Help Support Gretchen and Her son as he fights for his life.

Join us in this unimaginable battle with a very rare, fast growing and aggressive cancer called High grade Neuroendocrine carcinoma.

A dear friend of mine; Gretchen, who always wanted to be a mom, adopted three children at birth. A set of twin boys, Alex and Andrew (2002) and Samantha (2004), a daughter to round out the family. Over the next few decades Gretchen became a Hospice RN Case Manager, the kids all graduated from high school, one going into the US Air Force, the other taking classes to be a vet tech, and Samantha the youngest took a gap year.

Fast forward to September 2024 while Andrew was working for Amazon he started to have what he thought was an out of season allergy issue that would not get better. Andrew went to the ER twice and was sent home with antibiotics and returned a third time feeling worse and along with the antibiotic he was told he has a nasal polyp and that he was being referred to an ENT to take a better look at it. Andrew met with the doctor and during the exam, the doctor told Andrew that he never saw a nasal polyp look like this and asked to get a biopsy and an MRI done.

Prior to Andrew’s diagnosis he was working at Amazon Fulfillment Center and living on his own. Once he started to become sick and missed work he lost his job and became homeless. Andrew reached out to his mom and asked her to accompany him to the dr for the results of his biopsy.

Now comes Oct. 30th, 2024, the day of the doctor's appointment to reveal the findings of the MRI and biopsy. Gretchen attended the appointment with Andrew. During this appointment Andrew was given a preliminary diagnosis of malignant esthesioneuroblastoma. Andrew’s first question, “Am I going to die”. Mom’s heart was instantly shattered. From that moment forward, she never left Andrew's bedside. He was then referred to the Cleveland Clinic for a second opinion and treatment plan. However, prior to making it to this appointment, on Nov 4, Andrew ended up in the ER at Cleveland Clinic. After spending 27 hours in the Emergency Room he was finally admitted to the ENT floor. He was moved 4 more times in less than a week, due to new findings and developments, landing him in the Neuro Step Down unit after a hematoma was found on a scan. Before the afternoon could start, Andrew was rushed into a 12 ½ hour surgery to remove the hematoma. He required a full craniotomy which needed to be closed with 60 staples. He was cut ear to ear. When Andrew was brought back to the Neuro ICU, the surgeons came and spoke with mom. She was told they removed the hematoma, and that they found several fluid sacs of infection all around his brain. They removed these as well. While trying to remove some of the tumor, the amount of blood loss was much greater than anticipated, resulting in Andrew receiving 10 units of blood and having to stay intubated an extra day.

After spending a week in the ICU Unit, prior to discharge the surgeon came in to speak with Andrew and Mom as it was at this time that all the biopsies had come back. They were told that it was not esthesioneuroblastoma but rather a much more rare and fast growing and aggressive cancer known as High Grade NeuroEndocrine Carcinoma. Because of this new diagnosis, Andrew was discharged home with a PICC line as he required around the clock IV antibiotics and medications as well as PICC line flushes and dressing changes. Mom moved him into her home to be his primary and only caregiver.

Gretchen, who is a Hospice RN Case Manager, is currently unable to work due to her personal health issues that previously were managed until finding out about the devastating news of her son. These health issues have now been exacerbated and are creating additional daily challenges.

They will have a great deal of medical bills as well as day to day expenses to consider.

Your donations will help take the day to day worries away and allow them to focus on the aggressive treatment and spending quality time together making priceless memories.

Andrew is currently being treated at the Cleveland Clinic Taussig Cancer Center which is 60+ miles away from their home. In the past several weeks, Grechen has had to take Andrew back and forth numerous times a week for appointments.

This devastating news has turned their world upside down and we are desperately seeking your support to help them get through this challenging journey as she is the sole provider and caregiver. Her time away from work to care not only for herself but also her son unfortunately is unpaid and has left her amidst financial burdens and lost wages with day to day bills piling up. On top of these fixed expenses, there have been a multitude of surprise expenses such as, gas, parking, food, lodging, etc.. Now with both mom and Andrew facing the next 3 months of daily chemotherapy along with radiation they will need to stay in Cleveland.

Although I know everyone cannot afford to give; your prayers and words of encouragement are appreciated way more than words can express.

Thank you so very much in advance for all of your support.