Support the Weaver Family Through Lung Surgery/Chemo

Hello, my name is Gina Weaver, and I truly appreciate you taking a moment to read our story. Two years ago, we were blindsided by my Stage IV lung cancer diagnosis. I pushed through another year of teaching full-time, thanks to a miracle targeted therapy called Tagrisso, but by spring, it became obvious I would no longer have the voice nor energy to work full-time. Being a 50% contributor to the household income, we were left with a big dent in our budget! Five months awaiting disability drained our allotted savings; but, in the fall, I was blessed with a part-time teaching job in a small group setting. Meanwhile, the tumor grew and spread further into the lung. Survival expectations were around 1 1/2 years on Tagrisso, so I didn’t actually expect to be around at this point, to be brutally honest. But here we are! And then, my oncologist said I was a good candidate for a lobectomy, to take out part of the lung with the newly-reactivated tumor and lymph nodes. In a nutshell, the original cancer will continue to be suppressed with Tagrisso, while I lose 20% of my lungs which contain the mutating tumors. Deal!

I just had the surgery - successful! But will have to take 8 weeks to heal before teaching again. And somewhere in there I will begin chemo, also. The money raised by our dear friend Dale will supplement our family as we adjust to our change in income and pay our fixed bills while I am unable to work over the next several weeks.

Any amount you are willing to contribute is greatly appreciated. And if you can’t donate at this time, a share of our story to family and friends would mean a lot to us, as well. Thank you!

A note from Dale -

A dream of mine has always been to drive US1 from Maine to Key West. I will be taking that trip shortly. As I thought about it, I thought to myself that I should use my trip as a means to spread word about Gina and her family's journey through her battle with cancer.

I tried to think of ways to promote it, so I thought I could give you some ideas on donating coinciding with the trip. If you would like sponsorship suggestions -

Trip from MI to Key West - one cent/mile: $35 10 cents/mile: $350

Full trip MI to FL to MI - one cent/mile: $50 10 cents/mile: $500

PLEASE NOTE - 100 percent of the money raised goes to Gina and her family. The trip is just a promotional event for this fundraiser to get the word out!