Last Chance To Live.
Donation protected
Hello world!
My name is Tae, and I am a pretty regular 27 year old bachelor. I love having fun, exploring, traveling, making music, and meeting new people from all walks of life. I live life as it comes, and was always determined to live an exciting life. One can argue how exciting my life has been so far, but overall I was happy, and fortunate enough to make a relatively comfortable, and stress free life for myself. I was ready to do more, and see where I can take my life next.
Unfortunately, all that came to a halt this past September.
I initially went to the doctor, to find a solution for my torn ACL, from a hit and run about 2 years ago. I also had a rapidly growing lump on my right thigh, above the torn knee, that I wanted to check out while I was there. The lump has started out small, started growing into the size of a golf ball last year, and now was about the size of a football. We took a biopsy, and turns out it was a series of tumors.
I was then diagnosed with 'Epithelioid Sarcoma.' A very rare and dangerous type of soft tissue sarcoma, which is a cancer of the muscles and lymph nodes. It usually starts growing around the limbs, and slowly works it's way to the lungs and abdomen. Once it reaches the lungs or abdomen, it is almost guaranteed that the patient will die.
The condition I was in, when they diagnosed me, was at the verge of the last stage. By all the scans, they were sure the tumors have grown into my bones, and they could not slow the spreading at that point. I was told that I I would have to amputate my leg, or I would die within a month. I was in a state of emergency, and was scheduled for surgery and treatment right away.
When surgery was over, I was told that I have been part of a miracle. The doctor managed to get the tumors to slide right off my bone. They were touching, but hadn't fused together yet. So long story short, I am still alive, and still have both my legs. They removed all the present tumors, and cut out a chunk of muscle from around the area.
Since then, I have been under extreme chemo therapy treatments, and basically lived in the hospital for the next 7 months.
I am now as healthy as I can be at the moment, I have been off of chemo for almost 3 months now, and have mostly recovered from the side effects of treatment.
Unfortunately, my well being is only temporary. There is no known cure yet for my condition. It is so rare, that only a handful of patients have been diagnosed, and only about a page worth of information is able to be found. The most anyone has lived after diagnosis, is 6 years. Unless I am blessed with another miracle, this is also my fate.
So this is why I have come to you all, here on GoFundMe.com. The surgery and treatments has completely drained me and my fathers finances. I have lost everything in the process, and am starting over from scratch. I am trying my hardest to support myself, but it has proven to be a lot harder than expected. I have not even been able to afford any further procedures, checkups, or treatment. I can not continue to work where I was working before, as it would be way too stressful for my condition at the moment. I am actually not supposed to work for at least a year, but am looking for at least a part time job, as I have no other choice. I assumed they just recommend not working, so I can be stress free during recovery, but I think I will be fine if I find work that is relatively stress free, and not too busy. I actually think it would help me stay active and create a routine, at a healthy level for recovery. This will help me get by, but in all honesty, I really want to live out the rest of my days, doing what I really want.
I want to be able to travel around the country and see my friends and family to make some more memories before I go. I don't need to be traveling all the time, or spending money all the time, but I do want to live an awesome life, and be able to cross a few activities off my bucket list. I don't have much regrets, but I am young, and want to experience a lot more.
I believe my goal would be enough to help me pay my bills and hospital fees comfortably for about a year. With that help, I can focus more on recovery and living a happy and healthy life, instead working all day and night, to barely support myself. By the end of the year, I should have some more money saved, a better job with more hours, and my strength should be back 100 percent, so I can do whatever I need to do to support myself then.
I am sorry to ask all of you for the help, but I have nobody else to ask. Im sure I can survive by myself, but I do not want to live the few years I have left just surviving, and scraping by. I want to go out with a bang. I love life and I want to show it. All donations mean everything to me, and I promise I will give back any chance I have. I love giving and helping too, but I am in no position to do so. I promise, from the bottom of my heart, that I will not take any of this for granted, and will give back and help as much as I can before I go.
I thank you all for taking the time to read my story. A special thanks to anyone who sends positive vibes or prayers, and of course to anyone who can donate. If you are not able to donate, that is perfectly fine. I just ask that no one feels sorry for me, as I always have a positive outlook, and will always find a way to see the brighter side of life. I will be alright no matter what! I promise!
Love you all,
Tae Kim.
