Help George and his family while he fights cancer

My brother George Raynard was recently diagnosed with a Grade 3 Oligodendroglioma Brain Tumor. This cancer is rare, with a low survival rate and high rate of reoccurrence. George is the sole provider for his wife and 3 young daughters 10, 8 and 4. His fight against cancer will force him off work for a minimum of 1 year. He needs our help to provide for his children while he fights this disease. Please give anything you can to help my family.

If you are interested in learning more about George and his family and their journey……please feel free to read the story below.

My name is Helen and George is one of my little brothers. If you know me and my family, you likely know that my middle brother George and his wife Ashley are very private people. They rarely engage in social media, almost never post photos of their 3 beautiful girls Arya (10), Violet (8) and Lilah (4), and live a very minimalist life. They care deeply about nature and the environment and have raised their children with a strong love for the arts, animals and the wilderness. If they did not need our help, I promise you, they would never let me share their story. But with their permission, I am going to let you all in on the journey the past 5 years has been, and hopefully you will help in anyway you can.

In November 2018, Ashley was 4 months pregnant with the youngest girl Lilah. Unexpectedly George had a severe seizure at his home. The ambulance rushed him to the hospital and the wait to find out what the cause was began. It was not long before we were informed that George had a brain tumor. The doctors were unsure of what kind of tumor it was, but stated that they would need to cut open his skull in order to determine that information. They also said that it was likely they would not be able to remove the entire tumor and additional treatment would be needed. After careful consideration, the doctors, George and Ashley decided it was best to wait and monitor the tumor, rather than perform surgery, because Ashley would soon be giving birth and George would need to be there during that time. However, the seizure caused 2 dislocated shoulders and George was unable to work for 6 months. This financial loss had them using up most of their savings to get through that time. His licence was taken away because of the seizure and Ashley had to drive him to work everyday once he was able to work again. After some time on the new seizure medication, he was able to drive again and tried to go on working, in order to provide for his family.

George and Ashley knew that the outcome may not be what they hoped, so they made sure to spend lots of quality time together as a family, camping, fishing and hiking whenever they could to create memories for the girls over the next 4 years.

Every 3 months, George would have an MRI and he and Ashley would head back to the hospital praying for good news. George would be physically and emotionally unwell the days leading up to that appointment. The immense stress of the possibility of bad news was overwhelming.

In July of 2022, George had another seizure. They took his license away for another 4 months which was another financial hit for him and the family. After another MRI, the doctors discovered that the tumor was starting to change. They said that with this information, they had to recommend that it was time for the surgery to remove the tumor and determine what was happening.

The surgery took place on January 31st, 2023. George had his scull cut front the front of his left eye to behind his ear. He received 44 staples.

We were all so hopeful and positive that the outcome would be a benign tumor…..but that was not the case.

The doctors sat George and Ashley down and explained that they were not able to remove the entire tumor. They told them that the tumor was in-fact cancerous. Grade 3 Oligodendroglioma they said. A rare cancer, with a low survival rate and high rate of re-occurrence. They explained that the next steps would be chemotherapy and radiation for 6 weeks, followed by a year of chemo for one week each month. They said after the 6 weeks was complete they would have a better idea if the treatment was working on the leftover areas of the tumor.

In March George started the treatment.

April 25th was his last day of radiation, driving over an hour to and from the hospital everyday. The MRI to determine the success of the treatment is scheduled for May 21st with the results to follow. We have no idea what the outcome will be, of course we are praying for the best, but we have to wait to see.

I had the opportunity of driving my brother to his radiation appointments every Friday. It was the most one on one time we had together since we were kids. We talked about our childhood, our struggles and triumphs as parents, the lessons we have learned about love and so much more. It was the part of my week that I looked forward to the most, just to spend that time with my little brother.

As the weeks went on, he started talking about his fears….never being able to meet his grandchildren or be a grandfather, his fear of missing the small milestones of his daughters lives and not being there for the big ones. But then it started to become the stress of his finances, his inability to work, the roof of his house was leaking and he can’t afford to pay for a new roof or fix the soffits. He worried about fixing his broken gutter and other small tasks that he doesn’t have the energy or ability to complete . His body was weakening and the disability amount he is receiving will not cover his mortgage, feed his children and cover the unexpected issues that are presenting themselves. He was no longer focused on fighting the disease that was trying to kill him, he could only think and stress about not being able to look after his family financially.

As a sister - my heart was breaking. I know that I cannot give him the money he needs on my own to get through the next year or more. I know that my brother loves his wife and daughter more than his own life and he will do anything he has to to look after them. But right now, he needs to look after himself and let his body heal.

And that is why we started this Go Fund Me. Because every dollar helps, because George and his family need us and because we know we can’t do it without your help! So please, whatever you are able to donate to my brother and his family while they fight the hardest fight of their lives, we will all be forever grateful.

Thank you for reading about their journey and please feel free to share with anyone and everyone you know.