Medical Bills for Rhad and Athena
Sometimes life is cruel to the kindest people in the world, and I’m pissed off about it. My dear cousin Rhad, his generous, thoughtful, and brave wife Athena—a home health and Hospice nurse—and their innocent, sweet 3-year-old daughter Sephy have been through the ringer, and now they really need your help as they gear up to fight cancer for the THIRD TIME.
As a far-away family member, I had felt helpless until Athena recently confessed—to a small group of close friends—that their financial situation is adding to their stress. After a lot of cajoling a few of us were able to convince them to let me set up this GoFundMe campaign because, well, nobody likes to ask for help and sharing one’s personal story in such a public way is scary and makes you vulnerable. But… enough is enough, it’s past time. These amazing people need all the love, support and positive energy the world can throw their way.
Cancer. It’s word we all dread the most – and this beautiful young family has heard it, again, and again. It’s just not fair. Now, after everything they’ve faced over the last few years, on January 4th, literally 3.5 weeks after being told they were cancer-free, Athena had a seizure, which led to finding two tumors on her brain. Treatable… thank god. In fact, the odds are good, but it’ll take another round of aggressive treatment. Possibly surgery.
They are already up to their eyeballs in bills, and they need help. Help to cover the costs of childcare, home care, physical therapy, alternative treatments, supplements and frankly, everything that goes with trying to heal your body. It all adds up, quickly.
Athena is a nurse. A HOSPICE nurse. She has dedicated her life to helping people when they are sick and dying. She helps people when they need it the most. Now it’s time for us to help her.
The Bottom Line - Nothing can take away the pain and suffering this family has been through and is now so tragically facing again. But any help, no matter how small, can help lessen their financial stress and is deeply, deeply appreciated. Rest assured, all donations will go directly to Rhad and Athena. And thank you, for anything you can do.
If you’d like to understand more of what I mean when I say “everything they’ve been through” please read on:
The Backstory
Rhad and Athena have a beautiful love story. Two talented musicians who fell in love, dated for many years, and finally got married in a lovely ceremony on the land of Rhad’s family home in Maine. It was magical.
Rhad is my fun-loving cousin on my father’s side. He’s really a big kid, with a huge grin and a passion for all things play, including video games, Toys R Us, the guitar and the piano. His musical talents are legendary in our family as he can make up a song, on any subject, at the drop of a hat. It’s astounding.
Athena is his perfect match. With a voice like an angel, an infectious giggle, a heart for wounded people and animals alike, and a seemingly endless amount of patience… we almost couldn’t believe she existed. And she shares a birthday and a Greek-origin name with Rhad’s beloved sister Aglaia. Too good to be true really. But it was.
The Bumpy Road to Babies
In 2013 Rhad and Athena were ready to expand their family. Imagine their surprise to find it wasn’t as easy to get pregnant as we all learned growing up. In fact, it took almost a year. They were elated when they finally got pregnant, only to be destroyed when she miscarried shortly thereafter.
Another year of trying, a second pregnancy, and then at 11 weeks, right before they could safely begin telling people their exciting news, a second miscarriage. They were devastated but bravely decided to try one last time… nine months later, they were pregnant again.
This time though, weeks into the pregnancy, Athena was diagnosed with breast cancer.
Cancer While Pregnant
Turns out you can be treated for cancer while pregnant so, understanding the risks, they decided to do everything they could to save the hard-won pregnancy while also treating Athena. It was a brutal situation, but when she was 3 months pregnant, she had a single mastectomy. She then endured chemo while she was pregnant, and amazingly didn’t lose the baby. Finally, little Sephy came into the world. Healthy and perfect.
More chemo and treatment for Athena meant the first year of Sephy’s life was incredibly difficult, but they made it through, and all was looking great. Athena successfully underwent reconstructive surgery and was well on the road to a healthy, normal life.
Sephy’s Surgery
Sephy, it turned out, wasn’t as healthy as we all thought. She had a congenital issue (unrelated to the chemo) which meant one kidney didn’t develop properly, so in 2018 she had surgery to remove it. Surgery to remove an organ from a 2-year-old is a big deal, but it cured the problem and things were looking up again.
Cancer Returns
In July of 2018, Athena had what she thought was tennis elbow. It ended up being a benign tumor in her shoulder, but the exploration led to a battery of other tests which ultimately found more cancer. This time it was three cancerous lymph nodes in her chest.
It would require aggressive treatment throughout all of 2019 including intensive radiation that made her extremely sick and left her with burns and other complications, requiring pain meds and PT, just to give her range of motion in her arm.
2019 was a very difficult year, but it was all worth it when on December 10th, 2019 she was deemed cancer free! It was a perfect gift, right before the holidays, and they enjoyed a light and wonderful 2019 holiday season.
Just 3.5 Weeks Later, More…
On January 4th, 2020, while driving from the ceremony to the reception for their best friend’s wedding, Athena, sitting in the passenger seat, had a seizure. She was taken by ambulance to the ER and initially told it was likely caused by a migraine. She insisted Rhad go to the reception without her (he was supposed to DJ) and he reluctantly did. After Rhad left, Athena received the devastating news that in fact, there was evidence of two masses in her brain. What did Athena do? She put her wedding attire back on and followed Rhad to the reception where they danced all night. She didn’t reveal anything to Rhad until the next morning, so as to not taint the occasion. This is the kind of person we’re talking about.
Brain Tumors
Now you’re up to date. They need to make a decision and ramp up to fight again. We all know they’re going to beat this. They are fighters and Sephy is too young to lose her mom. They have fought too hard. Hopefully, raising some money for them will help them fight one less fight at such a terrible time.
If you’ve gotten this far, thank you, from the bottom of my heart, for anything you can do to support this amazing little family. This world needs more people like Rhad and Athena, and their little Sephy.