My name is Tae, and I am a pretty regular 27 year old bachelor. I love having fun, exploring, traveling, making music, and meeting new people from all walks of life. I live life as it comes, and was always determined to live an exciting life. One can argue how exciting my life has been so far, but overall I was happy, and fortunate enough to make a relatively comfortable, and stress free life for myself. I was ready to do more, and see where I can take my life next.
Unfortunately, all that came to a halt this past September.
I initially went to the doctor, to find a solution for my torn ACL, from a hit and run about 2 years ago. I also had a rapidly growing lump on my right thigh, above the torn knee, that I wanted to check out while I was there. The lump has started out small, started growing into the size of a golf ball last year, and now was about the size of a football. We took a biopsy, and turns out it was a series of tumors.
I was then diagnosed with 'Epithelioid Sarcoma.' A very rare and dangerous type of soft tissue sarcoma, which is a cancer of the muscles and lymph nodes. It usually starts growing around the limbs, and slowly works it's way to the lungs and abdomen. Once it reaches the lungs or abdomen, it is almost guaranteed that the patient will die.
The condition I was in, when they diagnosed me, was at the verge of the last stage. By all the scans, they were sure the tumors have grown into my bones, and they could not slow the spreading at that point. I was told that I I would have to amputate my leg, or I would die within a month. I was in a state of emergency, and was scheduled for surgery and treatment right away.
When surgery was over, I was told that I have been part of a miracle. The doctor managed to get the tumors to slide right off my bone. They were touching, but hadn't fused together yet. So long story short, I am still alive, and still have both my legs. They removed all the present tumors, and cut out a chunk of muscle from around the area.
Since then, I have been under extreme chemo therapy treatments, and basically lived in the hospital for the next 7 months.
I am now as healthy as I can be at the moment, I have been off of chemo for almost 3 months now, and have mostly recovered from the side effects of treatment.
Unfortunately, my well being is only temporary. There is no known cure yet for my condition. It is so rare, that only a handful of patients have been diagnosed, and only about a page worth of information is able to be found. The most anyone has lived after diagnosis, is 6 years. Unless I am blessed with another miracle, this is also my fate.
So this is why I have come to you all, here on GoFundMe.com. The surgery and treatments has completely drained me and my fathers finances. I have lost everything in the process, and am starting over from scratch. I am trying my hardest to support myself, but it has proven to be a lot harder than expected. I have not even been able to afford any further procedures, checkups, or treatment. I can not continue to work where I was working before, as it would be way too stressful for my condition at the moment. I am actually not supposed to work for at least a year, but am looking for at least a part time job, as I have no other choice. I assumed they just recommend not working, so I can be stress free during recovery, but I think I will be fine if I find work that is relatively stress free, and not too busy. I actually think it would help me stay active and create a routine, at a healthy level for recovery. This will help me get by, but in all honesty, I really want to live out the rest of my days, doing what I really want.
I want to be able to travel around the country and see my friends and family to make some more memories before I go. I don't need to be traveling all the time, or spending money all the time, but I do want to live an awesome life, and be able to cross a few activities off my bucket list. I don't have much regrets, but I am young, and want to experience a lot more.
I believe my goal would be enough to help me pay my bills and hospital fees comfortably for about a year. With that help, I can focus more on recovery and living a happy and healthy life, instead working all day and night, to barely support myself. By the end of the year, I should have some more money saved, a better job with more hours, and my strength should be back 100 percent, so I can do whatever I need to do to support myself then.
I am sorry to ask all of you for the help, but I have nobody else to ask. Im sure I can survive by myself, but I do not want to live the few years I have left just surviving, and scraping by. I want to go out with a bang. I love life and I want to show it. All donations mean everything to me, and I promise I will give back any chance I have. I love giving and helping too, but I am in no position to do so. I promise, from the bottom of my heart, that I will not take any of this for granted, and will give back and help as much as I can before I go.
I thank you all for taking the time to read my story. A special thanks to anyone who sends positive vibes or prayers, and of course to anyone who can donate. If you are not able to donate, that is perfectly fine. I just ask that no one feels sorry for me, as I always have a positive outlook, and will always find a way to see the brighter side of life. I will be alright no matter what! I promise!
Love you all,
Tae Kim.
Organizer
TaeBuddha Kim
Organizer
Irvine, CA