<div>#HelpUsFightforDragon
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div><br />
</div><img alt="" media_type="3" src="https://d2g8igdw686xgo.cloudfront.net/105235897_1782703840112560_r.jpg" width="100%" />
<div><br />
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>On June 13th, my husband, JC (who many of you know as Dragon), went to the emergency room for what we thought was a pulled muscle after three weeks of pain in his left side.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>The ER team initially believed it was likely musculoskeletal and was preparing to send him home.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div><strong>But JC had a feeling something wasn't right.</strong>
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div><strong>He asked for a CT scan, anyway.</strong>
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>At 3 a.m., my phone buzzed.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div><strong>"Be strong, my Chickie," he wrote. "We're gonna get through this."</strong>
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>Then came the words no family is ever prepared to hear:
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div><strong>"They're pretty sure it's renal cell cancer."</strong>
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div><br />
</div><img alt="" media_type="3" src="https://d2g8igdw686xgo.cloudfront.net/105235897_1782537564509752_r.jpg" width="100%" />
<div><br />
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>I remember staring at my phone, trying to process what I was reading.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>I asked him if it was definitely cancer.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div><strong>"The doctor said he's pretty sure, yes."</strong>
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>Even while receiving the worst news of his life, JC was focused on comforting me.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div><strong>"Sorry my love. But there's hope. It doesn't seem to be spreading to my lungs, and if it's not in the bones they take out the kidney and we're cool."</strong>
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>Moments later, his thoughts turned to our daughter.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div><strong>"Please don't get Lexi worried before her Jiu-Jitsu competition."</strong>
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>I promised him I wouldn't.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div><strong>"She needs to focus," he replied. "I told her I'm fine."</strong>
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div><strong>That is who JC is.</strong>
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>Anyone who knows him won't be surprised. JC has spent his life showing up for the people he loves.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div><br />
</div><img alt="" media_type="3" src="https://d2g8igdw686xgo.cloudfront.net/105235897_1782703747561031_r.jpg" width="100%" />
<div><br />
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>When I lost my sister to suicide, he carried me through unimaginable grief. When my father was dying, he helped me care for him. When we spent years navigating the challenges of adopting Lexi (my sister’s daughter) from South Africa, he never wavered. Long before the adoption was finalized, he was already her dad in every way that mattered.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div><strong>I never thought I would meet someone who would love not just me, but also Lexi.</strong>
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div><br />
</div><img alt="" media_type="3" src="https://d2g8igdw686xgo.cloudfront.net/105235897_1782703360557244_r.jpg" width="100%" />
<div><br />
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>When COVID brought the world to a standstill, our adoption was suddenly put on hold. I was stuck in South Africa, separated from the life we'd built in America, terrified that Lexi would lose hope after waiting so long.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div><strong>Without hesitation, JC packed up his entire life in America and moved to South Africa to be with us. </strong>
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>He didn't know how long we'd be there. He simply knew that Lexi deserved to know she wasn't alone and that we would wait for her together, as a family.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div><strong>That's who my husband is. He has always shown up for the people he loves—fully, selflessly, and without hesitation.</strong>
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div><br />
</div><img alt="" media_type="3" src="https://d2g8igdw686xgo.cloudfront.net/105235897_1782703790988495_r.jpg" width="100%" />
<div><br />
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div><strong>Now, after his Stage IV kidney cancer diagnosis, I'm asking others to do for him what he has spent his life doing for everyone else: show up.</strong>
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>The CT scan revealed a 13.5 cm mass on his left kidney with significant lymph node involvement. The good news is that his lungs and other organs are clear, and his bone scan showed no evidence of cancer in his bones.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div><strong>His doctors are hopeful.</strong>
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>The plan is to begin immunotherapy before undergoing major surgery to remove his kidney and affected lymph nodes.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div><strong>For that hope, we are incredibly grateful.</strong>
