OPN Green Pastures

My name is Rob and my wife’s name is Charlotte. We have four children named Zach, Heidi, Justin, and Aaron. Thank you for taking the time to read this, that alone means the world to us. Last weekend my wife of almost 20 years was diagnosed with stage IV melanoma cancer. It is metastatic and is now in her liver, pelvis bone, lungs, and near her stomach.

A little about us: Charlotte and I have been together since high school. I joined the U.S. Army in 2004 and became a U.S. Army Ranger assigned to the 1st Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment. We spent most of our time in the 75th Ranger Regiment. We have been together through a total of 17 deployments. We have had our ups and downs but, nothing to this degree. Charlotte has a gold heart and always places her family and others before herself. She has dedicated her career to assisting children with special needs, first serving as a para for a special education class while working towards her degree in psychology. For the last three years, she has served as a Register Behavioral Technician while working to complete her Masters degree in Behavior Analyst Practice. She was successful and graduated in May of 2023. She has now been in the process of studying for her board exam to finally achieve her dream of becoming a Board Certified Behavioral Analyst (BCBA) when she was diagnosed with cancer. Our youngest son, Aaron, is autistic, which has been a large part of her drive to become a BCBA.

We are still on active duty and I am in the process of retiring. She has been there for so many Army families, Rangers, and soldiers over the last 19 years that I have decided to set my pride aside and ask for your help for the sake of her and my children, realizing I cannot do this alone.

She will begin immunotherapy next week on 19 October 2023, two days before our 19th anniversary in the U.S. Army. We are putting our faith in her recovery completely in God’s hands and are praying that her body reacts well to the immunotherapy. Our insurance covers most of that cost. However, the doctor has told us both that a key ingredient in helping her body react well is to ensure her stress levels stay low and she stays positive. There is also another treatment we are doing in addition to the immunotherapy that Tricare will not cover. With the cost of travel, her new diet, the additional treatment, her not being able to continue to work the way she wants, and other bills we are anticipating, we want to ask you for help. Anything is appreciated but what is appreciated more than money is prayer.

We are a family of faith and trust in the power of God to help us through this time and give Charlotte many more years on this earth. She has been a pillar of strength in our family and my hero. She saved our son Justin when he had a drowning accident, stayed in the hospital with our youngest son, Aaron, a few days after he was born upon being diagnosed with spinal meningitis, has helped me through the death of some of my fellow Rangers who didn’t come back from war and has been there for so many people outside of our family. I now want to do everything I possibly can to be there for her.