Hi everyone, thank you for viewing our family's fundraiser. My name is Payton Nelson; I created this fundraiser for my wife Andrea Nelson. We've now been married for 10 years and have two children together - a son and a daughter. Andrea and I met at church at only nine years old and became inseparable friends from that moment on.

Over the years my wife's health has been progressively declining, yet she has continued to put countless hours at work as a teacher --- very passionate about her work and admired by the children, parents, and school staff whose lives she has impacted. Andrea has a tremendous heart, more than anyone I know. She is my person in this world that I could not live without, and I mean that with every bit of my heart. Anyone who knows her will confirm that she is a fantastic mother who always puts our children first, and an amazing educator using every corner of her heart to try to make a difference for everyone else. Even battling illness, she would stay up late nights preparing crafts and planning out her days.

As Andrea has become increasingly tired, as her migraines have grown, as sleepless nights have become the everyday norm, we've gone to numerous specialists and doctors focusing on auto-immune diseases and have gotten little relief from ongoing and increasing symptoms affecting everything in her life. More and more often she has had to miss work as some days have become an impossibility to even step out of bed. This hurts her beyond words - she worries about everything that needs to be done for her students and tries to push herself to get up and be there.

Over the last several months the severity of her symptoms has gotten very severe to the point of tears for both of us and from our children who can see their mama getting sick. My heart hurts me as I see my wife struggling to enter her car, struggling to keep up with our children's spunk and energy, losing that glow and smile I'm so used to seeing each and every morning which seems to have disappeared.

After various tests and procedures, the doctor informed us the battle that we are facing is a harsh form of cancer. As it was a recent discovery, we are still preparing for the next steps regarding treatment. We have had a CT scan and two biopsies, and so far they found many nodules in her neck surrounding her Thyroid, and two still-to-be identified spots on her brain.

We don't yet know how far the cancer has spread beyond the points seen in this scan, as more testing and doctor visits are still needed, but we are determined to fight and beat this disease no matter how far it takes us. The cancer could have spread as far as the lungs or the brain --- we are in prayer that this is not the case.

We are taking every step necessary including: treatments, changes in diet, prayer from every Christian faith-based community we can possibly reach, alternative medicines, therapies, and whatever else we can do to get Andrea back to herself. Unfortunately, these things are costly to incorporate and get going, so we're trying everything possible to earn extra money and enough money to help my wife get well.

I commit to anything it will take to get her well, which is why we are asking with all our hearts for your help... Whatever you can contribute would be a tremendous blessing on our family. Please be by our side and support us through this horrendous battle we never imagined could ever hit our family the way it has. Any bit helps.

How any donations will be used:

-hospital expenses

-treatment

-alternative treatments and therapies

-out of work expenses

-special dietary/nutrition needs

We will keep you updated through every step of this battle.

Thank you, God bless you, and we love you.

~The Nelson Family