Help Michael Recover from Life-Saving Surgery

When meeting my father, you learn three things right away...

He'd do anything for my mother, brother, myself, and my children.

He puts in the work no matter what he's doing.

And he probably could have been a comedian in another life.

A girl's first love is typically her father. He has always seemed like a superhero to me; no matter what, he's always had things handled and made me feel safe.

On February 14th of this year, things got much bigger than his hands could handle, though, and it was our turn to make him feel safe. My father, Michael, was diagnosed with Leiomyosarcoma. We quickly came together as a family and made sure doctor's appointments were made, a plan was in place, and he was getting the best care we could get him. Chemo started on April 5th. He pushed through treatment after treatment, like a true rockstar. We all went through what I suppose is "the norm" for cancer patients and their families: appointment after appointment, doctors and specialists, paperwork, planning, shaving his head (he looked like an army sergeant!), and an overwhelming amount of emotions.

On August 18th, he was taken to the emergency room and admitted. Things had just taken a turn for the worse. On the 21st of August, he was transported to Northwestern in Chicago. In the next few days, his team worked hard to come up with a plan. Options for him, for us as a family. We weren't looking for a bandaid; we wanted a cure!

As the pain worsened and what seemed like one thing after another started happening, my dad decided he was ready for surgery. His wonderful team of superstars started the tests and the planning. A complicated surgery was an understatement. In order to tackle the tumor, they had to remove organs.

On September 3rd at 9:30 am, we put all of our trust into his team and watched as they took my father down for what seemed like an impossible surgery. Around 3 pm, a nurse came into the room and told us he was in post-op!! You could literally FEEL the weight lifted. We knew it wasn't over yet and recovery would be long and difficult. But how long and difficult, we never could have guessed. Thankfully, they removed all of the tumor! But in doing so, he also lost some organs due to the damage from the cancer. It has been a long road already, with a lot of bumps and setbacks. But he is getting stronger every day! We are beyond thankful for his team and for him pulling through. However, with him being 2 hours away, making sure he isn't alone and being well taken care of has been difficult. As well as just day to day things.

We have decided to create this GoFundMe to raise funds during this difficult time while Michael is healing and recovering.

We want him to worry about his recovery, not his family and finances.