Toby's final wish
Donation protected
My name is Shannon and I'm setting up this gofundme to ask for help for my Uncle Toby.
October of 2015 Toby was diagnosed with Glioblastoma, it's the worse brain cancer you can possibly have; He was given approximately 12 to 18 months to live. He underwent a major surgery to remove as much of the tumor as possible, then proceeded to do chemo and radiation to try to slow the tumor. It worked for awhile. Before leaving the hospital he was told he could no longer live alone, since he is not married and has a teenage daughter, my parents, his brother and sister-in-law, moved him in to care for him without hesitation. My mom cared for his every need while continuing to work in a nursing home. Between myself, my sister, my parents, and a few friends we drove him to Omaha, depending on the appointment either 30 mins to an hour away, for every single appointment. In April of this past year we were told he had approximately 3 months left. Then in June things started changing darasticly with Toby. He could no longer say our names, not his daughters, nor his brother of 53 years. Sometimes he would say things that made no sense or he wouldn't even say words at all, he thought he was talking clearly but it was just rambling. At his doctors appointment that month, we got the heartbreaking news we knew would eventually happen and even already suspected was possibly happening based on his actions, the tumor was growing again. His options were now very little, either one stop treatment, or two change the dose by lowering it to confuse the tumor. He did not have the ability to tell the doctor which choice he wanted. I'll never forget my 53 year old uncle looking at my mom like a scared small child wanting so badly for her to read his mind. From the very beginning he wanted to fight so she chose to continue the fight and to lower the dose, in hopes to confuse the tumor and buy him some time. The look of relief on his face was heart wrenching and I asked him if that was ok, the yes he gave us, there was no doubt in any of our minds that's what he wanted to do. This all took place on a Monday, they changed the dose that day for his treatment. By Saturday he had a couple seizures at home, 911 was called and he was rushed to the hospital, having another big seizure in the hospital. Later transferred to Omaha on his brothers request because his doctors were there. The next day, Father's Day, his oncologist came to see him and informed the family there was nothing more they could do, it was time to call hospice in, and to look at putting him into a facility where he could get the 24 hour care he was going to need; something my parents could not do on their own. She also said we were looking at weeks left with him rather then months. My mom was able to get him into the nursing home where she works, which I believe was a blessing for both her and my uncle, this way she could continue to be apart of his care, and he had a familiar face, someone he trusted there. Weeks turned into months and he was doing really well for quite awhile. Unfortunately within the last few weeks he has declined rapidly. Time is not on our side! Now as to the reason I am setting up this gofundme, there is no life insurance to have a service and burying him. When asked months ago what his final wishes were and what he would like my parents to do when the time came, he made it very clear he wanted to be buried rather then cremated. They want so desperately to make that possible for him! As I mentioned before he has a teenage daughter, who just turned 18 and is in her senior year of high school. As heartbreaking as it is to loose her father at such a young age, we do not want her to start her adult life having the responsibility and expenses of something such as this, therefore I am asking to please help us to give him his final wish and when the time comes to allow his daughter to grieve without worrying about anything financially. My parents were able to get enough money to get everything started so when the time comes and my uncle leaves this world, the funeral home will pick him up. I know this is a lot to ask especially during the holidays, although anything would help at this point. I appreciate you taking the time to read this and I thank you greatly ahead of time for helping if you're able to do so. I ask that at the very least you please pray for my uncle, his daughter, and the rest of our family. We can certainly use all the prayers we can get at this time. Please share this!!
October of 2015 Toby was diagnosed with Glioblastoma, it's the worse brain cancer you can possibly have; He was given approximately 12 to 18 months to live. He underwent a major surgery to remove as much of the tumor as possible, then proceeded to do chemo and radiation to try to slow the tumor. It worked for awhile. Before leaving the hospital he was told he could no longer live alone, since he is not married and has a teenage daughter, my parents, his brother and sister-in-law, moved him in to care for him without hesitation. My mom cared for his every need while continuing to work in a nursing home. Between myself, my sister, my parents, and a few friends we drove him to Omaha, depending on the appointment either 30 mins to an hour away, for every single appointment. In April of this past year we were told he had approximately 3 months left. Then in June things started changing darasticly with Toby. He could no longer say our names, not his daughters, nor his brother of 53 years. Sometimes he would say things that made no sense or he wouldn't even say words at all, he thought he was talking clearly but it was just rambling. At his doctors appointment that month, we got the heartbreaking news we knew would eventually happen and even already suspected was possibly happening based on his actions, the tumor was growing again. His options were now very little, either one stop treatment, or two change the dose by lowering it to confuse the tumor. He did not have the ability to tell the doctor which choice he wanted. I'll never forget my 53 year old uncle looking at my mom like a scared small child wanting so badly for her to read his mind. From the very beginning he wanted to fight so she chose to continue the fight and to lower the dose, in hopes to confuse the tumor and buy him some time. The look of relief on his face was heart wrenching and I asked him if that was ok, the yes he gave us, there was no doubt in any of our minds that's what he wanted to do. This all took place on a Monday, they changed the dose that day for his treatment. By Saturday he had a couple seizures at home, 911 was called and he was rushed to the hospital, having another big seizure in the hospital. Later transferred to Omaha on his brothers request because his doctors were there. The next day, Father's Day, his oncologist came to see him and informed the family there was nothing more they could do, it was time to call hospice in, and to look at putting him into a facility where he could get the 24 hour care he was going to need; something my parents could not do on their own. She also said we were looking at weeks left with him rather then months. My mom was able to get him into the nursing home where she works, which I believe was a blessing for both her and my uncle, this way she could continue to be apart of his care, and he had a familiar face, someone he trusted there. Weeks turned into months and he was doing really well for quite awhile. Unfortunately within the last few weeks he has declined rapidly. Time is not on our side! Now as to the reason I am setting up this gofundme, there is no life insurance to have a service and burying him. When asked months ago what his final wishes were and what he would like my parents to do when the time came, he made it very clear he wanted to be buried rather then cremated. They want so desperately to make that possible for him! As I mentioned before he has a teenage daughter, who just turned 18 and is in her senior year of high school. As heartbreaking as it is to loose her father at such a young age, we do not want her to start her adult life having the responsibility and expenses of something such as this, therefore I am asking to please help us to give him his final wish and when the time comes to allow his daughter to grieve without worrying about anything financially. My parents were able to get enough money to get everything started so when the time comes and my uncle leaves this world, the funeral home will pick him up. I know this is a lot to ask especially during the holidays, although anything would help at this point. I appreciate you taking the time to read this and I thank you greatly ahead of time for helping if you're able to do so. I ask that at the very least you please pray for my uncle, his daughter, and the rest of our family. We can certainly use all the prayers we can get at this time. Please share this!!
Organiser and beneficiary
Shannon Marshall
Organiser
Fremont, NE
Christine Galindo
Beneficiary