Introduction

For those of you who know my husband, he needs no introduction, but I will try. I might be biased, but I think he is the greatest, most generous, all-around fantastic guy you’ll ever meet. He is the best husband, an attentive Dog Dad, a loving son, a protective brother, a music lover, a drink slinger, an outdoor enthusiast, and an all-around lover of life. We were married in March of this year and were having a great start to married life when our lives took an unexpected turn.

Diagnosis and Treatment Plan

On August 2nd, 2024, Zac was rushed into the Medical Center of the Rockies for emergency surgery. He was diagnosed with Stage IIB Testicular Cancer. While the surgery was successful, the cancer has spread to his lymph nodes, and he will need to undergo a 12-week Chemotherapy Treatment to kill the rest of the cancer.

The treatment he will receive, proven successful for so many men, also poses a tough road ahead. UC Health is planning on aggressively hitting this cancer. He will receive Chemotherapy every day for a 5-days, then will get two weeks to rest and recover before enduring another week of Chemo. There will be four rounds in total.

Zac’s chemotherapy treatments are scheduled to start on September 16th, 2024. If everything goes according to the schedule we have right now, his treatments will be completed, and Zac will be cancer-free before his 29th birthday on December 15th!

Working isn’t an option right now…

Zac is a bartender by trade and has brought so much joy to his patrons at the bars where he has worked. However, with Zac’s recent diagnosis, upcoming treatments, and inevitable sickness, he will unfortunately no longer be able to sling those delicious drinks and entertain the masses. With Widespread Panic taking a break from touring while Jimmy fights his own battle with Cancer, and Zac not working, he will have plenty of time to focus on his health, but it will, unfortunately, leave us with one salary and a mountain of medical bills.

Insurance Problems

You would think that we wouldn't have any, but unfortunately, after our amazing wedding in March, we were feeling so good (and healthy) that we thought we could get away with not adding Zac to my insurance. What a mistake that was. We are currently exploring options, but as of right now, we are doing this uninsured.

Ways you Can Help!

With the help of the wonderful staff at UC Health, we are exhaustively looking for assistance to get us through the next few months. Without insurance, we have found a few grants and generous drug companies discounting the medicine he will need to stay healthy.

Our friends and loved ones have asked how they can help, and while we are rich in friendship, love, and caring, we are struggling to stay ahead of the bills. We wouldn’t ask if we didn’t need it and don’t expect anyone to give what they cannot. We are just trying to exhaust all our options to stay ahead of this and ease the pressure.

Your donation through GoFundMe will help offset the mounting costs of doctor's appointments, emergency surgeries, hospital stays, particular Cancer medicines not covered by grants, Specialist fees, and extra travel to and from Zac’s treatments. Every penny helps, and we’re so grateful for anything you can contribute!

We understand if helping financially isn’t in the cards right now. Here are other ways you can help:

For those of you reading this who may not know Zac or me, thank you for hanging in there and reading this far. For those of you who do know us but still have questions, check out the National Cancer Society - https://www.cancer.gov/types/testicular or reach out to me (Justine) directly.

We look forward to seeing Zac return to the boisterous, playful, adventurous, crazy man we all know and love. We will do our best to inform you about his treatments and recovery.

Thank you for any contribution you can give. We love and appreciate you all so much!