Hello Everyone,

I never imagined I would be creating a CaringBridge site for anyone, let alone for Derek. He’s my first best friend, my ride or die big brother, and the person who has always looked out for me. Writing these words still feels surreal.

As a family, we decided to create this space so we can keep everyone updated in one place. Derek has touched the lives of so many — through his kindness, his humor, his loyalty, and the way he shows up for people without hesitation. And the truth is, his family, lifelong friends and community has given Derek so much to be thankful.

Recently, Derek’s health has taken an unexpected turn, and we’re navigating more than we ever imagined. The days are full, the emotions are layered, and we’re learning to take things day by day. We wanted a place where we could share updates — big or small.

Over two years ago, Derek was diagnosed with rectal colon cancer and has been fighting the disease head on. Derek began this fight by having his colon removed, followed by 6 months of chemotherapy. After treatment he was informed he was cancer free, we were all amazed and so excited! His Doctor’s at Mayo had a plan that involved 2 back-to-back major surgeries to prevent the cancer from returning. During the time between the completion of Derek’s chemo and right before his surgeries, Derek started to experiencing pain and we were informed his cancer had returned. The Mayo informed Derek that he was no longer a candidate for their program, which was devastating. Derek started his next rounds of chemo, which this time around was much harder on him both physically and mentally. Unfortunately, over the past couple of months Derek has been dealing with side effects of his cancer, which has resulted in not being able to receive chemotherapy. Because of the delay in receiving his chemo, his cancer has spread. Derek is currently in Fargo and has been here for over two weeks dealing with his 2nd bowel obstruction. The pain has been excruciating, and he has not been able to be comfortable. It’s been hard to watch this play out but I honestly can’t image how Derek has been able to handle this. And of course, he somehow makes jokes during the day, says thank you to all the nurses and his patience is amazing.

Today, the Dr’s presented us with Derek’s best option, which is to perform a procedure that would create a “drain” from his stomach to an external bag. The team doesn’t believe removing the bowel obstruction is in Derek’s best interest because of the time it takes to recover, the increase in pain and it prolongs our mail goal, which is getting Derek back on chemo. This procedure is taking place on Wednesday, January 27th. If this procedure is successful, our next step is it get Derek of his IV pain meds. His pain meds need to be taken orally so he can be discharged and he can finally go home! Let me tell you, it sounds simple but his pain has been the most difficult for the Dr’s to control.

Our goal is to get Derek back to Bemidji so he can start his chemo treatments again and stop the spread of his cancer. We also want him to be surrounded by his family and friends, which is really where he belongs.

We have started to receive questions on how to support Derek or how to donate to help. We have created a Go Fund Me Page to help with expenses. Mom hasn’t left his side and has been in Fargo bouncing around hotels and staying in his hospital room for over 2 weeks, god bless her! Both Eli and Cora have been driving back and forth from Bemidji and Fargo between school, work and hockey games/practices. Cora is a student at NDSU (in Fargo) and changed all her classes online and got a job in Bemidji so she could be close to Derek. Go figure that he is in Fargo and she is leaving him to go to Bemidji for work so she can pay rent. Anna has also been making this drive, missing work to be by his side and be his best advocate. We all want to spend as much time with Derek as we can and shower him with so much love.

I will be posting updates often. Please, if you can leave messages or comments for Derek, that would be wonderful. Derek would love to hear from each of you and encourage him to keep fighting. And selfishly, anything to put a smile on his face brings joy to us and brightens his room.