UPDATE:

Paige passed away peacefully in the night on December 10th. Her parents and I sat with her until late in the night, just being present with her, and I fell asleep with my bed pushed against hers, holding her hand. When I woke up she was gone. I promised her I would carry her light forward with me for the rest of my life. Your donations helped immensely to provide her with comfort and relief from pain, to pay off medical debts and afford care, to provide us both with incredible medical professionals and caregivers, and above all else, they gave Paige the peace of mind she wanted so badly that there would be funds for me to survive these coming brutal months of grief, rebuilding, and honoring her.

ORIGINAL POST

A few days ago, Paige was flown off-island to an ICU on the mainland after struggling to stand and walk and stay awake. This is the second time this has happened, and will take 4-5 days of intensive care to remedy as they slowly and carefully bring her blood sodium and potassium levels back to normal.

I wish I could say this was a shocking emergency amidst a normal life, but our normal day-to-day is not so far off at this point, albeit the care is being done at home, by me, and not in an ICU.

After three brave and brutal years, ten different chemo drugs, nine doctors at five different hospitals and cancer centers and a truly Herculean battle from Paige and I, our families and all of you, there are no treatments left.

All that's left is to help Paige die with dignity, and live what time she has in as much comfort and security as possible.

Paige is now legally disabled, and had to resign from her decade-long teaching career last Fall after it became physically impossible to work. That was a big loss. I have been Paige's caregiver the whole time, sometimes working, sometimes not, but since earlier this year I am with her 24 hours a day, and her care is my life right now, and I wouldn't have it any other way. I've had 3 years in the trenches with her, and we're experts at this thing. We've had to be.

The focus is no longer on treatment. The focus is on end-of-life care, hospice, and enjoying what time the time we have on peaceful San Juan Island. There will be many hurdles, known and unknown, and every one of these is made easier by having financial support for help, transportation, and survival.

We have created a GoFundMe to raise funds that will go directly to improving Paige's quality of life in the coming months, and to providing us with the necessary backup, support and resources to direct toward the many challenges that we're facing now, and will continue to arise as things progress.

These include:

-Quality in-home care to help Paige be comfortable and provide support for myself, from nurses and caregivers.

-The cleanest, freshest foods possible, especially local produce and protein, as Paige is severely underweight and struggles to digest heavily processed or preserved foods -- which is almost everything.

-Medical supplies and devices to help Paige feel less pain, move a little more, and maintain more muscle mass.

-All the little things one can do to help a truly good person feel happy, and be able to squeeze a little more joy out of the limited time left.

-A security fund for the expenses of death and dying. Wow, I hate that sentence. But it's a reality.

-A hundred other things that I can't possibly list right now.

Paige has affected the lives of so many, including hundreds -- probably thousands -- of students in Redlands, Palm Springs, Los Angeles, and Friday Harbor. She is a gem of a human, and deserves to end her life as free from pain and frustration as possible. I have been by her side every day, in the trenches, the chemo bays, the ICU stays, the air ambulances and the surgery waiting rooms, and it would take me a lifetime to accurately share the depths of this story. For every moment you have seen or heard or read, there were 100 smaller but equally poignant, powerful and difficult moment that were too personal to share.

Thank you so much for supporting us both.

-Mark, Paige's Husband

PS: As of this writing (November 23rd, 2025) Paige is in the Intensive Care Unit, and is very, very, VERY exhausted, so please don't contact her directly right now. Please DO feel free to contact me with any questions, or anything at all, and I can let you know when Paige is home, rested, and has the bandwidth for texts or calls.