Steve Burdge Family Fund

I am asking for financial help for the family of my good friend and respected co-worker Steve Burdge.  

Steve is the most passionate person I have ever worked with (in a company full of passionate people, mind you). There is nobody I would have ever wished to be by my side in fierce competition more than Burdge.

Steve was diagnosed with cancer over 4 years ago.  He fought it. He beat it.  it came back again.  He beat it again.  However, the treatments and the surgery have left his liver destroyed.  It barely functions, and gets worse by the day.  As his liver deteriorates, his ability to get nutrition worsens.  The situation is life threatening. Despite all of this, he is having a hard time getting moved up the liver transplant list due to the various medical criteria that determine patient placement.  (It's not as simple as "the liver doesn't work and is failing", as it turns out.)

Many people stricken by these circumstances would fold, but throughout this, Steve Burdge has become an even more devoted husband to Susan, loving father to Steven & Megan, and a teacher in his church commuity. He has been a public advocate of finding a cure for pancreatic cancer.   He also continues to--for reasons that cannot be explained, but must be related to his medical stress--faithfully root for the Chicago Bears.  

While Steve worked very hard up until the moment his body could no longer stand it, he finds himself unable to work now.   His family is supported by the work of his wife Susan and  the proceeds of long-term disability insurance.  Unfortunately, after having significantly slashed their family spending, they still face a staggering family budget deficit for a very meager lifestyle.

This budget will be further strained should Steve become eligible for either a surgery to fix liver blockages (damage from an earlier surgery) or the potentially life saving liver transplant, should he qualify.

This is not a story of someone who did not prepare financially.  Steve had short-term and long-term disability insurance, and maintains life insurance to protect his family.  The savings he accumulated have been wiped out by medical expenses.  Instead, this is the story of a hard-working young man--the father of two young children--who's pomising career was halted by the deadliest of cancers.  

If you know Steve, you likely know his story.  If you worked with Steve, you know how he would fight for his team and for his company.  If you watched Steve around his children, you know that few parents pushed their kids to be great like Steve does.  

But what you may not know is the financial burden that his family is under. One can only imagine the mental anguish that someone as proud and hard-working as Steve must feel not being able to provide for his family and not physically being able to do a thing about it.

I'd implore each and everyone one of you who know Steve and know his passion to think about how that has to effect him every day.  The truth is that he'd likely never let anyone else in on it, because he carries himself with pride (even though he can barely carry himself at all right now).

With all of the other burdens he has--the burdens of a father, a husband, and that of a man who is devastatingly sick and very much fighting for his life daily--let's pull together and take away the financial burden for him. Let's let him focus on the things that can keep him alive or help him live a more fulfilling life in the here and now.

If you know him, you absolutely know that if the circumstances were reversed he'd join in the fight for you.

Thank you so much for reading this and considering helping out Steve, Susan, Steven, and Megan.

#prevail