Battle For Bautch! Help Matt beat cancer

GoFundMe takes a percentage of each donation so if you would prefer the entire amount to go directly towards Matt and our family, please reach out to him or myself for alternative options ([email redacted]).

Hello, my name is Abby and I am starting this fundraiser for my husband Matt. Matt and I have been together for the last 5 years and just got married on October 15th, 2022. We have been enjoying our life together as newlyweds, completely aware of the fact that our lives would get turned upside down a few months later.

On Thursday, February 16th, 2023, Matt went into urgent care for some upper right abdominal pain. We were hoping it was nothing, and at worst maybe his appendix or gallbladder and he would be home in a few hours. They ran some tests, only to discover nothing so they decided to get a CT of his abdomen. Upon examining the image, doctors discovered Matt had a tumor in his testicle and a baseball-sized tumor in his abdomen. Shortly after, we were told that Matt has testicular cancer. As soon as those words left the doctor's mouth, it was like all of the air was sucked out of our lungs. It was incredibly difficult to process and it felt like a joke. There were no signs or symptoms, we were completely blindsided. We were then informed Matt had to be transferred to Froedtert to stay overnight. After over 7 hours at urgent care, we headed home to pack up some things and quickly say hi to the dogs (it was Duke's 3rd birthday). Of course, there was a terrible snowstorm that night which was the cherry on top. We carefully headed to the hospital not knowing what was coming next. After receiving different information throughout the night and the next morning, Matt was released Friday afternoon with a surgery date scheduled for Monday. Everything was happening so quickly that it was very difficult to keep up.

On that Monday, Matt had a successful surgery and was able to come home that night. The very next day was our first appointment with the oncologist. At this point, nobody really told us how bad things were so this was the appointment we were most worried about. If you have had the unfortunate circumstance of meeting with an oncologist, you know how overwhelming the appointments are. The mass amount of information you receive at one time makes your brain feel like it is going to explode. At this appointment, we learned that Matts's cancer was stage 3 and the doctor wanted to start chemotherapy as soon as possible. On Thursday he was admitted to the hospital and spent the next 5 days there.

Matt is going through BEP chemotherapy which includes 7 days per month of infusions, with ¾ of the days lasting 6 hours long. As most of you know, chemotherapy is a double-edged sword. It destroys cancer cells but also destroys your good cells. With this blend of poisons, it can cause nerve damage, hearing loss, lung problems, decreased or eliminated sperm count, an increased chance of getting leukemia later in life, and more.

We have missed birthday parties, get-togethers, vacations and so much more due to this cancer. It has been such a crazy journey in such a short amount of time. The funds raised will not only go towards the current unexpected medical bills but also towards giving Matt his life back and any future medical bills that arise as a side effect of his cancer, such as IVF or those listed above.

We want to thank everybody in advance for their donations and for their support so far, it has made us feel a bit better in these dark times.