Help us continue to live our "day after."

There is always a day before and a day after. The day before when your life looks one way, and the day after where it is completely different.

We are raising money to attend Cancer Center of Healing in Irvine, CA for my husband Kevin, who has brain cancer.

It was April of 2021 and Kevin came to me and said "I don't know what's happening, but I feel pulled to the right. It doesn't happen for long, but there are multiple episodes a day." I sat with it. Vertigo? No. Seizures? Maybe. After a few months, it became apparent these were seizures.

We saw a neurologist in Seattle in November of 2021 who believed, based on our life circumstances that they were stress induced. We didn't pursue additional care outside of managing stress. They continued but felt less frequent and we thought we had won - less stress! In March of 2022, we moved to Houston, Texas. At the time, we chose Houston for the weather, the culture, and a chance at community. For six months, no seizures occurred.

Fast forward to December 2022 and Kevin had a seizure before getting on a plane. A real one. A real big one. In response, we pursued another opinion in Houston. In the pause between pursuing care and obtaining care, Kevin had another seizure while driving on January 4th, 2023. He called me around noon as I was walking around the neighborhood and said "I don't feel well. I need to come home." That was very unlike him, and we had this agreement that we wouldn't talk about "it." Because if we talked about it, it brought more anxiety, what we believed to be the root cause of it. I got off the phone and did something I hadn't done in 15 years - I prayed.

He called me 30 minutes later, and I knew. He said "I'm okay. I was driving 75 mph and I woke up with my truck in park in the grass median of the freeway." Unscathed.

We headed to a neurologist the following week and he said "this is likely late onset Epilepsy and the likelihood of this being a tumor or anything is very unlikely, and we'll do the MRI anyway." The MRI day came and went. The next day we got a phone call to come in for a second one. Kevin said "they did it wrong so I need to go back." I called and they said "we didn't do it wrong, we found something. We need you to come in soon, tomorrow even. The follow up will be in person the following Monday (the MRI was on a Friday)."

Our hearts sank. There was the day after. What followed was a brain cancer diagnosis, an awake craniotomy, six weeks of radiation and 12 cycles of chemotherapy. He just finished cycle 7.

He had an MRI on 12/12 that showed movement. Another MRI on 2/4, showed additional movement. Two MRIs in a row showed progression of something, and we need to be in the driver's seat. We value what Western Medicine and the three modalities, chemotherapy, radiation, and surgery has given us, and we need Integrative Medicine. The cost per month at the Cancer Center for Healing in Irvine, CA averages $20K a month. The ideal state is we are there for six months, and need help to cover these costs - work loss, travel expenses, etc. Your share, contribution, thoughts, healing, and love mean everything to us. Kevin says "I am a unicorn" and I believe him. His love for Rowan and I, his family, and himself never cease to amaze me. He deserves this.

Love,

The Kricks