Help Jeremy Keep Fighting: A Story of Faith, Strength, and Hope

Jeremy Diaz has been courageously fighting a brain tumor since 2020—but that was only the beginning of his battle.

What doctors initially believed were effects of his tumor turned out to be multiple devastating conditions all progressing at once. He has since been diagnosed with Parkinson’s, Multiple System Atrophy and neurodegeneration, and is also paralyzed from the knees down, relying on a wheelchair and the constant care of his family.

His conditions affect nearly every part of his life: mobility, speech, cognition and even basic autonomic functions. Every single day, Jeremy lives with a level of pain most of us can’t imagine. He has not been able to work full-time for nearly a decade, leaving his wife, Lissa, to care for their family as sole bread-winner, while also serving as his primary caretaker. His care now also includes a palliative nurse who helps him to live as comfortably as possible.

Yet Jeremy is so much more than his diagnoses.

He is a devoted husband, a loving father of three, and a loyal friend who continues to encourage others even as he endures unimaginable hardship. He is a lover of music, especially Toad the Wet Sprocket, and has developed a special friendship with the lead singer, Glen Phillips, which he treasures. Jeremy has always been someone who lifts people up, and remarkably, still does. Above all, Jeremy is a man of unwavering faith in Jesus. That faith has carried him through surgeries, setbacks, and the daily challenges he faces.

This year brings new hurdles. Jeremy needs multiple procedures to improve mobility and reduce long-term pain, while he still fights multiple tumors in his body. Unfortunately, he has already encountered multiple insurance denials. Lissa is fighting through the appeals process, but even if she wins, the financial burden promises to be significant. The family is pressing forward regardless, however, because without the surgeries, Jeremy has no chance of easing his pain.

First and foremost, the family asks for prayer. Secondly, while it isn’t easy to ask, we are requesting monetary support to help ease the overwhelming financial strain of ongoing medical care and to create a safer, more accessible home for Jeremy.

Jeremy and Lissa and their three children share a home with one small half bath and one full bath on the main level that is extremely difficult for Jeremy to use. Their long-term hope is to create a larger, fully-accessible bathroom for him. In the short term, they aim to make their current bathroom safer and more accessible to help restore some dignity, comfort and independence for him. But with their current medical costs and financial burden of being a one-income home, this is not something they can do on their own. Every small gift helps ease their financial burden.

Thank you for standing with Jeremy and helping him continue to fight, hope and hold onto the things that matter most. For those looking to help in other ways, the family also has an Amazon wish list to support medical needs that will be posted later.