UPDATE: Katie sadly passed on October 19, 2026 at home with her family. Thank you all who have supported her and her family during this time.

Thank you to everyone who has stood by our girl, Katie. Your love, prayers, and support have meant the world to her and her family.

I met Katie on the first day of college in 2006, and from that moment on, we’ve been inseparable. We’ve faced all of life’s highs and lows together from the heartbreak of losing her brother Tommy to the pure joy of welcoming her daughter Isabelle and son Hunter into the world. Katie isn’t just my best friend, she’s the closest thing I have to a sister. Being far from my own family, hers has always welcomed me in and treated me like one of their own. Now, I have the chance to return the love and support they’ve always shown me and I hope you all can join us on this rollercoaster.

After her laryngectomy last year, Katie bravely began adjusting to a completely new way of life learning to breathe, eat, and communicate again from scratch. When we got the amazing news that the cancer was no longer in her throat, it felt like a miracle. Life slowly began to settle into a new normal, and Jay was even able to return to work.

But this past May, everything changed. Katie began experiencing chest pain, and a PET scan confirmed that the same cancer—Metastatic Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma—had spread to her lungs. Surgery was scheduled to remove the tumor, but before it could happen, Katie developed severe pain in her knee. Another scan revealed the cancer had spread there as well, an extremely rare development that led to the lung surgery being postponed indefinitely.

Since then, Katie has gone through multiple rounds of radiation on her knee and is unable to walk. In August, she started a clinical trial with the hope that it would treat both the lung and knee tumors. Recent scans show that while the treatment is helping the lung tumor, it’s had no effect on her knee and continues to advance.

In order for Katie to have a chance at walking again, the tumor in her knee must be surgically removed. The clinical trial is now being paused so she can regain enough strength for surgery, which is scheduled for later in October.

Through all of this, Katie has shown incredible strength and courage. She is a fighter, but this fight comes with enormous physical, emotional, and financial challenges. Jay had stepped away from work to care for Katie and the kids full time, but is planning to return to work in November to maintain health benefits and provide some stability for the family.

As they continue to navigate the unknowns of this journey, the financial strain has become overwhelming.

Katie has always been the caregiver, the doer, the rock for everyone around her. Now it’s our turn to be that for her. If you’re able to contribute, know that your support means the world and helps ease a burden no family should carry alone.

We’re so grateful for your continued love and encouragement. Let’s continue to show up for Katie, Jay, Isabelle and Hunter in every way we can.

Thank you for being part of her village.