Help Us Save My Wife’s Life and Bring Our Family Home

In January 2024, my wife and I packed up our lives in Virginia Beach, VA, and moved across the country to Albuquerque, NM with one goal — to adopt the two beautiful children who had stolen our hearts. We were foster parents in Virginia and had the privilege of meeting our kids while visiting New Mexico. The moment we met them, we knew — they were meant to be ours.

It’s been a whirlwind of emotions since that day — the ups and downs of the foster-to-adopt process, the joy of seeing our children smile, the heartbreak of waiting for court dates, and the deep love that has grown in our little family. We have fostered many amazing children along the way, and each one has left a mark on our hearts. But our focus has always been on building a forever home for the two who call us “Mom” and “Dad.”

Then, in March of this year, our world was turned upside down.

My wife, who had been fighting what we thought was a stubborn cold, went to the ER when it just wouldn’t go away. We assumed it might be pneumonia, since all the kids had colds too. But we were blindsided by the diagnosis: Stage 4 Metastatic Melanoma.

In an instant, everything changed.

For the past seven months, I’ve watched my wife fight — with every ounce of strength she has — through immunotherapy, radiation, chemotherapy, and endless hospital visits. I’ve seen the pain, the exhaustion, and the heartbreaking toll it’s taken on her body. But what amazes me most is how fiercely she still shows up every single day for our children.

Even on the worst days — when her body aches, when the nausea won’t stop, when all she wants to do is collapse — she still finds the strength to smile for our kids. She plans fun activities, builds homemade mineral rock digs and sand pits, hangs swings, and laughs with them until bedtime. Only after they’re asleep does she finally let her body rest and the pain take over.

She is the strongest, most selfless person I know.

We have gone back and forth about creating a GoFundMe. We’ve always been the kind of people who believe we can handle anything life throws at us. But now, we’re at a point where we need help.

Unfortunately, the medical care in New Mexico is not providing her access to the newest treatment options available for her diagnosis. We’ve been told that other states and cancer centers across the U.S. are offering promising treatments and clinical trials that she currently cannot receive here.

So, we are asking for your help — from our friends, family, and anyone who may read this and feel moved by our story.

We need to raise funds to cover medical expenses and moving costs to get my wife the advanced care she desperately needs and deserves.

Every dollar brings us closer to hope. Hope to give her more time, better care, and a fighting chance to watch our children grow up.

If you are able to donate, please do. And if you can’t, sharing this story means the world to us.

Thank you for taking the time to read about our family’s journey. Thank you for your prayers, your kindness, and your support.

We still believe in hope. We still believe in miracles. And with your help, we can give her the best chance to keep fighting.

❤️ From our family to yours, thank you.