Cancer Support: Help Kent with Medical Bills

This is a story about my first cousin Kent. He is my brother from another mother. He is currently battling the evile C-word and he is a WARRIOR! I'm asking for your help for them in the form of a donation towards medical billls. (Please pay attention to the custom tip link when making your donation and adjust that accordingly- this is how GFM funds itself)

Many of you are aware Kent has been fighting Bladder Cancer since 2019 and stage IV Metastatic Bladder Cancer since Nov 2022. Due to several complications, he has made the decision to enter hospice this week. Many people have been asking how they can help.

Managing this disease has reduced income and increased expenses. Several recent lengthy hospital stays have made it impossible for Kent to continue to work as this disease continues to become more unmanageable. Due to all the back-and-forth uncertainty, Dee decided to be with Kent full time as his main caregiver to be able to spend as much time with him as possible.

Kent is a loving husband, father and grandfather who has always enjoyed participating in various activities with the children as well as fantastic travel with his wife. All this has been stolen away by this hateful disease.

The whole Potiaz Motley Crew! From left to right Harlow, Drew, Poteete (AKA Kent) Olivia, Joshua, Bridgette, Sophia, Dee & Cayson

Kent began multiple rounds of treatment called BCG starting in 2019, which is common for Bladder cancer. It seemed to be working. In August 2022, he was told that the cancer was no longer "detectable" in his bladder. Hooray!

Colorado - Garden Of The God's (hike after 1st diagnoses)

Just a few months later, in November 2022, Kent found a lump in the lymph nodes in his neck that after pathology testing, revealed that he had stage IV Metastatic Bladder Cancer. This setback changed the landscape for Kent's cancer journey. He now had to fight using Chemotherapy.

Christmas 2022 (chemo is getting harder)

Kent fought hard through his first rounds of chemotherapy and immunotherapy to try to knock the cancer back or at least keep it holding where it is. During this time, Kent worked his remote IT job through all chemo treatments to keep insurance and have 2 incomes. Working also helped him keep his mind off his diagnosis and the less-than-comfortable side effects chemo causes. He kept a positive attitude.

Emory Hospital Treatment - "Working from home"

In November of 2023, he suffered an unexpected seizure that revealed he had an infection in the front right lobe of his brain. This infection was putting so much pressure that it caused his cognitive and motor skills be affected. He could not speak, nor did he really know we were in the room. The pressure from this infection caused him to undergo an emergency craniotomy to relieve the pressure. Post-surgery, He was awake, but it took him a few weeks to get back to the Kent we all crack up at. He had to come off his second clinical trial of Chemo to deal with this infection via high-powered antibiotics. He had to quit working. He was not allowed to drive, due to the risk of seizures. Dee's job was the main source of income.

During that time of taking the antibiotics, Kent became unable to swallow even liquids. An endoscopy revealed that he had a cancerous tumor blocking his esophagus. This diagnosis changed the course of his treatment again - he needed nutrition first and foremost, antibiotics second for the brain infection, and he would resume chemo once these prioritized needs were resolved. It was decided to put a Stent in the esophagus while there still was a path through, and put in a peg tube as a backup for the ability to receive nutrition should his stent fail. Imagine the pressures hitting both him and Dee through this time.

The antibiotics for the brain were completed, and he restarted his second Chemo trial. While on the trial, he began to suffer internal bleeding. The doctors had trouble finding an active bleed, but it was believed to be coming from the tumor. Kent is currently going through Radiation to mitigate the bleeding which has caused his hemoglobin to drop randomly and unexpectedly. He remains in the hospital.

By now in the story, you are probably saying HOLY COW this guy is a fighter! And that he is. You are probably saying Dee is a strong woman who is Kent's earth angel. Kent has always been one to persevere in the most severe conditions. All of this said they are at the point where Dee needs to step back from work to be with him full-time.

This is where you come in - any donation you can make will help them not only with day-to-day bills but also the medical bills that are stacking up from his situation.

No donation is too small, and we really appreciate anything you can donate to the Potiaz (Poteete-Diaz) family to help them get through this difficult time.

Bills are top priority currently, but If you prefer to, you can also send them directly to Venmo:

@Doreen-Diaz-6

THANK YOU in advance for your kind gestures.