Support Chaz Christmas in His Fight Against Cancer

Chaz Christmas is an extremely smart, quick-witted young man with an amazing sense of humor. Sadly, at just 18 years of age Chaz was diagnosed with osteosarcoma of the tibia.

Rather than walk the stage for his graduation from Silver High School in Silver City, New Mexico or attend his senior trip to Italy he has found himself wheelchair bound and receiving chemotherapy treatment at New Mexico State University Hospital in Albuquerque, NM. Chaz remains in good spirits however, and views this as just a setback on the way to a future where he is able to explore his passion for the culinary arts and running his own restaurant someday!

 

Chaz’s amazing support team consists of his father Randy Christmas, grandmother Glenda Sasse, and big brother Vince.

 

Randy is a dedicated father and a veteran who served 3 tours in Afghanistan/Iraq. He now divides his time between being with Chaz at the hospital or at the local mine where he has been a hardworking employee for almost 10 years. When Randy can’t be at the hospital Grandma Glenda steps in and makes the trip.

At 74 years of age Glenda is a pillar of strength for her community and remains active helping others through her Lakota sweat lodge, even as she herself is currently undergoing treatment for breast cancer that she was diagnosed with in March 2024.

 

Heartbreakingly, the family is also still reeling from the unimaginable loss of Amy Christmas in July of 2024. Amy was a generous and kind mother to Chaz and Vince, loving wife to Randy, and devoted daughter to Glenda. The family remains strong and optimistic in the face of so much adversity, but she is sorely missed.

 

Thankfully, the family is able to stay at the Ronald McDonald house in Albuquerque, New Mexico while Chaz is undergoing chemotherapy treatments, but it is a tiring and brutal 10 hour drive through the desert roundtrip to and from their home in rural southwestern New Mexico and the hospital. With 7 more months of treatment to go followed by surgery shortly after even the cost of basic daily living expenses are mounting with no relief in sight for Randy and Glenda. With the price of gas nowadays the cost of one single round trip is well over $100.

 

To explain why this cause is so important to me I would start out by acknowledging the fact that biologically Glenda is “just” my aunt, but in truth she is so much more than that. She and her late husband Robert took me in when I was just 11 years old and raised me as their own (alongside Amy of course, my best-friend-sister-cousin). Over the years Robert and Glenda provided unwavering love, support, and guidance which I am so grateful for. Truly a debt I can never repay.

And as a mother now myself the resilience I see in Glenda and Randy is nothing short of inspiring; just seeing them getting through their day to day lives without becoming overwhelmed with negativity or bitterness. Glenda and Randy are truly some of the most selfless people you will ever meet, more likely to offer help than to ask for it.

 

It’s for all these reasons (and many more) that I am seeking donations on their behalf to simply lighten the load for this family.  Obviously, no one can take away the pain they are already enduring or ease their minds as to uncertainty of what the future holds, but at the very least what we can do is help out by covering a tank of gas here and there! Even seemingly small things like paying for a grocery trip with cash and not a credit card can provide much needed relief.

 

In short, I hope that we can come together and help ease the financial burden for Glenda and Randy so that they can continue pouring all their energy into doing everything possible to help Chaz fight this cancer!

 

If you have anything you can spare please understand it’s greatly appreciated; whether you know and love this family as much as I do, or you simply want to help some good people during a time of great hardship.

ALL PROCEEDS WILL BE PAID DIRECTLY TO GLENDA AND RANDY.