Matthew's Story

On July 19, 2022, my dear friend and colleague Brian Hosken, along with his wife Cindy, were given the most unimaginable news: their son Matthew had cancer.

It began about 8 months ago, when Matthew noticed he was a little more tired than usual and developed some sores in his mouth. He didn't think too much of it until one day, seemingly out of the blue, his lymph nodes swelled up. The swollen lymph nodes were obvious, visible, and couldn't be ignored.

One blood test and a biopsy later, he was diagnosed with aggressive T-cell Lymphoblastic Leukemia/Lymphoma.

Told his treatment couldn't wait, Matthew was immediately sent to the hospital. After 6 hours in the emergency room, he was admitted to a room on the oncology floor. There, his medical team placed a PICC line, started chemotherapy, and outlined the first steps in his treatment plan.

Matthew will be in the hospital for at least the next month, with many months of follow-up and treatment to come. His mom, Cindy, will be with him. His treatment plan includes in-patient chemotherapy, bone marrow transplants, and many, many tests.

Matthew is 26 years old. He's blessed to have medical insurance. However, as with all who face long-term medical care, there are costs that insurance doesn't cover: loss of work for self and caregiver, fuel, supplemental lodging, etc. And then there's the personal cost; medical assurances that when Matthew beats this, he'll be able to start a family of his own.

This GoFundMe was started to help Matthew pay his '22 and '23 deductible of $4,500.00 per year and to cover some of the costs of everything mentioned above. The family modestly believes $10,000 will take care of their immediate needs.

As a friend, mother, and registered nurse, I cannot imagine what Matthew, his older brother and his parents must be feeling now. Personally, I would love to see friends, family, and big-hearted strangers blow that $10,000 out of the water, so they don't have to think twice about the finances of it all.

If we've learned anything in the age of crowdsourcing, it's how small donations add up to large sums. If you're able to donate, awesome! If not, please consider sharing this GoFundMe with friends and family in your social circles. And of course, prayers are always welcome and appreciated.