Steve's Medical Fund

My Brother ... My Hero ...
My brother, Steve Edgerly, is the kind of guy that always does the right thing.  He is the kind of guy that is always content.  Always caring.  Always thinking about everyone else before himself.  He never complains.  He has a great sense of humor.  And he has an amazing talent for creating art.  He loves music.  He loves his family more than anything else.  He's quite simply a really nice guy.

Steve is a devoted husband to his wife, Maryam.  He is the most amazing father to his son, Steve, Jr., and his little princess, Annabella. 

A little more than four years ago, he had difficulty breathing when mowing his lawn.  A trip to the ER led to the discovery that he had cancer.  He's a one-in-a-million man, so it shouldn't have been a surprise that the cancer he has is equally as rare.  Leiomyosarcoma of vascular origin.  This means that he had a large sarcoma form on his inferior vena cava - up against his liver.  The amazing doctor's at Penn performed surgery which was extremely dangerous.  The joy of him beating the odds of that surgery was followed by many months of radiation which took a toll on his body.   Around the time of his surgery, he was let go from his job because he was unable to work because of his medical condition.  This was difficult for him because he provided the main income for his family -- and he faithfully worked his entire adult life. 

He dealt with the loss of his job and the radiation like a champ.  No complaints.  No feeling sorry for himself.  He was just going to do what he had to do for his family.  Radiation was followed by chemotherapy, which, again, was very harsh on his body.

Again, Steve kept fighting on -- quietly and valiantly.  That first year turned into four years.  Four years of being unable to work.  Four years of weekly visits for chemo, blood tests, blood transfusions, new chemo because the old stopped working, hospital stays because of extremely high fevers and infections.  This became and is his new normal. 

His seven-year-old daughter was too young to remember when her father wasn't sick.  She doesn't remember him when he was strong and full of energy.  And yet, what energy he has, he pours into making her happy and trying to be a good husband, father, brother and friend.

You will never hear him feel sorry for himself.  His biggest worry is that this horrible disease has created such financial hardship and insecurity for those he loves so much.  His very nature is to take care of them, and this thing that has happened to him threatens what he loves most.

The funds raised through this campaign will be used to pay both medical and living expenses that have accumulated over the past four years.  Easing his financial burden will allow him to focus on the healing that needs to take place in his body.  And right now, he is in the fight of his life.  Any amount you can contribute would be appreciated more than you can know.  And if you cannot contribute fincially, I would ask that you please share this on Facebook ... and that you please keep Steve and his precious family in your thoughts and prayers.

God bless you and thank you.