Nolan's Heroes: Help Him Take on the Villain of Cancer

Hello, heroes! We are Christina Ruebush and Melissa Gleave, and we are the proud aunts of Nolan Thomas!

Nolan lives in Hereford, AZ with his parents, Amy and Derek, and siblings, DJ and Presley. In many ways, he is a typical 20 year-old, with high hopes and big plans for the future. He enjoys sports, going to the gym, making rap songs, and hunting with his family. His favorite superheroes are Spiderman, Deadpool, and his Grandpa Ruebush. And, of course, he also loves girls and God.

Nolan especially aspires to become a wildland firefighter and had a slot to join in October of this year. Sadly, those dreams have been put on hold for the unforeseen future.

When Nolan was admitted to the hospital for abdominal pain, there was no reason to expect the worst, but a battery of tests revealed what no one can be prepared for: His large intestine was being constricted by a large cancerous tumor. Worse yet, the particular type was identified as stage III Signet Ring Cell Carcinoma (SRCC), one the rarest and most aggressive forms of colorectal cancer.

Surgery was urgently performed the very next day after diagnosis, leaving Nolan to with two bowel resections. He was not given much time to recover at all before he had to start the long, grueling course of chemotherapy.

His family is asking for your help to raise funds to pay for medical care, prescriptions, and (doctor-approved!) vitamins and supplements. Travel and lodging will frequently be necessary, as their home town lacks the facilities to support Nolan’s care. He will also need a new bed and mobility equipment as well as some adaptive modifications to the living space, as chemo will weaken him greatly.

More than that, Nolan is no longer able to work for the family business, Get Wired Electric, which means his dad cannot take on nearly as many jobs. Needless to say, financial pressure mounts, as do the bills.

Nolan should be out, taking a big bite out of life – going to the gym every day and being as active as he was only a couple short months ago. Instead, he finds it difficult just to get out of bed, from depression and fear of what his future holds.

He has found some joy, though, in a new-found love of hockey. Nolan’s friends took him to a Tucson Roadrunners game to get him out of the house, and the team was gracious enough to take him back to meet the team and even give him an autographed hockey stick. They also supplied tickets for him to come to another game. As the team won both games Nolan attended, he’s been quickly adopted as their good luck charm!

We hope you find inspiration in the Roadrunners’ compassion and generosity. Together, even small acts can add up to a great effect, and we can all be the heroes Nolan and his family needs.