As most of our close friends know, our mom Patti Watson was diagnosed with Glioblastoma at the beginning of May 2024. Glioblastoma is a Grade 4 terminal brain cancer that is extremely aggressive on the body and the mind.

Since diagnosis, she has had major life adjustments. Since the time she left work in May 2024, she completely lost her mobility and is fully in a wheelchair with consistent caregiving. The speed at which all of these physical and mental/motor changes have occurred has been a major life adjustment for us, especially our dad. The toll isn’t just emotional but also comes with logistical challenges (him working from home, managing appointments and caregiving, and also making home changes for it to be livable and comfortable for her).

When this journey started for us, we had hoped that we wouldn’t come to need financial support from friends/loved ones. However the reality is that the medical and insurance system is flawed and there have been extremely high out-of-pocket costs to properly care for her. While insurance covers part of the costs, not everything is retroactive and with Glioblastoma, her needs have far exceeded the coverage.

Some include: consultations/treatments/hospital stays, caregivers, mobility equipment, home modifications (ADA), a hospital bed, meal services and general loss of income due to early retirement.

Our dad has worked so hard his whole life and the emotional burden is so much, that we are hoping to lift some of the financial burden. We are beyond grateful to anyone able to contribute during this extremely challenging time. No matter the donation size, it makes such a difference and humbles us all. This help gives us peace of mind that we are giving her the best possible care.

Thank you!

Eric Watson & Diana Zawacki

Diana has been using this Caring bridge page to post updates on our mom https://www.caringbridge.org/site/edf529fd-11be-11ef-9f33-4bea3adce913?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAR2sg0ckDwrAnjKb4GArn9JABMXQ7UV_OMFcf0H8mmMaAnO2Jz_2143hTg4_aem_c8bj8op9fWDZN6FgJMShxg