Help Charlie Crush Cancer!

A good friend of mine Charlie Taylor has been through a lot over the years. From losing a child to battling cancer shortly after. I asked Charlie to share his story below. Please consider helping Charlie Crush Cancer!

From Charlie:

"Our Daughter Madelynn was born with congenital heart disease, pulmonary stenosis, an undeveloped lung, and a rare chromosomal abnormality that was causing her cardiovascular system to narrow from the inside. Her heart was under an immense amount of stress at birth and never really got better. At age 3 she suffered two strokes, 2 weeks apart. The result of a weak heart and a compromised cardiovascular system her brain wasn’t getting the proper blood flow. 4 weeks in the hospital and at 8 weeks she had to have emergency brain surgery to implement new ways to present her brain with new ways to make and create new blood flow from her carotid arteries. The surgery gave us 3 more years with Maddy. At the time of Mady’s passing her carotid arteries were completely closed off. Maddy was active at school and dance during her brief life with us. The doctors were shocked to hear she was living such an active life considering what she was living with. She suffered aphasia after her strokes along with impaired speech, hearing, communicating and lost all strength on the right side of her body. She learned to walk twice. As a result of a failed heart procedure on May 30th of 2022, Maddy passed away at UofM Hospital on June 27th, 2022. She fought on life support for 4 courageous weeks.

Jump forward a few months. In September of 2022, I was diagnosed with stage 3 colon cancer. This helped explain why I felt so terrible for most of the year. Too busy dealing with mourning the loss of a child to worry about my own health issues. That was not a good idea. Surgery in October to remove a tumor and lymph nodes. Currently cancer was been found in my abdomen and I'm being treated with immunotherapy. My future is certainly unknown. The cost behind raising Maddy (and her brother), her medical bills, my medical bills have become overwhelming. I have not been able to work for the past 6 months and returning to work may never happen. 2022 was not only a shock to our family but a financial shock that has left our family in need. As a husband and father with an uncertain future, I'm a long way away from having the financial ability to take care of all things I need to in case of my fight against cancer isn’t enough. My wife is an absolute super hero for what she has been through. She needs and deserves everything I can do to put her and my son in a good place. Tomorrow is a promise to no one. We have learned that lesson as a family the hard way. What a gift being healthy is.

Thank you.

Charlie Taylor"