My name is June Hur. I'm a Korean Canadian author of young adult historical fiction, and I am writing this from a hospital room in Korea.

For those who have followed my instagram posts, I have shared vaguely that this has been the hardest year of my life. A day hasn't gone by without crying. Now with my family's permission, I wanted to share the details, in the hopes of raising support for my dad and family.

At the start of this year, I learned that my dad, who was already living with Kennedy’s disease, was now facing stage 4 stomach cancer.

We were so shocked, it felt like a nightmare we couldn't wake up from. I'd thought I had at least, ten or so more years with my dad. Ten more years of flying from Toronto to Korea to visit him, to let him watch my kids grow up, to show him how much i love and appreciate him.

But he's now hospitalized with pneumonia, the cancer has spread everywhere, and our family has been told that he may not have much time left (though we're foolishly holding onto the hope that he'll somehow survive).

I'm utterly devastated, and it truly crushes my heart to see how unbearably painful and drawn out cancer is. All the main characters in my books are always trying to save someone they love--but here I am, feeling so powerless. I can't save my dad.

And my dad means so much to me. He's the reason I became an author.

When I was young, my dad wanted me to discover the joy of reading. So he kept bringing books home for me. I ended up falling in love with stories and began dreaming of writing books of my own. And I did!

And so, if you are here because you've read and enjoyed one of my books, it's all thanks to my dad - who inspired me to love books, and encouraged me to pursue my publication dream.

Now my mom, siblings and I are taking turns being his caregiver in a single hospital room at a hospital in Bucheon, Korea. My sister, my brother, and I all flew in so we could be with him. The single room is expensive, but it's allowed us to spend such precious time with him.

The room costs 400,000 Korean won per day, which is about CA$365 / US$260 per day.

A more affordable shared room is not an option for us right now. My dad requires a high level of medical care, and so we've been told that he can't stay in a multiple-occupancy room, where his care needs would disturb other patients. So while the single room is costly, it's also the only hospital room arrangement currently available to him.

With a goal of $20,000 the financial support we receive will be used to help cover:

- Hospital room costs: approximately CA$7,700-11,000 for 21-30 days

- Medical bills, medication, pain management, including morphine, and related care costs: over CA$4,000

- The remaining amount will be used for GoFundMe transaction fees & any other fees and bills unaccounted for. Basically, a buffer room for my mom who will be transitioning into a new life stage as a widow.

(edit: since we received more donations, I've shared in updates how I plan to use the rest :))

We've already been in the hospital for 7 days now, and the cost is growing quickly. We were told that if finances become too difficult, we may need to move him to hospice... but right now there are no hospice rooms available (we're on the wait list for two hospice centers). We have also been warned that moving him could cause him to decline more quickly. It would also mean leaving the medical team that has cared for him so well and losing the space where our whole family can remain close to him.

So here I am, opening up about my private life, in the hopes of making this all a bit easier for my mom and dad. Like many families facing a medical crisis, we're dealing with a growing financial burden from care-related costs. And the last thing I want is for my mom to be worrying about the bill. It's the least I can do.

And if you're not able to give, sharing this fundraiser would mean a great deal to us. Please help us spread the word, both to support my dad’s care and to raise awareness about stomach cancer.

Stomach cancer is often discovered too late, as symptoms can be easy to dismiss: indigestion, loss of appetite, feeling full quickly, unexplained weight loss, abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, fatigue, or blood in the stool. Please do not ignore persistent stomach symptoms. Please encourage the people you love to seek medical care early.

Thank you for reading this, for caring for my dad, and for supporting our family.