Hi, my name is Brian. I am writing today asking for help for my wife, Heather. We met in 1994 and have been married for 20 years. We have two children, an 18 year old daughter who is starting college this spring and a 16 year old son, who is finishing his junior year of high school.

Heather has always wanted to help children that struggled in school. She has been a teacher for as long as I've known her and wants nothing more than to help them succeed. She has taught in Ohio and North Carolina in grades 2-8. Heather has served in coaching roles too, to help other teachers succeed in the classroom. When Heather wanted to see if her coaching techniques were working, she went back into the classroom to see for herself. Most recently she has been working as a coach to a team of 3rd grade teachers in Greensboro.

On Oct 10, 2020, Heather underwent a craniotomy to remove as much as they could of a lemon-sized brain tumor. She remained in ICU for two weeks and then a short hospital stay before going to rehab. During this time, we are still waiting for an official diagnosis. The photo I posted was taken the day before she went to rehab. We had just shaved her head. We both thought it looked great!

After 4 days in rehab, Heather had a seizure that brought her back to the hospital on Oct 28th. On the 29th we received the official diagnosis of a class IV glioblastoma multiforme, which is a rare and aggressive brain tumor.

Her team of doctors started her on chemo and 6 weeks of radiation. Heather has been in the hospital for over 50 days and completed 23 of the 30 radiation treatments. The radiation has completely wiped her out, making the stay in the hospital necessary to receive treatments.

Heather was scheduled to receive her last radiation treatment on Dec 17th, but on Dec 8th, the team of doctors ordered an MRI to check progress. To everyones surprise and shock, the tumor was not responding to either the radiation or the chemo. It actually almost doubled in size. This was not expected. The doctors discontinued the treatment and increased the steroid to help the swelling come down. This was intended to help Heather regain some alertness and speech.

Coivd has allowed us to visit one at a time.  The three of us take turns spending as much time as we can with Heather. But it makes for a lonely journey because Heather struggles with her speech and we can’t visit as a family.

We are asking for help with medical expenses relating to Heathers treatment. This includes the ER, imaging, transportation, medication, hospital stays, cancer research and any other related expenses.