My name is Rod Brekken. We are raising funds for my son-in-law, Garett Wiltse, to help him and my daughter Kari stem a financial setback due to the need for brain surgery to remove a tumor. Garett had been having some questionable pains in his left thigh area that had recently been getting stronger. Recently, the pain traveled up into his lower back and it was hard to breathe. He was visiting his parents in Lisbon at the time on June 15th, and they strongly suggested that he visit the ER at Sanford Hospital in Fargo on his way home to Grand Forks. Two MRIs and four CT scans were conducted, and a brain tumor was discovered in his right parietal lobe. He was immediately admitted and was monitored by a variety of medical analysis equipment. A neurosurgeon and a neurologist determined he needed to remain hospitalized because the episodes were labeled seizures until a surgical procedure was completed. He had surgery on June 19th and has since returned home to Grand Forks and is recovering from the surgery there until results of the biopsy are available.

Kari is an ESL teacher in the Grand Forks School district, and Garett just recently began a counseling job at the Air Base but hasn't been there long enough for PTO. Kari interrupted her summer school teaching job to be by her husband's side during this medical emergency. Garett and Kari have one son, Carter, age 14.