Support Lyndsay's Fight Against Metastatic Melanoma

This past year has been incredibly tough for our dear friend, Lyndsay, and her family. Just before the holidays, and shortly after her 31st birthday, she got the devastating news that her melanoma had returned becoming metastatic melanoma. After two surgeries in December and January, she started treatment. The first round caused severe side effects and an ER visit. A second attempt brought on more complications, and a PET scan in late February showed the cancer had spread to her bones and a new tumor. Since March, she’s been receiving treatments, but with more merciless symptoms, including multiple hospital stays for pneumonia, fractured ribs, colitis, and unmanageable pain. Scans have since revealed further spread to both hips, her ribs, tailbone, and thigh. It has now caused her to be on bedrest. Every treatment seems to try and knock her down, but no matter how tough things get, she keeps fighting with everything she has, keeps pushing through, and keeps smiling, especially when her nieces and nephew are around. Her family has been by her side every step of the way, and so many of us are trying to support her however we can. Amazingly, through all of this, Lyndsay has continued working full time at a pediatric therapy clinic, where she’s passionate about supporting children with autism and helping their families live fuller, easier lives.

I want to share a quick story that says everything about the kind of person Lyndsay is. A while back, when we were moving, we told Lyndsay and her partner, Jaret, that we’d handle it ourselves. We didn’t want to bother anyone or ask for help. But that weekend, without hesitation, they just showed up and helped us move our entire life into a truck, no questions asked. That’s who Lyndsay is. She gives, she shows up, she supports. If you know Lyndsay, you know she would never ask, but she needs us more than ever and it's our turn to show up for her like she has shown up for countless others.

Lyndsay and Jaret have been traveling regularly from her home in Roanoke, VA to Charlottesville. And now, she’s preparing to start a new treatment that will require trips to Washington, DC in hopes of finally getting the breakthrough she needs. The last thing Lyndsay should be worrying about right now is money, but the reality is that the cost of treatment, travel, and day-to-day needs adds up quickly. This GoFundMe is here to help lift some of that weight, so she can focus on healing and getting the care she deserves. It will help cover:

• Medical expenses

• Travel expenses for treatment

• Support if more time off work is required

• Anything else Lyndsay might need to heal

If you’re able to give, it would mean the world. And if not, please share. Let’s surround her with the same fierce love and energy she’s given so many of us, and remind her she’s never, ever fighting alone.