As many of you may or may not know, my dad, Gerard Sr., was diagnosed with multiple myeloma back in October of 2016. Shortly after that, he started a three-drug chemo treatment. He continued to work all throughout the treatments, and this July (2019) he finally finished the last round. A couple weeks later he traveled to Seattle to determine if he was a candidate for a more intense chemo and stem cell treatment. At this point the doctors thought he was in serological remission. After determining that he was a candidate for this new treatment, they found that the cancer was already slowly coming back. My dad wanted to try and put off this stem cell treatment for a year, but the doctors have said that it needs to happen as soon as possible.

So, starting this September 11th (2019) my dad will be traveling to Seattle where he will start this new, and more intense, treatment. Because of the intensity of this treatment, my dad will be required to be near the hospital for 90-100 days while he recovers in case there are complications or infections occur. Because of this, my mom will be going with him, and she will also be staying for the duration of the treatment and recovery. This means that both my mom and dad will be out of work and without pay for 3+ months. If you know my parents at all, you know that they are not ones to ask for help; in fact, they would much rather be the ones giving their time/money to help others. Unfortunately, bills do not stop just because you are undergoing chemo treatments, and they will also have to stay in an apartment right next to the hospital for the first month of the treatment.

It is because of all of these things that I have, with my father’s permission, set up this GoFundMe. I am asking for your help. This will be an incredibly difficult time for dad and for our family as a whole. I know that we live in difficult times, but I’m asking for your help in any way that you can. Whether that be through a donation, a private message, a phone call, a card, a letter, or even just simply keeping my father and our family in your prayers these next 3-4 months, any and all of these things would be greatly appreciated. Any money raised here will only be used by my parents to help pay the incoming bills, rent at the apartment, and any other necessary items needed while undergoing this treatment.

With that I’d like to say thank you. My parents thank you. My brother thanks you. And I thank you from the bottom of my heart. My brother and I also plan on using this page to keep you all up to date, as best I can, throughout this whole process. I will be in Mississippi while all of this is happening so the updates might be a day or two after the fact, but it will be updated as soon as possible. Thank you again to all of you.