Support for Andrew Theriot and family

On Saturday morning, July 23, Andrew had a grand mal seizure at home with his wife, Stephanie, and their daughter, Audrey. He had a quick succession of seizures within the next hour until he was able to be sedated at the ER at Dominican in Santa Cruz. He was transferred to the ICU later that day. He remains intubated and in a medically induced coma. At this time, there are many more questions than answers and his doctors are determining whether he can be removed from sedation and whether he will need to be transferred to a hospital that can offer more specialized care.

For those unfamiliar with Andrew's story, in March of 2018, he suffered his first grand mal seizure and was eventually diagnosed with a Stage 4 glioblastoma brain tumor. He underwent his first brain surgery in May, followed by chemotherapy and radiation through the end of 2018.

After three years of continuous monitoring and treatment through top oncologists and neurosurgeons at UCSF, Andrew needed a second brain surgery in September of 2021, followed by more months of chemotherapy treatment. The last of his monthly scans at UCSF revealed a slightly worrisome anomaly, and they were due to return to find out more this week.

Despite this harrowing diagnosis so early in life and the relentless and brutal effects of the tumor and its treatment, Andrew has remained entirely himself and led a beautiful and rich life these last few years. This is primarily due to his brilliant wife, Stephanie, who has been by his side and in charge of his treatment and care for this entire ordeal, and who has always ensured that Andrew is surrounded by love and living life to its fullest. And the brightest spot in this time has, of course, been the birth of their angel baby girl, Audrey, who has given Andrew the role of a lifetime: father. They also survived this all with the help of their amazing community of family and friends, who have rallied around them with support in the form of love, time, connection, financial aid, and countless home-cooked, hand-delivered meals.

Thankfully, Andrew has not had seizures since his initial one back in 2018, and this abrupt emergency indicates a shocking change in his health and a mountain of unknowns facing him and his family. We are asking his community to rally around them once again and provide financial support to alleviate some of the pressure and burden that Stephanie faces with this next phase. In the probability that Andrew is transferred to another hospital, she will need money for hotel rooms, childcare, and living expenses. There is a chance she will not be able to return to teaching when school starts again in a few weeks.

Thank you so much for your support. It has been truly life-changing for them. Stephanie asks that we pray / send love out into the universe / whatever you do to help Andrew to return to us and have more time with his beautiful family.

If you prefer 100% of your donation to go immediately to Stephanie, you can Venmo her at @Stephanie-Paureau. The last four digits of her cell to verify her account are 6684.

We will keep you updated here and through their existing Meal Train. If you would like to read through all of the updates since 2018, you can access them here: https://www.mealtrain.com/trains/1mmd7z/updates/

That will also be where we post Meal Train information if Andrew and Stephanie need additional local support.