I am Jody Anderson, a grateful, lifelong best friend of J.C. Sarver.

My friends and I are raising money to offset healthcare and travel costs for J.C., who was recently diagnosed with metastatic melanoma. I will provide more detail on his medical journey in a moment.

J.C. is a person who never asks for help or support. He is one of the most mentally strong people I have come across in my lifetime, so when I approached him about setting up a GoFundMe to help offset the costs he is certain to endure, it was a hard no. It took multiple attempts and time before he reluctantly agreed to this support.

A little background on J.C. J.C. grew up in Grand Forks, North Dakota (grew up may be stretching the truth a bit :) ). He was a long-time member of Sharon Lutheran Church. He attended Ben Franklin Elementary School, South Junior High School, and Red River High School.

Shortly after graduating from Northland Community and Technical College as a Registered Respiratory Therapist, J.C. departed Grand Forks, enlisting in the U.S. Army, spending 4 years as an active duty, American Soldier! Thank you for your service, Sarv's!

Following his time in the Army, J.C. has continued to serve our military in a critical capacity, as a civilian, working as the Behavioral Health Program Manager for the Department of Defense Health Agency.

J.C. has built a beautiful life for him and his family of 5. Together, J.C. and his beautiful wife, Steff, have one son together, Zach, who like J.C. and Steff, is sports crazed. J.C. also has two beautiful stepdaughters, Katie and Jess. J.C., Steff, and Zach currently reside in San Antonio, TX. Prior to his time in TX, J.C. and his family spent time in both Louisiana and Kentucky.

For as long as we have known J.C., he has always placed others' needs ahead of his own. Today is our collective opportunity to provide unwavering support to J.C. and his family through prayer, motivating posts, food chains, lawn care, and financial support needed to offset the financial costs and reduce some of the stressors J.C. and his family are navigating.

So far, initial treatments have not been deemed effective, so J.C. and his care team have applied for a promising but very expensive cancer trial, referred to as Tumor Infiltrating Lymphocytes therapy (TIL). There are 40 slots available for this clinical trial nationwide with 3 spots available at the world-renowned MD Anderson Cancer Center, out of Houston, TX. In order to qualify for the TIL clinical trial, J.C. will be required to receive treatments and follow-up care at MD Anderson. There are no local San Antonio options for this clinical trial. If (when) he is accepted into the TIL clinical trial, he will be required to travel 3.5 hours each way and anticipates approximately 60 hotel night stays will be needed to support this promising treatment journey.

Please join us in supporting J.C. in any way you can. Through prayer in getting him his critical spot in this promising TIL trial with MD Anderson. Through prayer for a successful, long-term path forward. Through continued love, motivational posts/stories, and financial support to offset their healthcare and travel costs for those who have the capacity to do so.

God bless each of you and thank you all for your prayers and support as J.C. and his family SUCCESSFULLY navigate this complex journey.

With gratitude!

Jody Anderson

P.S. We love you, Sarv's! You got this!