Support Sasha's Family After Her Cancer Battle

John Arntzen is organizing this fundraiser.

Donation protected

March 2025 Update: Rest In Peace. Sasha passed away on March 10th, 2025, at the age of 37. She passed peacefully in her sleep in the care of expert caregivers in VITAS hospice care. She touched so many people in her life, and she is remembered as an incredibly kind, intelligent, strong woman.

We appreciate all of your kind words and prayers, as well as your generous donations. Thank you all, from the bottom of our hearts. All future funds will go to support any outstanding medical bills and daily needs of her widowed husband after her passing.

Sasha was an amazingly talented artist. Her widower has set up a memorial account on DeviantArt to showcase her beautiful art:

https://www.deviantart.com/thewildscryer

Original Post Below

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I will always be by your side, no matter how terrible the trial. I will always protect you, no matter how mighty the foe. I will always lift you up, no matter how far you fall. I will always make you smile, no matter how foolish I am. And most importantly, I will always love you, no matter how long forever is. I will be your soulmate, Sasha.

- My wedding vows, 2020

Our Story:

I never thought a night in Stormwind would lead me to the love of my life.

Fourteen years ago, nearly half of my life, I was playing the (still) popular video game World of Warcraft late at night. In the game, I entered a local tavern and saw another player sitting alone and decided to chat with them. This led to an hours-long conversation about anything and everything: video games, life, pain, and joy. By the time I realized I hadn't slept and the sun had come up, I realized I understood this person on a deep, emotional level. From that point on, we spent as much time as we could together, eagerly awaiting the hour the other would log in so we could talk and game together. We introduced ourselves as our real-life counterparts: John and Sasha.

It didn't take long for me to admit I loved her, and we decided to meet in person. A three-hour flight across the U.S. later, and we met in person for the first time. By the end of that brief vacation, I knew I would be staying. I had never met a woman so kind, so intelligent, so beautiful, so creative. We truly understood each other - had a deep, wonderful bond for each other. I left my hometown behind and moved in with her, and we've been sharing almost every waking moment since.

The wedding took far too long to happen, with a mix of things often getting in the way. Even Covid eventually cancelled our plans when it locked the world down. But, we had a plan to help everyone gather together even if the world was shut down. The same game that brought us together from states apart would bring us together again in an even deeper way. We had our wedding in World of Warcraft and invited friends and family.

Since then, we've enjoyed 4 happy years of marriage, despite the trials that life would suddenly throw at us.

Sasha's Medical Troubles:

In 2020, Sasha went to the Emergency room at Methodist Richardson Medical Center for excruciating pain in her abdomen. If Sasha was in such pain, something was deeply wrong. This is a woman who has broken multiple bones and been stabbed in her life and grunted the pain away. Her pain tolerance is incredible. There was a good reason for her pain: a massive grapefruit-sized cyst on her ovary. What should have been a simple hour-long surgery turned into a nearly 12-hour long nightmare as the growth, which had now burst open, was cancerous. Sasha woke with a C-section scar and had lost her left ovary and fallopian tube to the ordeal, and was now being directed to follow up for cancer.

Cancer screening afterwards came back negative, and we thought the worst was behind us. Recovery from surgery would be rough, but things looked positive.

In 2023, Sasha slipped in the bathroom and had a terrible fall on her back. Originally, everything felt fine but sore. Over the next few months, she slowly lost feeling in her legs until she was numb from the waist down. Returning again to Methodist Richardson, it was discovered that the fall had pinched nerves in her back and spinal surgery would be required to try and help awaken her nerves in her lower body. The surgery was deemed 50/50: either feeling in her body would be restored (very gradually), or she would be paralyzed and unable to walk again. Sasha boldly took the chance, and with the help of very skilled doctors and neurosurgeons, the thoracic laminectomy was a success.

Though it would take up to 5 years to see how many of her nerves would recover, Sasha could walk again with assistance. The road to recovery would be hard. Neuropathy and spine surgery are hard to heal, but I helped her at home as much as I could: bathing her, helping her walk, whatever I could do. We hoped that everything would get better, if slowly.

Now, in 2024, after slowly but steadily recovering from spine surgery and dealing pain from nerve healing, Sasha’s left leg was in even worse pain. She suffered yet another fall, and this time the diagnosis was even more grim. This wasn’t a side effect of neuropathy, it was Stage 4 Metastatic Cancer. The cancer had come back, spreading from her uterus and ovaries to her pelvis, her lymph nodes, and even started to eat the bones in her leg.

A rough estimation at the time gave Sasha roughly 6 months to live without treatment.

Why We’re Asking For Your Help:

Through all of this, medical expenses have been high. Sasha, during her recovery of all of this, hasn’t been able to enjoy her work as an artist due to her pain. I have worked as much as I can to make ends meet, but I’ve had to be home as much as possible to take care of Sasha in her darkest hours.

Now, I am fully away from work to care for Sasha full time, and we’re reaching out for anything and anyone to help us.

How You Can Help Sasha:

The money raised will help us to meet our daily life and bills, pay for Sasha’s medical needs and treatment, and fight cancer until the bitter end. Even if you cannot donate, your consideration, kindness, and time mean the world to me and to her.

Sharing this page and our cause on social media and in person can help us spread word of her plight, and raise awareness for not only her struggle but cancer patients in need everywhere.