Hi all,

I'm starting this GoFundMe on behalf of my dear friend Mike. A lot of you in NJ will remember him if you know me.

Mike is in a desperate situation right now, as he has developed a brain tumor that is crossing his optical nerves. It affects hormones, vision, thyroid, causes bad migraines and much more. It could eventually blind him.

He needs surgery to remove it, and this will put him out of work for a few months. We need to raise funds to help pay his rent for at least 2 months while he is on the mend. Please consider throwing in what you can into the pot. It would mean the world to both of us. For a more detailed summary, please read the story in Mike's words.

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I am a full time Personal Trainer. I've been certified for eight years and I love what I do. There are downsides of course. I don't get paid unless I work, and I have to pay for my own medical insurance.

It began in the tail end of 2023 with feeling weaker than usual, more fatigued than usual, and increased crying for no reason. The results of a blood test 2 months later sent me the way of one specialist, which lead to my getting an MRI. The MRI showed I have a Pituitary Adenoma. A Pituitary Adenoma is a benign tumor found in the Pituitary Gland, where hormone production takes place. This one was big enough that if was close to touching my optic chiasm, which can cause headaches or even blind me.

Being that I only get paid If I work, we chose to monitor the tumor through medication. At first, it appeared that the tumor was shrinking, thus, surgery was off the table. In April if this year, however, another MRI indicated that the tumor had grown back to the exact size in which it was discovered. But I didn't feel any different.

Then starting in late July I began experiencing dull headaches. At first I assumed it was sinus related because I historically have had multiple sinus infections throughout the last 25 years alone. But this never went away. I'd made appointments with my neurosurgeon and eventually a neurologist. The pain was manageable at best until last week, when I was to finally see my neurologist.

The headaches became debilitating to the point that last Thursday I admitted myself to the emergency room, thus I was unable to work the next day, costing me much needed money. The CAT scan I was given showed that the tumor grew, but not by much, and that it didn't appear to touch anything.

I was able to move up my scheduled MRI to the following day. As of my typing this, I found out this morning from my neurologist that the MRI shows that my tumor is in fact applying mild pressure on the optic chiasm, the nerve which crosses the eyes. While I have other tests to do, I'm positive I will eventually be going under the knife sooner rather than later.

The problem now is I have bills to pay, rent to pay, and not a lot of money to do so because I was trying to clean up other problems since I'd begun making money again. I do not have enough money to cover the costs of my rent or my utilities, and I will probably not be able to work for two months.

I'm not going to ask for much. I'd probably if anything ask for $2400 at most. That'll cover two months worth of rent so I at least have a roof over my head before I go back to work. This is extremely embarrassing for me to do. I never ask for help and I usually make sure to have resources; but they all have been depleted due to other hardships. Any little bit helps, and I thank you all in advance.