Azmani Strong

My younger sister Julie is my best friend. 34 years ago she married the love of her life, Youssef. I love Youssef too. We have been buds since the day we met; his big, kind, and generous heart enters the room before he does! When my sister Julie and Youssef started their family I hadn’t started mine yet; they let me tag along for everything and made sure I felt included and a part of the little family they were creating... He’s the kind of man who is all inclusive.

Youssef came from Morocco in his late teens with $10 in his pocket & a strong desire for the American Dream, he has worked hard for everything he has. He is the kind of man that even when he had very little always found a way to give.

Over the years I have watched him help and give more freely than anyone I’ve ever known. I watched him connect with a nurse who took care of his youngest daughter, Sophia, after her heart surgery at just 3 months old. During his own emotional rollercoaster of pain, nerves, and uncertainty, he found time to hear her story of leaving home across the world at a young age, not having the funds to go back and visit her parents for years at a time, and gave her the means to travel back that year for the first time in over 15 years. Youssef and Julie have always believed in the importance of family life & family first.

It didn’t always have to be the biggest gesture and his generosity wasn’t limited to only those he knew; Youssef was loving and lifting of those he didn’t know. On more than one occasion he left groceries for the homeless, helped single parents make ends meet and invited friends & coworkers who had fallen on hard times into his home, offering them a place at his table.

If we were grilling burgers at the circus parade in downtown Milwaukee he wasn’t just cooking for his 8 kids and family, but the homeless on the street, the street cleaners who came thru after the parade and the Police Officers who were on duty. Youssef has always had the kind of heart that gives until everyone around him is taken care of.

Youssef and his family need our help. Last December Youssef was diagnosed with terminal brain cancer.  This past year he and his family have been on a ride that no one ever expects to get on.

He has had intensive radiation for several weeks, Chemo every month, and two brain surgeries.  He can no longer do tasks for himself or by himself. His last MRI showed new tumor growth and the doctors say he has as little as three months left on this earth.

Julie has taken on caring for him as well as the household while trying to run a business and make an income. As you can imagine, medical bills never stopped rolling in and they continue to. Up until now my sister and her family have been making ends meet.

Can you imagine trying to spend the last three months with your husband or father, caring for him, but also not fully being able to enjoy his final days because of the stress of medical bills?

There is no cure for Glioblastoma Multiforme, hopefully there will be one day.

Today, there is nothing anyone can do to keep him around.

What we can do is help Youssef and his family have a worriless, stressfree last holiday season with their father and husband.  My sister and her family can’t do it all anymore and everyone deserves to enjoy their last days with the father of their children, their best friend, the love of her life; her husband.

Youssef has taught his family to work hard, & stick together. He taught them to take care of each other and has raised 8 beautiful children, the youngest whom is 18 years old, who give of themselves to others just as he led them to do by example.

I’m starting this Go FundMe in the spirit of Youssef, who sometimes didn’t have a lot and still gave a little. He is a reminder that even if it seems like a small amount to give, to the ones who are receiving it, it means the world ❤️