Our dear friend and coworker, Gary, is bravely battling stage 4 cancer that began in his colon and has spread to his abdomen, lungs, intestines, and lymph nodes.

In July, he underwent a 13-hour surgery at Anschutz Hospital in Denver, where doctors removed as much cancer as possible and applied chemotherapy directly to affected areas. Unfortunately, Gary has struggled to regain his strength since then. After two weeks of oral chemotherapy and another hospital stay, he now requires weekly fluid infusions just to stay hydrated.

Despite everything, Gary’s heart has remained with his students at SSMS, who bring him so much joy. He worked as long as he could, but recently had to make the painful decision to step away from teaching for now. He hopes to visit his classes when he’s able—especially to share his love of science and stories from his days as a scientist. We’re raising funds to help ease the financial burden of his treatments and give Gary the support he needs to focus on healing.