Nathan is 20 years old — an age filled with dreams, plans, and the excitement of building a future. He’s the kind of person who lights up a room with his humor, shows up for his family and friends without hesitation, and always puts others before himself. Whether he’s spending time with family, attending college at FVTC to pursue a degree in horticulture, or just making someone laugh on a tough day, Nathan has always lived life with heart.

Just recently, everything changed.

Instead of focusing on his future plans, Nathan is now facing an intense and urgent battle. The road ahead will not be easy, but Nathan is determined to fight with everything he has.

Nathan is strong, resilient, and surrounded by people who love him deeply. With your help, he won’t have to fight this battle alone.

My nephew Nathan was admitted to the local hospital on February 27th, after being diagnosed with mono a few days prior. What started as a simple virus soon escalated into a full-blown crisis. After a few days he was diagnosed with HLH (Hemophagocytic Lymphohistiocytosis); a rare, aggressive life-threatening condition triggered by the mono virus. His health deteriorated fast and he was transferred to Froedtert Hospital in Milwaukee as they were better equipped to handle his rare condition. The illness escalated quickly and he spent the next week in the ICU. Over the next 5 weeks he continued to beat the viruses and improve. It was a brutal roller coaster of ups and downs with treatments, scans, tests , counts and procedures. Nathan was steadfast in getting better and never complained… he has such an amazing spirit and strength.

On April 6th, he was released from the hospital to come home to continue the antiviral treatment. It was a day that they had longed for… He was home less than 24 hours and spiked a fever and had to go back immediately. He has been in the hospital going on 8 weeks now.

Last week we received the devastating news that he has stage IV lymphoma in addition to the HLH. He’s now fighting both with an aggressive chemotherapy regimen (R-Chop), steroids, antivirals and much more. There are many unknowns given his unique situation, but the standard R-Chop is 6 treatments each 21 days apart. They have a long road ahead, and we are here to support them every step of the way.

On April 22, Nathan celebrated his 20th birthday from his hospital bed. He had his first intensive regimen of chemo a few days prior, his weight under 100lbs.

His dad Kevin and mom Michele, have been by his side everyday as his biggest advocates. Michele has gotten special approval to spend the nights in his room, and she will not leave his side throughout the day either. They have both been off work this entire time with Kevin commuting back and forth to also look after their home.

We’ve set up this fund to help their family cover the growing medical bills and ease their financial burdens of being away from home and off work. We want to allow them to focus on and support Nathan (their only child) during this time. Any amount you are able to give will be much appreciated.

If you’re unable to donate, sharing Nathan’s story means just as much. The more people who know, the stronger the support system we can build around him.

Most of all, we ask for your prayers. We trust that God has a plan through all of this and ask for prayers not only for our family but for the medical team caring for Nathan.

Keep Nathan in your thoughts and prayers as he battles and beats cancer!

Thank you for your kindness, generosity, and for being part of Nathan’s journey. ❤️

I am Nathan’s auntie. I set this up for the benefit of Kevin, Michele and Nathan Schmidt.