Helping Marek Get Healthy

Hello family, friends, and friends of our              friends.

I am Anita and this is my family: my husband Mark and our 3 year old son Antoś. Mark and I have been married for 18 years, and we
have been together for almost 20. We’ve had our good and bad days, but we have always
been supportive of each other.

If you know us well, you also know that we
are health oriented, very active, and doing
our best to live an organic and non-toxic life.

So, when a few weeks ago we found out that Mark has a pretty advanced prostate cancer, we were in absolute disbelief. We couldn’t
wrap our heads around it. How is this even
possible?

I started thinking about it, analyzing it, trying to make sense of why it happened and then it hit me. Yes, it’s all beneficial that we eat
healthy, we work out, avoid toxins, but we
can’t escape the stress of everyday life.

The truth is that the last 3 1/2 years took a 
heavy toll on us. Don’t get me wrong, our son is the love of our lives and we wouldn’t have it any other way. But, since he was born it has
been extremely hard for us mentally,
physically, and financially.

Our reality is that we do not have any help
here, no family to turn to. We have to rely on ourselves all the time. When I say “all the
time”, I really mean it. We’ve never had a babysitter, Mark works every day, almost without days off. I have been taking care of Antoś,
while Mark has been working crazy hours to
support us.

It’s been beautiful years to see our son grow but at the same time extremely stressful
considering our situation.

Mark has always been a hard worker. He was never afraid of putting extra hours to provide for our family. When Antoś was born, we
decided I should stay home with him. It was a Polish custom anyway: women stay with their kids for at least the first year, and we
wouldn’t have it any other way.

At the same time Mark opened his Biking
Tour Business, so he had to work 2 jobs to
make it all work: working nights, then taking
tours after just a few hours of sleep.

Mark loves the outdoors. His love for biking, being with people, and sharing it with others
is so visible when he is on a tour. That’s why
people love him, that’s why after being with
him for 3 hours on a bike, they feel like
they’ve known him for ages. He truly cares
about people, and always puts everyone
else’s needs first. Yes, that’s Mark. He will
rearrange his schedule to help a friend, he
will even lose some money to make it work
for someone else, but he is the last one to ask for help. Even back in the day, when we had
pizzeria in Illinois he never turned down
anyone who was looking for help. He donated food to schools, churches, various
organizations, even when the restaurant
wasn’t doing great. He believed that by doing good, the good will come back to him, maybe when he needs it the most.

Well...this time is now. He would never ask
for help, so I’m doing it on his behalf. I’m
fighting my tears, because let’s be honest, it’s not easy to ask for help, but there is no room for pride when someone’s health or life is on
the line.

As most of you know, his business is seasonal, which means we are slowly getting into the
season now. Mark’s doctor  advises surgery, which could put him out of the bike for 2-3
months, that’s without any complications. His business is our livelihood, so you can imagine how stressful the situation is for us now. We have until January to make the final decision. We also have been presented with other
therapies we could do in the meantime that
have a very high success rate in treating
cancer. They could potentially help him avoid the surgery and put cancer in remission. The problem is these therapies are very
expensive and not covered by insurance.

At this point, we are not in a financial position to fund the needed therapies. Time is of the
essence, so we can’t wait until business picks up to pay for the treatment expenses. That’s why I’m turning to you all and asking to help
us start fighting “the bastard” now! We truly believe that acting now can have a
tremendous outcome on his condition, even
prevent the surgery, and let him do what he
loves, and what he is so good at. 

Mark is staying strong, but every time he
looks at Antoś, he tears up. Can you blame
him? Our munchkin is only 3.5 years old. He
needs his dad around for so many years to
come. We are doing this for him. 

Thank you for any donation you can make, big or small. Your contribution will give us better chances to get Mark healthy and will restore the peace of mind we need so much now.

Please share our story with your network if
you can. I truly believe that human kindness
and compassion can make a big difference in people’s lives, and I appreciate every little
gesture of your generosity. Thank you