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Be Brave With Lincoln

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Welcome to my page to help Lincoln Canaday and his family.  Lincoln and I have been friends for his entire life.  I hope you'll read our story, consider donating, and be brave with Lincoln and his family.  As family and friends, we will show them they are not alone.

My name is Bill Rutter and I live in the Erie Canal Village of Spencerport, about 10 miles west of Rochester, NY.  I’ve been abundantly blessed my whole life with family, friends, good fortune and Christ’s love.  In February of 2018 I became ill and was diagnosed with a type of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma.   Further testing revealed it was a rare form called a “double-hit diffuse large b-cell lymphoma.”  I completed my six rounds of treatment on June 9th.  July was a wonderful month as I recovered.  We spent some time in Massachusetts and a week in the Adirondack Mountains of NY (my favorite place) fishing, kayaking, canoeing and hiking.  In August I had a follow-up PET Scan which showed I was cancer free!  We rejoiced!  However, during August my legs started weakening and my oncologist sent me to a neurologist.  An MRI exam showed I had some brain tumors and tumors around my spinal column.  Again, we began an aggressive chemo treatment and it appeared to be working.  On October 14th I developed seizures.  Another MRI showed that, while the tumors I previously had were shrinking, new ones were still developing.  The chemo I was receiving was not helping and there was nothing more the doctors could do for me.  I’m now in hospice care at a wonderful comfort care facility called Aurora House here in Spencerport.  Edit:  Sadly, Bill passed away on November 15th.  This page is now being managed by his immediate family, in order to carry out his wish of helping Lincoln. 

Upon hearing the prognosis, I began to plan my funeral arrangements.  I asked my Pastor, Matthew Canaday, to come help with my planning.   After reviewing the service, Pastor told me my work was not yet done, his eyes welled as he shared that he and his wife just learned that their 4-year-old son, Lincoln had been diagnosed with Duchenne muscular dystrophy.  He asked that I look down over Lincoln from heaven and ask the Lord to help speed up work toward a cure.  Of course, I said I would!

I decided to leave any memorial funds, in my name, to help Lincoln.  As Lincoln’s disease progresses, he’ll likely need funds for multiple reasons.  Clinical research can be expensive and we want Lincoln to have every opportunity at an early cure.  I decided that the relatively small amount of funds I receive through memorial giving might not make enough of a difference to him. I began thinking beyond my circle of friends and realized there are hundreds of others who know Lincoln and his family, or who know friends of friends. What better way to help than start a GoFundMe page for Lincoln?  My initial goal is to raise $5,000 but I would be overjoyed if we could somehow manage even more. 

The Lord has blessed me abundantly and despite this very difficult year, it would mean a lot to have this be a successful campaign resulting in meaningful impact on Lincoln and his family’s lives.   Thank you so much for your consideration and generosity! 

#LincDTogether  (Our hashtag is a combination of Lincoln’s nickname, a D for Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy, and the hope of what can be accomplished together!)

Fundraising team (2)

William Rutter
Organizer
Raised $15 from 1 donation
Spencerport, NY
Matthew Canaday
Beneficiary
Phyllis Rutter
Team member

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