Dear friends and supporters of Bert,

Some of you know him as Al, Bert, or Albert, but I know him as my big brother.

To outside appearances, he appears healthy and has a very positive outlook on life. He enjoys meeting new people, spending time with friends and family, and participating in fund raisers on his custom firefighter edition Harley Davidson. Throughout his lifetime, he has held several careers including lawn care, business, IT, and nursing, but his favorite job of all was firefighting and EMS. He is the type of person willing to help everyone at a moment’s notice and is always available when family and friends need his help. He has been recognized by his co-workers and former patients for his exemplary care, often going above and beyond for his patients and colleagues. Now he needs your help.

In November of 2014, Bert was diagnosed with malignant cutaneous melanoma after bumping his arm on a door frame, causing a pencil eraser-sized “mole” to pop up on his right bicep almost overnight. In December of that year, he underwent surgery to remove the melanoma and several lymph nodes. For several years, things were good, then in 2018, he noticed a quarter-sized disc under his right clavicle. His doctor wasn’t concerned, and this was left unaddressed for 2 years. In April 2020, a CT for a cardiac event revealed that the lesion was growing but thought to be benign. In November of 2021, an MRI was finally done, revealing a 6 cm mass entangled in the nerves of his right shoulder, arm, and chest. A biopsy determined he had stage IV metastatic melanoma. In December of that year, he began treatment, as it was determined that the mass couldn’t be removed surgically. Bert underwent several rounds of immunotherapy from December ’21-April ‘22, damaging his liver. At this point, he was no longer able to work, a fact that deeply saddened him, as he loved his work and colleagues in the medical field.

In April of 2022, he was given radiation treatment to slow the continued tumor growth, but the tumors continued to multiply and grow. In April of 2023, Bert underwent cryoablation therapy to freeze the tumors to kill them off. This was only marginally successful and caused significant pain for him. Repeat scans in May showed that the tumors continued to grow and change, spreading to other areas. From June to October, he went through another round of a different chemotherapy medication with little success. A biopsy in November and additional scans showed that the tumors weren’t responding to the treatment, which had made him weak and left his veins severely damaged.

In June of 2024, we were told of a new FDA-approved treatment that might help. In November of 2024, over Thanksgiving, Bert underwent TIL (Tumor-Infiltrating Lymphocyte) therapy, spending 2 weeks in the hospital away from his family, part of that in the ICU. After his release from the hospital, he and his family had to isolate at home due to his lack of immune system. Follow-up appointments showed little to no effect on the tumors from the treatment and continued growth and new tumors growing. In January and February of 2025, Bert went through 2 rounds of radiation targeting the largest of his tumors. While further monitoring, appointments, and scans will be done, there are no more viable options for treatment.

During this long journey, Bert has continued to do all he can for his family and others, pushing through pain, fatigue, and weakness to help with car repairs, childcare (Grampa is the best babysitter), sharing in the care of our mother, who is battling her own fight with cancer, and supporting his wife Tammy’s family in their health challenges.

Bert and his family need our help right now. With Bert’s mounting medical bills, bankruptcy is looming and likely inevitable. I’m hoping we can provide some sustaining support throughout this process. We want to help alleviate the financial stress of this illness. Your generosity will ensure that medical bills become more manageable and provide them with the financial breathing room they need during this challenging period, however long it will be.

Incidentally, If you would like to add some words of encouragement for Bert when you donate and for those who have already generously donated: When making a donation, you can add words of support for the GoFundMe organizer after finalizing the payment details. You can also follow the steps below to add new words of support or edit existing messages.

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