Hello everyone my name is Crystal and I’m trying to raise money for what will be a long journey consisting of surgery, radiation, and chemo that we’ll have to travel for. We live in Sault Ste Marie and everything will be done 300km away in Sudbury We don’t have a vehicle so we don’t drive atm and travelling will get very costly especially with the high cost of gas right now.

My husband Chris and I have been together for 26 years and we’ve been through a lot over the years but nothing prepared us for the fight we’re up against right now.

Over 2 years ago Chris started having problems with his ear and he continually asked to be referred to a ENT but multiple doctors just kept saying he had either an inner ear or outer ear infection. Fast forward to February of this year it started bleeding really bad so we went to the Sault Area Hospital and once again he was given antibiotics and was told it’s a severe ear infection. It didn’t get better it got worse so we went to a walk in clinic and requested a CT Scan. While waiting his eye began to bulge and then he started talking out of the side of his mouth which made me think he had a stroke. The day of the CT Scan (May 26th) we decided to stay and go to Emergency. This is when the doctor there took him serious and was genuinely concerned. He was able to have the CT scan looked at and it showed a large mass in his ear. The very next day they had him Air Ambulance to Sudbury and our life changed dramatically after that. On May 31st we heard the words we’d been dreading, it turned out the “ear infection” is Stage 4 Squamish Cell cancer. It’s currently eating into his skull and Doctors say they’ve never seen this type of cancer in the location it’s at, it’s right against his carotid artery as well as the brain barrier wall. Surgery is in a couple of weeks, requires 4 surgeons and an anesthesiologist, and is expected to be a minimum of 12 hours. There’s no way they can get it all without cutting the nerves to the right side of his face so after surgery he’ll be paralyzed on the right side. This is a very high risk surgery and we’re all really scared. Chris has dealt with it like a champ and is more positive than I’ve ever seen him. His determination is inspiring and we’re so proud of how he’s handling this life changing news. Over night everything we do has changed including a drastic change to his diet requiring him to gain back some of the weight he’s lost which we just thought was just from the crazy amount of snow we had this winter.

We also want him to start FECO Oil Regiment that’s not covered and is around $6000.

Last year Chris’ son passed away in Windsor at 29 years old and we spent everything we had saved to be there for his funeral. It feels like we just can’t catch a break and the thought of the financial burden ahead of us is really stressing Chris out because he needs to know that Dallas (our 24 year old son) and I will be able to afford a hotel, food, and cabs to and from the hospital. It’s important that he not have to worry about anything while battling this awful disease.

We appreciate everyone reading and are so grateful for any donations towards his journey.

I’ll post updates about surgery and how he’s doing after.

With gratitude, Crystal