My name is Brittany and I am starting this fundraiser on behalf of one of my closest friends Erin and her son John, who we all adore. Erin has been a true ride or die in my life - no matter what crazy idea I’ve come up with she’s always been the first to support me in getting it off the ground, no questions asked. Her son John hopped into action himself for the past few years helping me with whatever crazy project I tossed at them. This time they need our help - and this help is far beyond anything I can give them, and lord knows I would give them anything I could.

A few months ago John started having some pain in his legs and back that was initially dismissed as sciatica, later becoming so severe that he could not move around and had his hours cut at work. This eventually lead to coughing up blood and finally visiting the ER and urgent care, believing he may have tuberculosis. Once admitted at Hackensack University Medical Center, test after test to rule out things like TB, fungal pneumonia, and other respiratory illnesses- and not yet finding the connection between his leg and back pain and his respiratory distress - Erin then received the news that no mother on this earth wants to hear.

Cancer.

Metastatic (Stage 4) Angiosarcoma. A rare and aggressive cancer that starts in the endothelial cells that line the walls of blood vessels or lymphatic vessels and in this case, has spread to his lungs.

They have a treatment plan in place - despite Horizon’s best efforts to deny John the chemotherapy drug. As any mother would, Erin has taken a leave of absence from work to be with him daily and from first hand experience I know how quickly the costs of living for weeks on end at a children’s hospital can add up.

I’m starting this campaign to at the very least bring them some relief of not worrying about bills or the costs of small comforts like ordering food or travel back and forth to the hospital or denied coverage for medications or any other expenses that may come their way. John has quite the battle ahead of him and their focus needs to be on healing. Erin is absolutely not one to ask for a single thing in life, so I am asking for her and for John, for all the times they were there for me without a second thought.