In Loving Memory of Cameron Gschwend

From Todd & Robyn Gschwend, Parents of Cameron Gschwend;

Cameron Gschwend was a normal, healthy 27 year-old man and one of many bright spots in the life of his family and coworkers. He began complaining of headaches two weeks ago and went to see his family doctor after about 6 or 7 days without relief. He was prescribed some medication for migraines as everything pointed to that diagnosis. 

On Thursday evening, November 5th, he vomited and began seizing while at his parent’s home with his wife of 2 1/2 years, Denise. We called for an ambulance as there was no way that we could get him down two flights of stairs and into a vehicle to get him to the emergency room. Once there, he was assessed and a CT scan was ordered. It was discovered that he had bleeding in the brain in addition to a mass and emergency surgery was ordered. During all of this time, Cameron was basically non-responsive. 

The surgical team came in and he went to surgery at about 2am on Friday morning. Surgery was “successful” but we were told it was a very invasive, vascular tumor and there was no guarantee that all of it was removed but we would know more once we had the pathology report in a couple of days. 

Cameron’s condition was promising at first as the ICU staff said they would try to extubate him about 8 hours after surgery so we all believed that he would recover and we would move on to treatment options once we had the pathology report. But then the bottom dropped out of his condition; he had been taken for some additional testing and afterward he rapidly deteriorated. He was diagnosed with a Glioblastoma, an aggressive brain tumor, and was pronounced brain dead by the late afternoon of Saturday. 

As is the case with many of us, Cameron and Denise were not prepared for his sudden passing and had no life insurance. Even though his stay in the hospital was not long and drawn out, I am sure they will be faced with thousands of dollars in medical bills as a result of the ambulance fees, the ER and surgical fees in addition to the hospital fees from his time in the ICU. Not only that, but there are the costs of his final expenses of a funeral and burial. 

Due to Denise’s immigration status (and this year with COVID), she was not able to work very much and they relied on his salary as a property manager for their support. They were in the process of having a modular home built and put on a lot he had purchased in Princeton, TX where they were looking forward to move and start their life together. Construction delays kept pushing their move in date back month by month and as of the date of his death, it was not complete so now they are unable to convert his construction loan to a conventional loan as he is now deceased so there will likely be additional legal expenses incurred to dispose of the property that they had longed to call their home. 

With no life insurance, Denise is faced with covering all of these expenses with their meager savings as well as to find a way to restart her life without the man she loves and moved across the globe to be with. If you are so inclined, please donate to this sweet, beautiful girl who is faced with many daunting challenges and decisions as she tries to overcome her grief and make a plan for a new future!

Fundraiser details: 

This fundraiser is managed by Marlenna Bosquez, long time friend of the Gschwend family on behalf of Todd & Robyn.  All information and updates are provided by the Gschwend Family. 

The funds raised will be used to pay end-of-life costs incurred by this sudden tragedy, as well as future expenses including  medical bills and other incidental costs. Ultimately, the hope would be that enough could be raised to help Denise start to move forward without the burden of debt. 

The beneficiary of this fund is Denise Gschwend, wife of Cameron. The funds raised will be directly withdrawn by Denise via the GoFundMe site.