Help Carl and Bronwen as Carl fights Brain Cancer

These are not words anyone wishes to write: My name is Erin Azalea Moen, and I’m creating this GoFundMe campaign on behalf of my brother-in-law and my sister, fundraising to help them navigate his battle with brain cancer.

What’s happened:

On the afternoon of May 18th, I received a call from my sister Bronwen. Carl was having a neurological event of some kind, and she was driving behind his ambulance on the way to the ER. After arriving at the hospital, Carl had multiple seizures. After some testing, it was revealed that he had multiple brain tumours and was quickly rushed to another hospital in Montreal that had a special neurosurgery unit.

The next day, they were told he needed to go in for a risky brain surgery the following morning to try to remove some of one of the tumours, both to make his symptoms better and so they could biopsy and figure out what kind of tumours they were dealing with before starting treatment. Thankfully, he made it through this risky surgery and, after some recovery time in the hospital, was sent home for further recovery with a giant scar on his head and 36 staples as his souvenir.

About a week later, we heard the worst: it was grade 4 Glioblastoma, an aggressive and typically terminal form of brain cancer.

To say this has been devastating would be an understatement. Carl is such a strong, passionate, creative man with so much energy! For anyone who knows him, it seems impossible to imagine the world without him in it. And for Bronwen - after losing both of our parents not too long ago, she now has to navigate this awful situation and lose her life partner. The grief is immense. And they are facing it with grace and tenacity and the help of their community and family, as they do most things.

This last month has been spent tending to themselves, getting Carl set up for Chemo and Radiation treatment and reorienting their whole lives to this new and awful reality. Their amazing community here in Montreal has been cooking up a storm and taking care of them/us (I’ve been here in Montreal with them for the last month) with so much love, but now that Carl is in treatment, and we’re out of immediate crisis mode, we’re now turning our attention to setting them up for the long term so that they can be taken care of the whole way through as they face this tragedy together.

So, before I go any further, I should probably answer some questions for those of you who don’t know:

Who are these wonderful beings?

Carl Prey is an immensely creative and community oriented person. Originally from Southwest Ontario, Carl travelled the world living in China, New Orleans and across Canada before settling in Montreal as his home. His most recent career was as a Cabinet Maker - building beautiful hardwood furniture and custom built-in units. His passions include: playing percussion for an activist brass band (Fanfare D’Ocassion), cycling and community bike shops (an amazing community bike mechanic over the many years of living in Montreal), playing music (guitar, harmonica, vocals), hosting community gatherings (bonfires outback his woodshop) , being an inspiration, solid presence and support for his friends, family and community. And of course loving up his two cats: Benji and Charlie.

Bronwen Moen is one of the most passionate and creative people you’ll ever meet. Originally from southern British Columbia, Bronwen also ventured around before landing in Montreal in 2006 to complete her BFA and then MFA in painting. These days, Bronwen is a multi-disciplinary Artist, Maker and Facilitator - lending her brilliance to a wide swath of incredible creative and community projects on top of her own practice. With a love of music making, community and their cats, Bronwen shares many passions with Carl.

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Carl + Bronwen:

Bronwen and Carl met in 2014 on the dance floor at Sala Rosa in Montreal after many years of orbiting each other in community. They have supported each others’ growth immensely, both personally and professionally, often collaborating in their respective creative projects (from Circus Theater tall ships to props and sets for TV/film and making music together). Their commitment to each other, humour and deep affection are hallmarks of their wonderful relationship.

What is Glioblastoma?

In simple terms, if you have a brain tumour, it’s the kind you REALLY don’t want.

In less simple terms, it is a very aggressive form of brain cancer. If you have it, even if it responds well to treatment, it will almost always come back. Less than 5-10% of patients with it live past 5 years. The advantage that Carl has over many other patients is that he’s young and very healthy otherwise. Even with that on his side, unfortunately, it is likely not a matter of if, but when.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glioblastoma

So, what now?

Thankfully, they were able to get Carl into Radiation and Chemotherapy pretty quickly (he started the second week of June). This first round of treatment looks like Chemo and Radiation for 6 weeks, followed by a 4-week break, at which point they’ll assess how responsive he was to the first round and set up his next course of treatment. He may be able to enter some clinical trials of new treatments in the fall, depending on how this first round of treatment goes. No matter what this looks like near-daily appointments for the foreseeable future.

This is where they need your support:

Due to his seizures, Carl is unable to drive. And due to the tumours, chemo, and other medications, his memory, focus and capacity have been deeply impacted. While he still has decent energy and has been enjoying some visits with friends and family, he needs a support person on hand nearly all day, every day. This means that he is unable to work, and Bronwen’s ability to work is VERY limited.

In case you didn’t know, both Bronwen and Carl are self-employed. With the level of caregiving needed, Bronwen has been unable to work much and the level of caregiving is only going to increase from here. So far, Bronwen has been denied caregiver’s EI, and the one disability support that Carl is eligible for won’t even process his application for another 150 days. ‍

On top of the extra things they’re needing to pay for, I’m hoping to fundraise to cover their day-to-day expenses for as long as possible so that they can spend Carl’s remaining time enjoying their lives together instead of hustling to get food on the table.

On top of their day-to-day expenses, they’re also having to cover the cost of expensive medications, and many of the treatments may not be fully covered. They’re also out of pocket for any accommodations and therapeutic supports for both of them through this - I can speak from experience, being one of the primary caregivers for our parents through their deaths, therapy is essential.

My dream is that money is not something they have to worry about through this time of so many other worries and stresses. And at the very least, I want to make sure that at the end of this, on top of losing her partner, my sister is not left in a mountain of debt or bankrupt as many are after extended crises like this.

How you can help:

Let’s take care of these two wonderful beings who mean so much to us!

Thank you in advance for all your support!

A very important fortune cookie he opened the other day. We're taking it as a great omen.