I truly believe there are people in this world that we look at and think "you're invincible". In our minds, these people aren't supposed to face hardships, they aren't supposed to get sick, they aren't supposed to have anything bad happen to them. And when it does, or they're hit with the unexpected, you're left to think "this wasn't supposed to happen to someone like you".

For me, that person is my dad.

On August 23rd, my dad was diagnosed with liver cancer. This is the 2nd time, in just 5 short years, that our immediate family has had to fight through an unexpected cancer diagnoses.

But how did we even get here? My dad went into the emergency room on August 7th for an unrelated issue. With his symptoms he was experiencing at the time (a high fever with abdominal pain) and an excessively fast heart rate, a sepsis protocol launched. The ER staff got to work quickly with labs, an x-ray, and CT scans.

His CT scan revealed diverticulitis (simply put - an infection of the colon) which explained his symptoms. However, the doctor noticed a spot on his liver that certainly wasn't normal. With the unknown of this spot, his symptoms present, and how ill he looked coming into the ER, the doctor felt it was best to admit him to the hospital for additional monitoring and imaging of the liver.

A CT scan was performed the next morning which now led doctors to believe that the spot was a mass rather than a cyst. While we wait for a biopsy to be conducted in the following days, the doctor ordered lab work to be done to check tumor markers. These results were normal so we were a bit more at ease walking into the biopsy.

On August 23rd, the doctor from the hospital called to let us know the biopsy results were sent to him. He asked if anyone had contacted us yet, which no one had at that point. He kept us on the phone to deliver the news that the mass is indeed cancer. We are currently working through next steps and meeting with an oncologist to identify a treatment plan, and everything else in-between.

In the month of August alone, my dad has had so many health issues come up, with a recent knee surgery included. While he's still invincible to me, even the strongest soldiers need help.

My hope with this GoFundMe is to help alleviate any financial stress (or even burden) that's soon coming his way. From the ER bill, to the hospital stay, the test and procedures conducted in those two days, to the biopsy, to his knee surgery, to now with his new cancer diagnosis, and the visits to follow with treatment.