On February 16th, Heather brought Francis into the emergency room. He had been experiencing frequent headaches, and had difficulty speaking- he would mix up words and wouldn't make any sense. After testing, they found out that Francis has a large 7cm mass in his brain. As you can imagine, it has flipped their world upside down.

The plan is for Francis to have surgery as soon as possible, possibly Monday 2/21 or Tuesday 2/22. He will have as much of the mass removed as possible, but because it crosses two hemispheres in his brain, it is not possible to remove it all. He is at the University of Wisconsin - Madison, requiring Heather to stay in a hotel to be near him, as well as frequent travel back and forth from Rockford to Madison.

After surgery, he is expected to stay in the ICU for a minimum of one week, most likely it will be longer. They are also looking at a long recovery after the initial surgery, including chemotherapy and radiation, as well as time in a rehabilitation facility. They are not positive yet what the mass exactly is, but they will have more answers following his surgery. It is also not known if this is the only mass in Francis’ body. However, the doctor believes it is a 7cm primary brain tumor that is favored to be Glioblastoma multiforme.

Francis and Heather have a beautiful family, including their daughter Addison (5) and twin sons Adrian and Staley (3.) They have a dog, Bella, and three cats. They were married in 2014 in Vegas. Heather is a healthcare worker, working on the frontlines during this pandemic. Francis works in management at Menards.

As you can imagine, this unforeseen condition will have an impact on every aspect of their lives. I have started this GoFundMe to help support their family in this time of need. Not only will they have a tremendous amount of medical expenses, there will also be expenses incurred due to childcare, time away from work, and many other aspects I can't even begin to cover. Any amount donated will support this family through the financial burdens they will undoubtedly incur.

Any donation will help, if you aren’t able to donate please feel free to share their story. Thank you everyone for your contributions and prayers. #SchuStrong