AJ Grays is our brother. He's the perfect son, the perfect uncle, the perfect nephew, the perfect Godfather, and undoubtedly the BEST at being a friend. There is no one who's met AJ that would or could ever disagree. He brings light into every room he enters. He leaves laughter in our lives. He would give everything he has to help the people he loves.

Now, our brother has been diagnosed with Stage 4 rectal cancer with liver metastasis. It started in one place and spread to another before we could catch it. The news has turned our world upside down. AJ is starting treatment immediately. His first surgery is today, the day I'm posting this fundraiser. That will be followed by a minimum year of chemotherapy and multiple procedures.

AJ can't work anymore. While he's applying for disability, it will only cover a portion of his previous income. His beautiful partner and girlfriend, Berenice, is working, but together they will inevitably struggle to cover the costs of rent, medical expenses, food, and everything else needed to survive the next year and beyond.

This fundraiser does one thing: it lets AJ focus on staying alive instead of worrying about how to pay his rent while he's fighting for his life. It lets Berenice be his partner in this fight, not his financial co-pilot trying to keep everything afloat. It's the difference between surviving and actually living through treatment. Your support will help them cover essential expenses and give AJ the chance to focus on his health and recovery.

Where the funds go

Berenice, AJ's partner, is the official beneficiary of this fundraiser. She lives with AJ and manages their household day to day, which is why the funds are withdrawn through her. Every dollar goes directly to AJ's care and the costs of getting him through treatment: rent and utilities, medical bills and out of pocket treatment costs, prescriptions, transportation to and from appointments and procedures, groceries and the nutrition he needs while on chemotherapy, and the everyday household expenses AJ can no longer cover now that he is unable to work. Nothing raised here goes anywhere else. It goes to keeping AJ housed, fed, and able to fight.

We're not asking for anyone to solve this alone. We just need everyone around us, the people who know and love AJ, and those who haven't had a chance to meet him yet, to show up with what they can give. $1, $5, $10, $20. That can and will change everything. Thank you for being part of AJ's fight and for helping him and Berenice through this incredibly difficult time.