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>After my sister died, I decided to become a therapist as part of my healing journey. JC made that possible. He supported our family while I was in grad school, and never once made me feel guilty for going back to school.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>When Lexi's adoption was finalized and we finally returned to the United States, we started over.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>I built a private practice. JC poured himself into his podcast. Slowly, after years of sacrifice, things began falling into place. For the first time in a long time, it felt like we were finally finding our footing and building a life together as a family.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div><br />
</div><img alt="" media_type="3" src="https://d2g8igdw686xgo.cloudfront.net/105235897_1782538521782986_r.jpg" width="100%" />
<div><br />
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>For years, JC poured every extra dollar into giving us the best life and building our businesses. The man wore underwear long past its retirement date.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div><strong>JC keeps joking, "The month I finally decided we were financially stable enough for me to buy a fresh drawer full of underwear without checking the bank account first was the same month I got diagnosed with kidney cancer." </strong>
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>If you know JC, you know that one of his greatest gifts is his sense of humor. That's just JC. He somehow manages to make people laugh even when he's the one carrying the burden.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>Based on our current treatment plan, we expect our out-of-pocket medical expenses to far exceed $200,000. Between immunotherapy, surgery, imaging, biopsies, hospital stays, and ongoing cancer care, the financial burden is overwhelming.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div><strong>While we are grateful to have a critical illness policy that will help offset some costs, it will not come close to covering everything. </strong>
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>Like many self-employed families, we found ourselves caught in the gap between building a business and being able to afford comprehensive health insurance for the two of us. We never imagined we would be facing a life-threatening cancer diagnosis before we got there.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div><strong>Asking for help is not easy for us. </strong>We have always been the people who tried to figure things out on our own. But right now our focus needs to be on one thing: <strong>giving JC every possible chance to beat this cancer and get back to the life he loves.</strong>
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>If you've listened to the "Makes Sense with Dr. JC Doornick" podcast, shared a conversation with JC, laughed with him, learned from him, or been touched by his kindness, we're asking for your support.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div><strong>Every donation will go directly toward JC's medical care and help our family focus on what matters most: getting him healthy.</strong>
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div><strong>And if you can't donate, sharing this fundraiser means more than you know.</strong>
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div><br />
</div><img alt="" media_type="3" src="https://d2g8igdw686xgo.cloudfront.net/105235897_1782538759364454_r.jpg" width="100%" />
<div><br />
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>A friend recently reminded me of something beautiful: if someone had offered me a life without grief, loss, uncertainty, or pain, I might have been tempted to take it.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div><strong>But I would have missed JC.</strong>
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div><strong>I would have missed watching him become Lexi's dad.</strong>
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div><strong>I would have missed the life we've built together, the laughter, the adventures, the ordinary moments that became extraordinary because we shared them.</strong>
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div><strong>The truth is, I would choose him all over again.</strong>
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div><strong>Every time.</strong>
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div><strong>Even knowing how hard this moment is.</strong>
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div><strong>Because loving someone this deeply is always worth the risk.</strong>
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>We know the road ahead won't be easy.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>There will be treatments.
</div>
<div>There will be surgeries.
</div>
<div>There will be difficult days.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div><strong>But there will also be hope.</strong>
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>There will be laughter.
</div>
<div>There will be family dinners.
</div>
<div>There will be podcast episodes.
</div>
<div>There will be future memories with Lexi and JC's two boys, Jeremy &amp; Jaxson.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div><br />
</div><img alt="" media_type="3" src="https://d2g8igdw686xgo.cloudfront.net/105235897_178270402431253_r.jpg" width="100%" />
<div><br />
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div><br />
</div><img alt="" media_type="3" src="https://d2g8igdw686xgo.cloudfront.net/105235897_1782704055728012_r.jpg" width="100%" />
<div><br />
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div><strong>Because there is still so much life left to live, so many memories left to make, and a future for JC and me that is absolutely worth fighting for ❤️</strong>
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div>Thank you for standing beside us.
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div><strong>Thank you for helping us fight for JC's life.</strong>
</div>
<div><br />
</div>
<div><br />
</div><img alt="" media_type="3" src="https://d2g8igdw686xgo.cloudfront.net/105235897_1782704078533483_r.jpg" width="100%" />
<div><br />
</div>

