My name is Zach. I'm a lot of things at once: I started a small business, I study at Pima Community College while conducting my own autodidactic research, I hold down a 9-5 job, and I'm a father of two on top of that.

I started a GoFundMe because I'm trying to raise money for Kay, my wife, and her cancer biopsy. There's a lot going on; she has a track record of epilepsy, she has a hereditary higher risk of cancer, and she has a microdeletion that, in her specific case, has very little documentation. My wife (and our youngest daughter, who also has this microdeletion) are the only ones in the state recorded to have this specific issue (there may be more like us, but none who go to Phoenix Children's Hospital).

Lately, my wife's everyday symptoms have gotten worse. She occasionally coughs up blood, which we don't know the cause of, and her appetite is messed up. She hasn't had a recent seizure, which is amazing luck, but none of her other symptoms have been addressed because neither she nor I have health insurance to cover the cost of a proper biopsy or MRI. I'm trying to do everything in my power to get the money on my own — I hate even having to ask or be in this position — but even with the job, the business, and every other side hustle or project I can think of to make money from, it's not enough. It's difficult for her to hold down a job; as it is, she works normally a day or two a week at her current job as a cashier, and she's trying to sell completed diamond art on the side to put money away for her treatment.

So, here I am. I'm attempting to do in silico research — almost entirely literature-based, along with her observed symptoms — to connect the dots somehow while pulling my hair out trying to get the money together. At this point, I'd rather put my pride aside and ask for help than let this continue the way it has been. Who knows if something develops and she ends up in the hospital — or if I end up there myself from stress — but if we can raise enough money to get whatever is going on with her identified, maybe we can come up with a plan to treat it. I'm keeping my fingers crossed and hoping for the best.

Thank you for reading, and thank you for any support you decide to give.