Hope for Henry

Hi, Jackie here. I am Henry's mom. About 4 weeks ago Henry was diagnosed with testicular cancer. Since then life has felt less like a lazy river and more like we have gone off the edge of a waterfall.

Left testicle removed, biopsied, and two oncologists later confirm it is Stage 3b intermediate testicular cancer. It is very treatable, but with metastasis to the lymph and lungs, doctors say it could be complicated. "Approximately 3 out of 4 men can be cured with just chemotherapy.”

Henry is a 19 year old rising second year at Kenyon college. He grew up here in Grinnell, Iowa. He is a gamer, plays War Hammer-loves creating the minis, still likes D&D, prefers time one on one with friends, and has courage. Real courage. He chose to spend the first semester of his first year of college in Copenhagen with 50 Kenyon cohorts. He loves his cat, in spite of the fact that he is allergic to her. He loves theater and performed 'Midsummer Night's Dream' outside with a Kenyon troope this spring. Dances only when strongly encouraged and in the kitchen with me. 'Hey Ya' is his go to dance song. He gives the best hugs ever. Like the kind where your bellies are touching and you can feel each others heart beating. And he is not afraid to hold that hug as long as you need him to.

Henry interacts with the world intellectually which was a bit like raising an alien for me who interacts with the world physically. Star Wars > Star Trek, Phish food > Cherry Garcia, running > biking.

What's important to me is maintaining hope for him. His greatest hope is to attend college this fall. He knows college would look different for him this fall, and his hope speaks to him as a learner; and his desire to be with his community. We know it means him having his last month of treatment in Ohio, and Paul and I there to support him.

The funds will be used to fly us back and forth with H, to establish a relationship with a doctor there, and for accommodations to stay for a month in Ohio. And lost wages sustained by Paul and me.

We have family medical leave protection of our jobs, and Henry's aggressive treatment schedule requires our support and presence. Funds will go towards cost of medicines, out of pocket expenses, deductibles and lost wages as we support him.