Over the past few years, I’ve been dealing with ongoing complications from multiple cancer treatments, and it’s finally reached a breaking point—physically, financially, and emotionally.

After radiation in June/July of 2024, I developed severe internal swelling that caused my stomach to twist and push up into my chest. For almost 10 months, I was vomiting regularly and couldn’t properly eat or absorb nutrients. By the time I was hospitalized in May of 2025, my heart rate had dropped to 42 and my labs showed I was on the edge of starvation. I had two surgeries last summer to try to fix the damage, but recovery has been long and complicated. I’m still dealing with the aftermath, including needing major dental work from all the damage caused by stomach acid.

At the same time, I’m facing another serious issue, stage 2/3 lymphedema from the removal of over half of my groin lymph nodes during cancer surgery in 2020. My legs swell dramatically, all the way up into my abdomen, causing constant pain and making it difficult to stand, move, or work. I’m now preparing for more surgeries to try to reroute my lymphatic system, and if that doesn’t work, I may need a lymph node transplant.

In addition to all of that, I’m currently dealing with severe back injuries, including a disc bulge at L4/L5 and a radiation-induced sacral fracture. I’m scheduled for a steroid epidural next week, and have been told to lay down as much as possible and avoid lifting for the next several months, all of which makes running a business incredibly difficult.

Verdant Vivariums isn’t just a business to me, it’s something I’ve fought to build and protect through some of the hardest moments of my life. My company started after a work accident while I was a landscape gardener at Disneyland. That accident led to 8 years of reconstructive surgeries to my legs and pelvis. After my surgeries I needed to switch careers. I built Verdant as a way of continuing to do what I love, in a capacity more aligned with my new restrictions.

Over the past 15 years, I’ve kept this business going through 4 cancer recurrences and 5 cancer surgeries, along with countless other treatments and recoveries. Through everything, my biggest motivation has always been the same: to not lose my business. I’ve always put everything I have—physically and mentally—into Verdant. It’s never just been a shop. It’s a space built around community, conservation, and education.

But during the months I was the sickest, I physically couldn’t be there consistently, especially with a 3–4 hour daily commute. When I returned from my May 2025 hospital stay, I found that without me present, my employees had mostly stopped coming in and the plants hadn’t been watered at all. I had to throw away over $15,000 in dead inventory immediately, and the losses from just last summer totaled over $40,000.

I decided to salvage what I could and make some drastic changes. I let my staff go and moved the store closer to my home in Corona. Unfortunately, permitting delays at the new Corona location have prevented me from opening our new storefront. What was supposed to make life easier, moving to a location only 8 minutes from home, has turned into a nightmare. Without a functioning storefront, I’ve been forced to travel constantly to vend at shows just to keep income coming in. In the past few weeks alone, I’ve traveled to Las Vegas, Chicago, and Michigan, all while dealing with a fractured sacrum and severe back pain. Luckily I have some amazing new staff at the new location who love watering and caring for the plants and animals, we just need my health to stabilize and to be able to open the new store.

Right now I'm trying to:

Recover from multiple surgeries/cancer treatments and ongoing complications

Prepare for additional surgeries for lymphedema

Heal from a spinal injury/fracture that limits my ability to work

Stabilize and rebuild Verdant Vivariums after major losses and a move

Despite everything, I’ve kept pushing forward. I’m constantly working, traveling, and doing whatever I can to keep my business and mission alive, but I’ve reached a point where I can’t do this alone anymore.

Any support will go toward:

Medical expenses (upcoming surgeries, recovery, and care)

Living expenses during recovery when I’m unable to fully work

Paying employees to help with lifting, shipping, and daily operations while I'm on limited duty

Rebuilding lost plant inventory

Stabilizing Verdant Vivariums so it can continue operating

I hate asking for help. I’ve always tried to figure things out on my own and keep moving forward no matter what. I try to stay optimistic and just push through whatever is in front of me. But right now, I’ve hit a wall. And as hard as it is to say that, I really do need help to get through this and keep everything I’ve worked for from falling apart.