In Loving Memory of Sarah Ziegler

Dear friends and family,

In May, we received the devastating news that my sister-in-law, Sarah, has stage IV cancer. Together with her loving husband, Chris, and their three beautiful children, Alex, Charlie, and Maggie, they are on a mission to find and pursue all possible treatment options, but to also create lasting memories and embrace every precious moment. Your support can make a profound difference in their lives and will help them to make as many happy memories together as possible, especially before Sarah starts treatments again.

Sarah's battle with breast cancer began in the fall of 2021, leading her through a challenging path of surgeries, chemotherapy, radiation, and immunotherapy. Despite these efforts, their hopes were shattered when Sarah received the heartbreaking news in May 2023 that the cancer had metastasized to her liver and bones.

Cancer has been absolutely devastating to their family. In 2019, Sarah's mother, Jolene, tragically lost her own battle with breast cancer. The void left by Jolene's passing has deepened their commitment to treasuring every moment as a family.

Amidst the uncertainty, Sarah's BRCA1 gene mutation opens up the possibility of additional treatment options. There also may be an opportunity to travel to Madison to participate in clinical trials/experimental treatment. However, the financial strain of medical expenses and the pursuit of creating meaningful memories weighs heavily on their shoulders.

Purpose of the Fundraiser:

This GoFundMe campaign aims to provide the financial support needed for Sarah's ongoing medical treatments, the exploration of treatment options, and the family's pursuit of creating lasting memories together. Your generosity will ease their burden, allowing them to focus on what matters most: treasuring their time together and embracing the love and joy that surrounds them.

How You Can Help:

Thank you for taking the time to read Sarah's story and considering supporting her and her family. Your kindness and generosity will bring immeasurable comfort and joy to their lives.

Update: 5/24/2023

Sarah is starting Carboplatin today. Once every three weeks with blood work to every time to see how things are progressing. Blood counts are the concern with this one (she’s had it before). Lower risk of hair loss. Three total treatments of this, then another pet scan. Hopefully move on to a PARP Inhibiter after that (by mouth). Also today is Zometa, which is to repair the bone where the cancer shrinks.

Update: 6/22/2023

After Sarah's first treatment, she noticed it has helped manage some of the pain she was dealing with. This has allowed Sarah and the family to take advantage of the summer so far! They've been spending a lot of time up north at the family cabin and also had the opportunity to have a fun weekend trip to Chicago where they took the kids to the Shedd Aquarium, the Museum of Science and Industry, Navy Pier, Medieval Times, and explored downtown.

Her second treatment was supposed to be last week, but with her blood counts being too low, they had to delay her second treatment to this past Monday.

Update: 8/8/2023

Sarah finished her first round of IV chemotherapy last week and she is starting a brand new chemo that targets her exact gene mutation. What’s nice about this treatment is it’s in pill form which will allow her to take her meds at home. This is particularly exciting because it will allow the Ziegler family to go on their trip to Maui! The entire family is flying to Maui on August 16th and they are incredibly excited. While they are there, Chris and Sarah will be renewing their wedding vows on Po'olenalena Beach; Chris and Sarah went to Maui for their honeymoon, so this vow renewal will be particularly special. In addition to getting in some relaxing beach time, Chris and Sarah will also be bringing the kids to their very first luau.

Update: 10/15/23

Sarah passed away yesterday. She went in for vocal cord surgery about a week and a half ago and it went well, but she was continuing to have a very high heart rate with shortness of breath with very little activity, so they kept her in the hospital. She received many platelet infusions over the past week but her platelets weren’t jumping back to normal levels. Unfortunately, the doctors couldn’t figure out why any of this was happening. Then last night, when she was completely unable to breathe on her own, she was rushed into the ICU where they lost her heart rate and after over 30 minutes of CPR, realized they wouldn’t be able to get her back.

Thank you so much to everyone that donated to this GoFundMe account to support the Ziegler family in the past 6 months. They were able to make some wonderful memories as a result of your donations and I can’t thank you enough.

We’re in the process of planning for Sarah’s memorial. I know we’ve already asked so much of you all, but please consider donating to help offset the costs of Sarah’s memorial service. We will be getting details figured out soon and we will share them with you as soon as we have them.

We are absolutely devastated. Please keep Chris, the kids, and the Knox’s in your thoughts. Thank you so much to everyone for all of your love and support.