Most of you already know about Ray’s illness or have heard that he is sick. Ray has glioblastoma multiforme (GBM), an aggressive grade IV brain cancer, and, from what we understand, he likely has only a few months to live.

It became clear after the surgery and hospital stay in June that Ray would need help managing many parts of his life, like medical care, insurance, transportation, communication, finances, schedule coordination, and everyday tasks. He can no longer drive or work, so we suggested he move in with us in Leesburg, Virginia and Ray agreed this was the best option. While he isn’t always happy about the situation (understandably), he does recognize that he can no longer manage these things on his own.

One thing Ray would really like to do in his remaining time is travel, and that's where we'd like to ask for your help. After he got sick and it got harder for him to communicate, he told us that he's been to this side (East coast), and that side (West coast) but never in the middle of the US. He'd like to be able to go to places like the Rockies, PNW, or the Southwest where you can see the night sky without light pollution. He's also said he wants to visit family in Palm Springs. If possible, a couple weeks in a warmer climate like Florida could also be good.

The challenge with Ray traveling now is that, because of his illness, he is prone to moments of anxiety which can lead to almost uncontrollable anger in new situations. Traveling long distances by car is too difficult for him, and by air we think we'd need to fly 1st class or maybe even a private jet to be able to control the environment for him as much as possible. He also cannot travel alone, so one of us would need to accompany him. We have resources and are happy we can support Ray during this time, but our resources are not unlimited and it’s been an expensive 6 months.

With that in mind, we are starting this GoFundMe page to help offset travel costs for Ray. If you have the resources, we ask that you donate to allow us to give this gift of travel to Ray. It won’t be easy, but if we can fly first class and offset some of the costs, we think we can do this. A private jet is also a possibility but of course that would be much more expensive. We think $15,000 would cover expenses for 2-3 first class round trips and AirBnb stays for 2 people, so that is our goal. If you do speak with Ray please do not mention this request. Donna and I will discuss this with him when the time is right and when we know what our options are. Again, thank you so much for being Ray’s friend, and it makes this heartbreaking situation much easier for him and his family. Jon and Donna.