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Robert's Medical Fund

On our first date I knew Robert would be the man I would spend the rest of my life with. A lot of people thought we were crazy, that we were too young and that at 15 and 17 years old it would never last. Looking back over a decade later, maybe we were young, maybe we were crazy, but when I think about my husband and the father of my child I don't doubt for a second our decision to spend the rest of our lives together. After highschool we started our adult lives together in Ft Myers. In college on  November 30th, 2008 Robert popped the question and after graduation on September 5, 2009 we said "I Do" and started this journey called marriage! A few short months later we found out we were expecting our first miracle and on February 12, 2011 Robert Dominick Chirichella III or as most of you know him as Trey made his debut into this world! Our lives were really complete now.

As a little family we began the adventure of growing our careers and our lives and started a training program that would eventually lead us to Mobile, Alabama to open our Maximized Living Health Center to deliver the principles of health and wellness to our community. While training in Wilmington, NC Robert began getting headaches that left him incapacitated. Then he started becoming dizzy, having blurry and double vision, and began vomitting because of the pain. After a week  of non-stop suffering he went to the emergency room where he was admitted because of a mass on the left occipital lobe of his brain. We met with a neurosurgeon that diagnosed him with a brain tumor that was half solid mass and half cyst that had expanded to 4 cmx 6 cm and was putting pressure on his brain causing his symptoms. As strong as we were trying to be for each other,  initially our hearts both sank as we imagined our dreams of growing old together and raising our family together being cut short. We couldn't understand how this happened to Robert and so quickly. He was working and in the gym the day before his headache started.  They recommended surgery the next day to remove as much of the tumor as possible. His surgery was a success and Robert spent the next few days recovering in the hospital without complications. They removed as much tumor as they could see and the cyst collapsed once the solid mass was removed. They sent it to pathology to diagnose it. He was discharged to finish his recovery and healing at home while we anxiously waited for the pathology report to come back identifying the tumor. Several days later we receieved a call from his neurosurgeon diagnosing his tumor as an ependymoma. It was a lower grade but still considered cancerous. These tumors are rare in adults and are more commonly found in children so they werent able to answer our questions about when this started and what was the cause. Removing the tumor was all they could do at this point and we waited for his follow up appointment to learn more details. 

At his follow up appointment he was scheduled for a  MRI once the swelling has gone down to determine if any lesions or mass remain. They have added an oncologist and a radio-oncologist to his team to consult with in the event that radiation is recommended after the results of the MRI come back. They are also meeting and consulting with our doctors and oncologists at a Tumor Board to discuss the best course of care and to offer other opinions on treatment. In the hopes to avoid being faced with the possibility of radiation, Robert is also consulting with a doctor in South Carolina with a more integrative approach to continue determining the cause of why his brain grew the cancer and explore alternative therapies to help his body fight against whatever still remains. Unfortunately, our insurance does not cover the vast majority of his follow-up care and therapies and treatments that Robert needs to fight this. As you can imagine dealing with cancer, surgery, all of the doctors and follow up quickly begins to add up. We started receiving our first of many medical bills the day Robert was discharged from the hospital!  That is why we are turning to our friends, family,  and loved ones out there for help. I can't imagine a world without my best friend and we want to do everything possible to give Robert the best chance that he deserves to fight this and be around for his family for a long and healthy life! At only 28 years old, Robert has a long life ahead of him and his best shot at healing, recovering and making sure this never comes back are the tests and therapies he needs to begin. Not every doctor offers  what he needs,  so we are traveling out of state to make sure he has the best doctors added to his team here in Wilmington. We never imagined that during the holidays we would be faced with this. Our son is only 3 years old and doesn't understand why his Daddy was in the hospital and why some nights Elfie, his elf on the shelf , didn't come back. This whole thing has thrown our family through a loop and while we remain strong for each other, we would never imagine reaching out for help if we didn't need it. 

We have already been so blessed by so many prayer warriors out there and many of you will never know how much the Chirichella family loves and appreciates you for everything you have done for us. We have received so many calls, texts, emails, cards and sentimental gifts of thoughts and prayers and I know without every single one of you Robert and I would not have found the strength we needed to get through these last few weeks. We really had no idea how many people we had supporting us until something like this happened. 

Several people have asked for our address so that they may send cards.

 If you would like to send Robert a get-well card my email address is [email redacted] Email me and I can send you our home address.

I will update as we know more details. If you are able to donate to help offset the cost of his medical expenses we are forever grateful. If you are unable to donate we would love for you to share our page with your friends and family so that they may hear Robert's story.

Thank you and God Bless.
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Donations 

  • Jason & Julie Barker
    • $500 
    • 9 yrs
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Organizer

Samantha Chirichella
Organizer
Wilmington, NC

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