Fight for John

John Feddema is just a regular guy.  At 31 years old he’s a loving and devoted father to two daughters, he’s a loving son, a protective brother and a caring part.  He works hard and has always been there to take care of his family and friends; he would give you the shirt off his back if you needed it.

During the summer of 2016 John started to notice more frequent headaches, followed by a decline in his vision.  In July of that year he collapsed at work; that was when everything changed.  John was diagnosed with Sphenoid Meningioma; a MRI revealed a malignant tumor in the left side of his brain (a sphenoid wing meningioma)

n MRI revealed a tumor in the left side of his brain (a sphenoid wing meningioma)

In the year since the diagnoses John has undergone multiple radiation treatments, endless visits to specialists and lots of new medications.

In of June 2017 John was given the clear.  The tumor had stopped growing, he was weening off the radiation treatments, the light at the end of the tunnel was near and we could all take a deep sigh of relief.

Three weeks later, the headaches came back.  They had missed a branch.  The tumor was not only still there, but larger than they had originally thought and growing.

Through all of this John has continued to plow through.  He still works hard every day and gives everyone in his life his all.  He has shown us all what hope and determination look like.

As if the news of more radiation, more medication and more treatments wasn’t enough to deal with; on July 20th 2017 John stopped for a coffee on his way to work at the Mallorytown ONroute.  As he was heading into get a coffee he realized he had left his keys in the truck, he turned around to head back and he noticed a man walking towards his truck.  They raced to the truck and the man jumped in first, John ran after his truck, grabbing a hold of the tailgate but the hijacker swerved and John was thrown to the pavement. He watched his truck, his wallet, and all of his tools drive off. The man drove erratically down the 401 outrunning the police and putting others in danger, before ultimately flipping the truck and writing it off.

To add insult to injury John did not have theft coverage on the truck, meaning that not only does he need to purchase a new vehicle, phone and tools; but he owes $1000.00 to the police for the impound fees on the vehicle.

This is where we get to the point of sharing Johns hardships.  Costs are adding up.  Trillium Health Care covers half of Johns expenses.  Over a three month period John pays $3200.00 out of pocket.  His monthly medication bills are $400.00, and every three months he pays $2000.00 out of pocket for radiation treatments.

Johns parents have been helping with costs up to this point, but the bills are adding up and with the discovery of the third branch on the tumor and the loss of a vehicle, those costs are getting to be too much and the funds are running out.

John would never ask for a hand out, or “charity”.   In fact when we mentioned that we would like to do a ‘Go Fund Me’ page for him, he was resistant to the idea.

The next step for John is going to be micro drilling a hole into his skull and dripping radiation directly onto the tumor, rounds of chemo and more medication.  With the introduction of Chemo John will no longer be able to work, which means that finding the money for more treatment is going to be even more difficult.  Johns bones have also become soft, making his teeth shift and sink into his jaw.  At some point soon these will also need to be repaired.

We are just trying to help out a good friend, who would do the same for any of his friends.  Anything you can spare would make a huge difference in the life of one hard working man, trying to take care of his family all while fighting for his life.