This incredible family needs love & support

**Please be sure to read the update at the bottom**

Hi, our names are Mark & Anita. We met the incredible Samworth family several years ago when Cheri and Matt became our son Nathan’s Challenger League baseball coaches. A short time later we met their wonderful and funny son Hunter. Their family quickly became rays of sunshine in our lives because they genuinely care about making this world a better place.

So when their son Hunter recently became unexpectedly and gravely ill, we felt we had to do something more for them, other than just emotional support, meals and physical help.

Hunter is hearing impaired, has epilepsy and was just recently diagnosed with IBD. His case of IBD is so incredibly scary and severe that he has been in the hospital twice now. The first time for 10 days in May, then released with the belief things were hopefully going to be under control with 6hr outpatient infusions so many times a year, that he will/would have to do for the rest of his life. But on June 17th he had to be admitted to the hospital again. They discovered the medication was not working. On Friday, June 30th the option they were praying to avoid became the only option and Hunter had to undergo a surgery that no one wants to do, especially a young teenage boy. The surgery was completed successfully but not without complications and now they wait. Part of his colon had to be removed. He will have a colostomy bag for approximately the next 6 months with the hope that he can have that removed (with yet another surgery) and then hopefully be able to go back to living his active fun life, playing baseball, video games and being a practical joker, making others laugh and smile!

Due to Hunter’s illness, hospital stays, procedures needed, surgery, ongoing needed care and hopefully a reversal surgery - we can’t even begin to imagine the medical and hospital bills that they are going to begin to receive. And just the mention of wanting to open a GoFundMe to help them with all of these unimaginable expenses instantly brought tears to Cheri’s eyes - which was more than enough to confirm they are going to struggle greatly with this financial burden. So please help them lessen the stress of this already scary and emotional situation, so they can just focus on the full recovery of their son Hunter.

Tomorrow is Hunter’s 17th birthday! We are praying he will be able to go home to rest and heal as he told his parents he would really like to do.

Thank you so much in advance for helping this beautiful family in their time of need. All donations will go directly to them.

**Update 7.18.23: First, I greatly apologize for the delay in sending out this update. Hunter was able to go home the Saturday following his birthday. He is happy to be home! Cheri and Matt are of course exhausted, especially Cheri. Hunter had a couple of follow-up visits last week and thankfully, so far things are looking good. However, they just learned there will be TWO more surgeries before this entire process is hopefully behind them. The first surgery will be in about 2 months, the second approximately 4+ months after that. So they still have a very long journey ahead of them. I would like to take this opportunity to again thank everyone who has been reaching out to them and to let you know that they greatly appreciate you doing so. Your kindness to offer to help in any way, and wanting to provide meals and the like has been amazing. If you have not received a response from them, PLEASE KNOW they are truly exhausted. And the response to this page has been greatly touching to them and utterly overwhelming at the same time. I hope you can understand that even if they do not respond, I am sure they will in time. Please know they see that you have reached out, they greatly appreciate it and it means a great deal to them. It is just too much right now for them to respond to really anyone, let alone everyone. If you wish to reach out to me, you are welcome to via messenger. But also understand I will be guarded with my responses so that I keep their best interests and well-being in mind. Thank you all again for your support of this wonderful family.