Hi, I’m Victoria Popp and I’m doing this on behalf of my sister, Mercedez and brother in law, Brad.

On 11/20/25, the doctor's found a mass on Brads kidney. After further testing, it was confirmed that the mass was cancerous and he was referred to OHSU for surgery.

Brad had surgery on 12/26/25 to remove the kidney and the tumor, however, the battle had just begun. After being sent home only 24 hours later, Brad began to swell. After a lot of pain, he finally went to the ER on 1/1/26, where they placed a chest tube into Brad to drain the fluid build up that was occurring. He went home again, but returned to the ER on 1/4/26 due to additional swelling that had spread on his left side and was much worse. The ER placed another chest tube, and this time kept him until OHSU agreed to help. Brad was stuck in this ER for 35+ hours draining constantly until a bed opened at OHSU.

Finally Brad was taken to OHSU where they placed an additional drain tube. This was to release fluid faster in hopes of determining where the leak originates from. After further testing, and long nights in the hospital, the doctors have yet to pinpoint the leak. They said they knew the area from which it was coming from, but are unsure of how to proceed with repairing it.

After multiple nights in the hospital, Brad still does not have a definitive answer on how the doctor plans to proceed. Brads pain has been managed as much as possible, but as of right now, they are still waiting on answers. With that, comes more hospital nights, more nights in a hotel for Mercedez, and piling medical bills.

Im hosting this GoFundMe to help alleviate some of the financial stress that Brad and Mercedez are experiencing. To help pay for hotel stays near OHSU, food, medical bills, travel back and forth, and of course the regular bills that still come during this time of being off work. Any help is greatly appreciated.