Hello everyone, my name is Rick and this is my fiancé, Sherri. Just 8 months ago, around the anniversary of a close friend passing away from stage four rectal cancer, Sherri was diagnosed with a very high-risk triple-negative breast cancer.

No words will ever be able to explain the impact it has had on our lives since we began this difficult journey of battling cancer.

When we found out the details of how this was to be handled and how high the chance of cancer coming back even after one of the most aggressive chemo and radiation treatments has been given, it was heart-wrenching.

“Sherri works in Hematology/Oncology in a cancer unit. This can’t happen to her,” I thought. She has also had the privilege and unbelievably stressful duty of nursing our close friend all the way to her final days before passing away from this ruthless disease last year. God bless your soul, Amy. It's affected our lives so much and now it is affecting her directly.

We are both proud people who never wanted to have to ask for help. We will get through this, we said. I started my own concrete business and believed it would be more than enough to support us. This has not been true though, especially with every investment in my business coming out of pocket.

We thought Sherri’s health insurance would cover most of everything, and it’s been a battle from the beginning dealing with a large corporate health organization.

Nurses from the hospital began donating PTO hours to Sherri so she wouldn’t lose her health insurance and also to help us with our one income. We are aware of hundreds of hours that were personally donated from nurses we know, but for whatever reason, the amazing help offered was never granted but for 60 hours of work and nothing more since we began chemo 6 months ago.

The bills are beginning to pour in and at over $30,000 a treatment and a rigorous first four months of treatment weekly, we are finding the bills stacking up quickly. She is towards the end of her second chemo treatment, which is another 4 months of a different chemo drug called the red devil. This round of chemo has been absolutely devastating.

We spent Labor Day weekend in ICU with Sherri fighting for her life and being given blood transfusions for four days. The chemo has torn her body down so bad with nothing left to fight with that her body began to go septic. Her thyroid is out of control, adrenal glands no longer function, and she is completely incapable of regulating her own temperature.

Cancer has completely shattered our way of living. I can’t work enough hours or make enough money. Sherri spent her birthday going to chemo and then coming to work with me. I’m not proud of spending her birthday that way. And today, on Oct 5th, a Saturday, I got up and went to work because there is no other choice or way to get through this. I must work through this and continue to support her any way I can.

This has all been so difficult, but all we can do is pick our feet up and push forward with a smile on our face.

I am reaching out to the community for any small donation to help us get through this difficult time. I can almost guarantee that we all have been affected in one way or another by cancer. Whether it’s your best friend's mom, a friend you grew up racing with, or someone close to you, cancer knows no boundaries.

Thank you for taking the time to read. I chose a picture of Sherri and I during good times to share with all of you because that’s where we’re trying to get back to, even though we know that cancer will change your life forever. Thank you all and if anything, just please pray for Sherri. I love her ❤️