Hello, my name is Richard Gazotti. My wife’s name is Anissa. We’ve been together for 24 years and have four great daughters, Alyssa, Avangelene, Annabell, and Athena. Our lives have taken a drastic turn in the last 7 days.

Anissa has been experiencing really bad headaches since May. We started going to the doctors in June, but we couldn't figure out what the issue was. Then, on Tuesday, September 3, the pain was so bad that she was nauseous and vomiting, so we rushed her to the emergency room. They kept her overnight and expedited an MRI that led to the discovery of three brain tumors. She has been in the hospital in ICU ever since.

Not knowing the severity of the procedures that were coming, Anissa and I decided to move our Vow Renewal up and get married via a Priest in an emergency impromptu wedding because we didn’t know if she would survive the next day. She was considered an emergency case for two days because the spinal fluid is not draining from her skull due to the tumor size blocking the tubes in her skull.

This morning, she received the biopsy procedure that went well, and now we just found out that the tumors are cancerous. The tumors are on her cerebellum, which creates unique problems. There is also a small tumor in her right lung that has been identified and needs a deeper examination.

The biopsy is just the start of this whole new life that we’re gonna be living. Needless to say, Anissa will not be returning to work anytime soon. Due to that and the fact that nine months ago, I switched my career and took a really big pay cut so that I could work at One Hope as the evangelism and outreach pastor, our family is going to need some help. It’s not easy for me to ask for things, but I received a message from a new friend of ours from One Hope who is fighting colon cancer, and she recommended immediately that I start a GoFundMe to help get support for my family’s needs. She stated that the only reason they were able to get through this was because of the support of other people. So, I’m humbly asking for help for me and my family as we navigate this new difficult season in our lives.