
Zak Strong
Donation protected
On the morning of October 22nd, surrounded by family, Zak passed away. This man, Superman, even in his last hours, was able to take care of all of us. There is no way we will ever be able to repay the gifts of support, stories and laughter you have all given us in the last two years. The outpouring of love from the people in his life confirms to us what we know as fact; Zak is one of a kind. Joanna, Jaime and Ben have handled this with an incredible fighting spirit and grace. I am so proud of them.
As this new road begins, Joanna and the kids will continue to need our support. Every text, phone call and Facebook post is cherished. Please consider to continue to support the family with donations. Every penny makes a difference.
**Update**
We wanted to update the story, as I want to explain why we changed the goal amount. A task that got put on the back burner due to fighting for Zak's life combined with my own hectic life.
After turning down too many to count offers of help for over a year and a half, Zak and Joanna finally relented and let me start this fundraiser. The goal was to pay the mounting medical bills and have a bit left over to put into savings in case anything bad happened. None of us, in our worst nightmares, ever anticipated something bad would happen so quickly and almost take Zak from us. The septic infection was a complete surprise and shock. And an absolutely devastating set back. The chemo was working so well, he was looking forward to returning to work...after a really tough year, things were finally looking up for them and this GoFundMe was going to be the stress relief they so desperately needed after fighting so many battles, so optimistically. And it certainly has relieved their immediate financial stress and they are so incredibly thankful for that! With being fatigued from the chemo (we thought) the two weeks prior to going into the hospital, 3 weeks in the hospital, and the weeks of recovery once he got out, and now ANOTHER brief hospitalization, this GoFundMe has provided them with the immediate financial help that they needed. It has gone to household bills, copays at the countless follow up appointments, prescriptions for Zak, back to school shopping for Jaime and Ben and necessary items like that. Unfortunately very little was able to go to the medical bills and now there will be even more.
Everything happens for a reason and we truly believe Zak and Joanna finally relenting when they did, was meant to be. Without this GoFundMe they would have faced extreme financial hardship on top of almost losing Zak. It has been a blessing that they are so very thankful for.
Please forgive the delay in explaining the change in the goal amount and where your extremely generous donations went.
Please keep spreading the word so we can continue to keep the donations coming so that Zak and Joanna can do what we all originally intended this fundraiser to do!!!!
As many of you know, my brother-in-law, Zak Knutson, was diagnosed with terminal, stage IV colon cancer two years ago. Zak and his family have been fighting this battle courageously and optimistically. They have never asked ‘Why me?’ or even accepting much help from all their family and friends that offer endlessly to help in any way they can. They have always felt fortunate and very blessed that they have not really needed anything other than positive thoughts and prayers.
Zak has continued to work every second his body has let him. After three treatments, the chemo that had initially helped him almost killed him when he suffered a severe allergic reaction. Last year, he was in a motorcycle accident. He had a dislocated shoulder, broken wrist, broken teeth facial lacerations and some gnarly road rash, delaying his cancer treatment because of the risk of infection. He continued to work, providing for his family as he always had.
In the last six months, his condition has deteriorated. The procedure we all had hoped would help him turn the corner, stabilized his liver tumors. Although, at that time we discovered the cancer had spread to his peritoneum, landing him in the hospital for over a month. The time in the hospital, and his inability to eat or keep his strength up has left him weak. The chemo now leaves him exhausted and in pain. Due to the hospitalization, the family’s savings has dwindled.
The family has received many offers of help, and until now, they never felt right about taking it. Any money donated will go to pay the mounting medical bills, regular bills, and allow Zak to try some alternative treatments that will help alleviate the debilitating side effects of chemo.


As this new road begins, Joanna and the kids will continue to need our support. Every text, phone call and Facebook post is cherished. Please consider to continue to support the family with donations. Every penny makes a difference.
**Update**
We wanted to update the story, as I want to explain why we changed the goal amount. A task that got put on the back burner due to fighting for Zak's life combined with my own hectic life.
After turning down too many to count offers of help for over a year and a half, Zak and Joanna finally relented and let me start this fundraiser. The goal was to pay the mounting medical bills and have a bit left over to put into savings in case anything bad happened. None of us, in our worst nightmares, ever anticipated something bad would happen so quickly and almost take Zak from us. The septic infection was a complete surprise and shock. And an absolutely devastating set back. The chemo was working so well, he was looking forward to returning to work...after a really tough year, things were finally looking up for them and this GoFundMe was going to be the stress relief they so desperately needed after fighting so many battles, so optimistically. And it certainly has relieved their immediate financial stress and they are so incredibly thankful for that! With being fatigued from the chemo (we thought) the two weeks prior to going into the hospital, 3 weeks in the hospital, and the weeks of recovery once he got out, and now ANOTHER brief hospitalization, this GoFundMe has provided them with the immediate financial help that they needed. It has gone to household bills, copays at the countless follow up appointments, prescriptions for Zak, back to school shopping for Jaime and Ben and necessary items like that. Unfortunately very little was able to go to the medical bills and now there will be even more.
Everything happens for a reason and we truly believe Zak and Joanna finally relenting when they did, was meant to be. Without this GoFundMe they would have faced extreme financial hardship on top of almost losing Zak. It has been a blessing that they are so very thankful for.
Please forgive the delay in explaining the change in the goal amount and where your extremely generous donations went.
Please keep spreading the word so we can continue to keep the donations coming so that Zak and Joanna can do what we all originally intended this fundraiser to do!!!!
As many of you know, my brother-in-law, Zak Knutson, was diagnosed with terminal, stage IV colon cancer two years ago. Zak and his family have been fighting this battle courageously and optimistically. They have never asked ‘Why me?’ or even accepting much help from all their family and friends that offer endlessly to help in any way they can. They have always felt fortunate and very blessed that they have not really needed anything other than positive thoughts and prayers.
Zak has continued to work every second his body has let him. After three treatments, the chemo that had initially helped him almost killed him when he suffered a severe allergic reaction. Last year, he was in a motorcycle accident. He had a dislocated shoulder, broken wrist, broken teeth facial lacerations and some gnarly road rash, delaying his cancer treatment because of the risk of infection. He continued to work, providing for his family as he always had.
In the last six months, his condition has deteriorated. The procedure we all had hoped would help him turn the corner, stabilized his liver tumors. Although, at that time we discovered the cancer had spread to his peritoneum, landing him in the hospital for over a month. The time in the hospital, and his inability to eat or keep his strength up has left him weak. The chemo now leaves him exhausted and in pain. Due to the hospitalization, the family’s savings has dwindled.
The family has received many offers of help, and until now, they never felt right about taking it. Any money donated will go to pay the mounting medical bills, regular bills, and allow Zak to try some alternative treatments that will help alleviate the debilitating side effects of chemo.


Organizer and beneficiary
Randi Dumont
Organizer
Juneau, AK
Joanna Feth Knutson
Beneficiary