Paul's last chapter

Hi, my name is Kathy and as most of you know I am the oldest of 3 children, having two younger brothers. Recently my youngest brother, Paul, received some news that has devastated our family.

In March of this year, Paul and his wife Shay went on a trip to celebrate early their 10-year anniversary, which is coming up in Aug of this year. When they got back, Paul was not feeling well and needed to be taken to the hospital. He was told that a scope of his stomach needed to be performed in order to figure out what was going on. Two days later, on March 30, he went in for a scope. When he was in the recovery room, the doctors told him and his wife that they had found a tumor in his stomach, as well as one in his throat and that they were cancerous and inoperable. Biopsies were taken to determine what kind of cancer it was, so a treatment plan could be made. We were told it was likely either lymphoma, which is very treatable, or gastric, which is aggressive and terminal. The doctors were leaning toward it being lymphoma based on his age and symptoms, so we were hopeful. The waiting game began. More scans and tests were done, and 13 days later, on April 12, he got the call that it was stage 4 gastric, and the tumor in his stomach had grown significantly already. It is growing and blocking the esophagus in his stomach, while the one in his throat is closing off his esophagus from the top as well, making eating very difficult. He was given the option to have radiation done 5 days in a row, in an attempt to shrink the tumor, make eating possible, and hopefully ease some of his pain. That treatment starts Tuesday, April 19 in Winnipeg.

They have not given him a timeline yet, as this cancer is growing very fast, and we don't know how it will react to treatment....but he was told that he would be lucky to have a year.

As you can imagine we are all devastated. I have started this fundraiser because I know there is nothing any of us can do to help his health, but we certainly can help ease their financial burdens. Whether that is helping them buy their groceries, allowing Shay to take the time off work to be with Paul, helping them to make their mortgage payments, or allowing them the financial means to cram 30 years of plans they had together into the small amount of time they have left.....any amount will make a difference and help to let them focus on what is really important. Any extra funds received will be used for future costs that we know will be coming (costs for the thing that we know will happen, but I cannot yet bring myself to type out).

I will post updates as we receive them. If you are the praying type, plz plz add our family to your prayers. If you are not, plz plz hold space for us and keep us in your thoughts. We are struggling to accept the fact that my brother will not live to see 40, he will not grow old with Shay, he will not get to see his nieces and nephews, and great-nieces and nephews grow up. Plz help us make this last chapter in his life as special as possible! If you prefer to donate anything directly, eteansfers can be sent.....just email me through here and I'll reply with the information needed!