Anonymous

John Murphy

Sonia Chand

Alexa Haddock

Chris Cushing

Susan Alevas

Cathie Mitchell

Bill&Lissa August

Noelle Decup

Greg Kovacic

Kaci Pennington

Suzan Steblein

Aileen Brown

Allison Quillen

JAck & Ana Cordova

Carrie McGrew

Johanns Haanschoten

Help JC Get Treatment That Could Save His Life

platform

Platform is iOS

Android

Adyen Google Pay Development Audience

$opt_dummy_attribute

English only

Deprecate Stripe Legacy

dyn_template_ids

Adyen V6 Bene Transfer & MyMoney Campaign Organizers - test01

Bene transfer V6 and AdyenV6MyMoney Campaign Organizers - production

OneTrust next-app audience

fundCountryCode

NextDoor Share Option Users

Fundraisers with Reactions feature capability

fundCurrencyCode

US + Non-charity COs Only

locale

fund country is US and user language is English

personId

comms-internal-person-ids

Enhanced Story Experience Users

Suggested Goal Experience Users

user language is English and fund country: US, AU, DK, FI, IE, NO, SE, CA, GB; 

Poster share - new funds eligible (newest 9/18)

Streaming widgets beta user

paymentProcessor

3DS payment method

user language is English and fundCountry: US, AU, DK, FI, IE, NO, SE, CA, GB; 

currencyCode

Money Box Donation List Prompt Experiment Audience

GoFundMe Employees

ipAddress

Mark Rieth IP Address

Version 9.2.0 and above

Fund is in English speaking country

desktop

Android v12.11.0 and above

Platform is Android

paymentMethodType

checkoutType

Payment method type group to be vaulted on success

admin pr kit prod

EUR Donation Upsell

Share Text generation Skip Fundraiser

(prod) new funds eligible for amp12 (UGC gallery)

fintrac_cad_idv_form_v2 audience

paymentProcessorAccountId

fallback mode accounts

proCampaignId

p2p legacy startfundraising page

AMP24 New Funds Only PROD (DO NOT MODIFY)

countryCode

charityId

UKCharities

Federated Search Internal Testing

route.pathname community

US Donation Upsell audience 

Auto Thanks Feature Audience

Supporter Comments Eligible Funds

International Only

fundId

braze fundraiser group 

Payment Identity Transfers ATO Risk Check (Targeted) - Production

Fundraiser Saved Payment Method Rate Limit Bypass (Production)

leaderboard-partner-id-audience-givepanel

Version 9.2.1 and above

AUD Donation Upsell audience

fundraiserCountryCode is US/EN

Active Fundraiser - Smart Default Cadence

DAF Internal

Vault on success card payment method

Platform is iOS v11.0.0 and above

Desktop users

Person ids

United States (US) users

allow yuno fundraisers for test

Mexico country code

Posters INTL

NPO Profile Opted-In

iOS at or above 12.4.0

non-US recurring donors

Canada Campaign Owner Group

Fundraiser Without Meta Link

Scheduler payment tester gorup

charityCommunityId

Charities allow to be claimed unclaimed (PRD)

Canada (CA) users

UC Tipping v20250115 International

pymk_production_xplr_fe_team

Android at or above 12.2.0

Profile photo entry point audience

smart goals (fundraiser/manage) on test01

Activity Tracking v1 Beta Testing

writePath

Stream Notification

start gfm intl allowed locales

Platform is iOS v11.2.0 and above

NPO upsell education category

unclaimed charities

prod_ach_audience

AI Chatbot Audience

amp13 only new funds (prod) (anyword auto)

UC Flow Enabled (Prod)

Payment Identity Beneficiary Verification - Production

shared notification bell audience

Custom users

ach frontend audience

Android v11.0.0 and above

Users Receiving Payments Paused Notifications

smart goals test01

Manage Coach - US English Organizers Only + new funds only

Team EGG - IP Address list

NPO recommendations prod

Fundraiser Without Instagram Deep Link

Native 11.4.0 and above

UC Tipping v20250107

Users Receiving Braze KYC Validation Failed

ai_title_page

anyword

openai

control

manual_entry

userEmail

template_id

userId

fundUrl

isCharityCo

email

appVersion

shouldBucketIntoExperiment

partnerId

donationCadence

isActiveFundraiser

isPartner

isMobile

npoProfileOptIn

fundIsLinkedWithMeta

hasSessionDonation

categoryGroup

isCampaignOwner

fundHasInstagramDeepLink

Native 11.3.0 and above

Native 11.4.0 and higher

New funds eligible - Video Sharing (PROD)

GB Donation Upsell audience 

Auto Thanks V3 Rollout Audience

Thank you V3 testing whitelist

isRecurringFriendly

Is Recurring Friendly

Excluded funds - Video Sharing

NPO upsell animals category

NPO upsell disaster relief category

Logged In Users

CH Donation Upsell audience

Android v10.6.0 and above

NPO upsell essential needs category

NPO upsell medical category

userCurrencyCode

Localized Currency

NPO upsell cancer category

v11.5.0 and above

testAudience

pathname

Survicate

appVersion is at or above 12.8.0

Non-charity fund

isChallengeFundraiser

challenge-fundraisers

Payment Identity Launch Verification - Production

New funds eligible - Posters v2

CAD Donation Upsell Audience

Braze Email Tester

NPO Profile Opted-Out

iOS App Version

hasKnownDonors

PYMK has donors

iOS v12.3.0 and above

Help JC Get Treatment That Could Save His Life

Still $2,137 to go. Help us build momentum.