Restore Jenn's Confidence and Joy

Life has a tendency to take more than it gives. Over the last 18 months, my wife Jennifer had much stripped away from her, and she's the last person on earth that deserved to lose so much.

Before cancer, we had such a fun and vibrant life. Our free time together was filled with adventure, exploration, laughing, and excitement. But all of that stopped when we found out Jenn had an aggressive and advanced breast cancer. The bad news came at a time that should have been filled with excitement as we prepared for our first (and now only) child together.

Cold capping during chemo sessions. She wore a frozen cap for 8 hours a day. Helps save hair and we paid $550 a month for 4 months. Sadly it didn't work as we hoped.

Since then, our lives have been filled with doctor appointments, trips to the hospital and emergency room, chemotherapy sessions, radiation sessions, surgeries, and a lot of time at home recovering from it all. Jenn hasn't really felt like herself, mostly because everything is so out of her control that it's taken away a lot of that exuberance and joy from her. As her husband, it has been quite difficult to watch as she often cries herself to sleep, anxious about the future and whether she will have one. Although her prognosis is now good, I think for those that have fought cancer, it really is never over. Life seems to carry on for everyone else, but they are kind of stuck in this limbo - never knowing what tomorrow will bring and whether bad news will come with it. Jenn's life now is a roller coaster constructed around a 3-month cycle of scans and blood work - never knowing if the next scan will be a good or bad one. And this is the rest of our life, unfortunately.

Many times I've tried to get her out of the house, encourage her to go take a little adventure - however, she's often reluctant. I think having so much of her taken away, both physically and emotionally, has taken away some of that vibrance that makes her such an amazing person. She says how she doesn't recognize herself in the mirror, even though the stranger staring back is crying too. Between losing her breasts to cancer, her body to pregnancy, her skin to radiation, and her hair to chemotherapy - who she was and what she sees as herself in the mirror are no longer the same person (to her). Even though I think she is still the most beautiful, sexy, and attractive woman in the world, my words are unable to combat what she sees in her mind. There are some surgical procedures that will help with breast reconstruction, however, those are 9 months away at least. We've also looked at body tattoos to at least cover up some of the scars and help her feel more natural, but that's even further out as we must wait for her body to heal from reconstruction.

She misses her hair especially. Looking back at photos, I think it's what she associates herself the most with. I think most women probably feel that way about their hair. I think she sees a stranger in the mirror, and I just wish I could give her the ability to see herself - that the same beautiful woman is still here.

About 2 months ago, I found an organization that specializes in helping breast cancer survivors get back a little control over their appearance after chemo. They provide a service every 3 months to apply, treat, and color infused hair to its natural state while the real hair grows back. It isn't cheap, but we've tried every other option. Many people reached out, asking how they could help support Jenn, and now I feel like there is something meaningful that will directly help Jenn. I'm asking for any and all donations to help cover the costs of getting Jenn's hair back, to help her feel more like herself again and to get out of the house.

Jenn needs adventures. She needs to get back out in the world, to see it, taste it, feel it, and smell it. By donating to this fundraiser, you're not just giving her some hair - you're giving Jenn the chance to get her life back.

To start the process, we need to have at least half of the funding up front, and it's by appointment only and I'd like to schedule the first treatment by May 1st so that she can get out this summer when the weather is nice.

Jenn doesn't know that I'm organizing this, and not that I will keep it from her, but this is something that she deserves for as much as she's done for our family and others. Thank you for the consideration, and I hope that you choose to donate. Any additional funding that is raised will be donated to the organization to help cover costs of any woman/women that need financial help to get back themselves after fighting cancer.

Ben