Support April Gourley's Battle with Brain Cancer

Update:

April had an appointment this week and received heart breaking news. She has growth in the tumor and swelling. They are going to change some treatments but said we are nearing the end of her fight. They gave 3-6 months with us. April and her family have been fighting this for 4 long years. I can’t imagine the stress it’s added to their daily lives and the financial concerns. Please consider a donation to help relieve some of the stress. Let's all pray for their family!

Original Post:

Many of you know the Gourley family from NorthField Church. Our family met the Gourley's originally through April's husband, Brandon. Brandon has served at nearly every kids camp, middle school & high school camp as well as the Appalachia Service Project (ASP) mission trips. My son Andrew met Brandon his first year at ASP where Brandon was his leader in his work team. Andrew came back with a changed heart after meeting Brandon, hearing his story and being impressed by his knowledge and leadership during the mission trip. I've witnessed April's fight and the changes she has gone thru. Before brain cancer, April was proudly home-schooling her kids and ran a personal training business. She was bubbly and happy. Her family has made several sacrifices to be home to support April. She cannot drive and it is becoming harder for her to communicate with memory challenges. They have had to sell their home and move into a rental to cover medical bills. At the last total, there were over $100,000 in medical bills that they are working to pay. My goal for their family is to be able to help cover their rent for the next year. Meal gift cards would also be a blessing.

April was diagnosed with a glioblastoma brain tumor on August 12th of 2021. She had a 10-hour brain surgery to remove as much of the tumor as they could without cutting and removing brain tissue. That was followed up by 6 weeks of radiation and 12 cycles of chemotherapy. The doctors were able to keep the tumor growth at bay for about a year and a half. The tumor came back more aggressively in December of 2023. She then had a brain biopsy and another brain surgery in March of 2024. That surgery was followed by another 3 weeks of radiation and 4 weeks of chemotherapy. Since then her speech and memory have been difficult which makes it hard to communicate what she is trying to say. She started another 6-week cycle of chemotherapy at the end of July. They will do an MRI scan every 2-4 weeks to keep an eye on what the tumor is doing. During all this she has not been allowed to drive which makes it a little challenging getting everyone where they need to go. Thanks for all your help!