Support Derek Highet's Care and Comfort

My name is Jennifer Lindstrand. I have started this fundraiser for my younger brother, Derek Highet. Derek was diagnosed with Anaplastic Astrocytoma Grade 4 IDH Mutant in 2021. We are asking for your help in providing for his caregiving needs as we try to keep him comfortable, happy, and safe during his remaining days.

Derek is in need of full time caregiving. As we all know, this is not a cheap task. We have minimal care through IHSS since he and Colleen are married-- even with him being bed bound and his terminal diagnosis- the max they will give her is 16 care hours a week.

Some days for him are better than others, but it is our goal to make all days good days, and in order to do this we need to be able to provide him the comfort care he needs. Colleen cannot move him anymore on her own, it is not safe for either of them. Derek is unable to help her in any way. We cannot leave Derek in bed all of the time, and he is a critical point in his illness.

He is going to go one way or the other at this point. He is going to stop declining and he is going to get a little stronger, or we are going to face a rapid decline. His care team at UCSF has given us a short expectation of life at this point, and none of us want to believe this can be true about this person we love so much.

However, if you know Derek, you know he is nothing short of a medical miracle. Given the size of the tumor in his brain and how deeply imbedded it is, he should not be doing as well as he is doing. He should not be able to talk at all, or have a lot of cognitive understanding. But he does.

We have researched all of the resources that we could possibly get to make this manageable for her, and we are now at the point where we desperately just need help. Health insurance does not pay for caregiving- even if it is for hospice, which we found out this week. We are currently paying for our caregiver out of pocket, and while she is a lifesaver, she cannot work 24/7. We are looking at out of pocket care costs of starting at about $2,000 a week to provide Derek with the help that he needs.

The reason the fundraiser shows me as the beneficiary is because I have opened up bank account with our parents to use strictly for Derek's care costs. Currently my mom, dad and I split the costs for his care. Any funds sent to help Derek through here or through venmo @Jennifer-Lindstrand go directly into his care account. It is not used for anything other than his care- to include caregiving, medical supplies, and anything that will make him more comfortable. If you have any questions about this, you can ask me. THANK YOU.