to send him a message, or friend request!
Organizer
Alex Fiedler
Organizer
Greenville, SC
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