Greetings, My name is Jenny, and I'm creating this SpotFund to help assist my dearest friend, Grace Sigler-Allen, and her husband, Luke Sigler.
This year has been exceptionally cruel to the two of them as in late February it was discovered that Luke had a rare cancer. This news came just days before Grace's birthday, and was a devastating blow as sadly the two of them didn't have much time to process this news before needing to speak with both me and our other friends as my husband and I were planning a post birthday game day for all of us to get together and play games and present our birthday gifts. I called to wish her a happy birthday, and to discuss the get together and ask her if there was cheesecake she'd like to have made. I could immediately tell by her voice as she started to answer that something was off. After a short conversation I asked her if everything was okay. That question broke the dam, and I could soon hear my friend sobbing as she relayed the news to me. It was a punch to the face, and I struggled desperately to not start sobbing myself as I didn't want it to upset my friend any further. She asked me not to tell a lot of folks as they weren't ready to speak to many people yet as they didn't have answers to the questions that would inevitably be asked. I asked about our get together and if we should cancel but it was decided we'd go along with it and she'd give the news to our other friends once they arrived.
After the call I told my husband what the plan was as he was in the room when I'd made the call and saw me crying and so ended up learning the news when I did. Though terrible as it was we were hopeful that the cancer was in the early stages and would be something that could be combated and overcome. This was tragically not the case.
I believe it was the 7th of March when we all got together for the game day and the grim news was relayed to our friends. Despite the somber overtone we did our best to remain hopeful and enjoy each other's company. As the day drew to the close, however, Luke became sick and started experiencing pain in his gut. My husband and I then drove him and Grace over to the hospital before heading home. Little did any of us know this marked the beginning of about a 2 month stay, and afterward a continuous cycle of hospital stays.
The following are DMs I received from Grace, laying out the timeline of what's occurred this year:
"On February 22nd Luke went in and had to get his appendix removed. A couple of days later we were told he had Appendiceal adenocarcinoma, a rare cancer. About a week after his appendix removal, we went back to the emergency room because he was having lots of pain, it was discovered he had a blockage and ended up having to get a right hemicolectomy to clear the blockage, but also to collect lymph nodes to see what stage cancer he had. It was discovered to be Stage 4. Shortly after the surgery he went into toxic shock and they had to open him back up and do a washout, essentially clearing the bacteria. The surgery went well, but a few hours later he went into toxic shock and died for 3 minutes. Once stable they airlifted him to Portland Providence, this was March 26th. He remained in the ICU for a month and then was brought up into a normal room all along still dealing with serious bacterial infections. He was still dealing with all that until he got to come home the first week of May. While home we were still treating what remained of his incision and now having to change and take care of an ileostomy. That month went better then most. In June we were supposed to start chemo, but Luke got sick again and went to to emergency room, to discover he had another gut infection and had to be on antibiotics and get a draining tube put in. You can't be on antibiotics and do chemo at the same time. For two weeks in July Luke went through Radiation and that was successfully done, and then finally on July 28th Luke had his first chemo appointment. It went well. Unfortunately due to his ileostomy, you can become very dehydrated, and so Luke's second normally every two weeks chemo got pushed out a couple weeks more so he could get fluids. So his second chemo appointment wasn't until August 25th.
For his third chemo appointment the same thing happened, needing fluids and he was pushed out to September 22nd. This Appointment we found out that his tumor markers had gone down by 50%, which was so exciting. After the third round of chemo Luke started loosing 7 liters of fluid through his ileostomy so he was dying of dehydration and was once again hospitalized. While there his ileostomy all on the sudden stopped really producing anything and it was discovered he had a blockage that couldn't be removed, a week later he got a blockage in his kidney and had to get a drain bag put in. During this time he also got a gastrostomy tube put into his stomach to help drain fluids, because they no longer go through his ostomy. I believe this stay was a month or more. It was decided by the oncologist there would be no more chemo because he said it was killing him. When he finally go to go home he was only there for two days before coming back after fainting from pneumonia. When he got to go home after that he was only home for a week before coming back again, due to severe dehydration. That was on November 5th, we have been here ever since, he will most likely stay here until he dies of his cancer."
On November 8th, at 12:30 AM, Grace and Luke had their wedding ceremony at the Providence hospital. The original plan was to have it at a venue out in Oregon City at 2:00 PM Sunday the 9th, but sadly Luke's health was too poor to leave the hospital. So, they held it at the hospital instead. Despite it being a rushed event, the ceremony was lovely. It was bittersweet as this was a moment I'd wanted for my friend for years. There she was, marrying a man who loved and adored her and whom she loved with every fiber of her being. Yet despite all this, their union had to be marred with the promise of the end to it: the very real possibility that they wouldn't have an anniversary together.
We still hold hope that things can turn around. If the blockages weren't there then there's a chance Luke could make a slow recovery or at least remain at a stable state. But even with this positive outcome the road ahead is rugged. It should go without saying but this has damaged their finances beyond repair. The two where already struggling to make ends meet and were close to paying off college debts this year before all this happened. I can't even imagine the medical expenses that will come from this. Couple that with rent, utilities, and just general cost of living and it's unlikely the can stay in their apartment another year.
So, that's where this SpotFund comes in. Anything helps, and is very much appreciated. And if you're unable to send any funds then please, if you could share this and send healing prayers then that would be very helpful. We're praying for a miracle, and given the blessed time of year we're hoping our prayers will be answered.
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Greetings, My name is Jenny, and I'm creating this SpotFund to help assist my dearest friend, Grace Sigler-Allen, and her husband, Luke Sigler.
This year has been exceptionally cruel to the two of them as in late February it was discovered that Luke had a rare cancer. This news came just days before Grace's birthday, and was a devastating blow as sadly the two of them didn't have much time to process this news before needing to speak with both me and our other friends as my husband and I were planning a post birthday game day for all of us to get together and play games and present our birthday gifts. I called to wish her a happy birthday, and to discuss the get together and ask her if there was cheesecake she'd like to have made. I could immediately tell by her voice as she started to answer that something was off. After a short conversation I asked her if everything was okay. That question broke the dam, and I could soon hear my friend sobbing as she relayed the news to me. It was a punch to the face, and I struggled desperately to not start sobbing myself as I didn't want it to upset my friend any further. She asked me not to tell a lot of folks as they weren't ready to speak to many people yet as they didn't have answers to the questions that would inevitably be asked. I asked about our get together and if we should cancel but it was decided we'd go along with it and she'd give the news to our other friends once they arrived.
After the call I told my husband what the plan was as he was in the room when I'd made the call and saw me crying and so ended up learning the news when I did. Though terrible as it was we were hopeful that the cancer was in the early stages and would be something that could be combated and overcome. This was tragically not the case.
I believe it was the 7th of March when we all got together for the game day and the grim news was relayed to our friends. Despite the somber overtone we did our best to remain hopeful and enjoy each other's company. As the day drew to the close, however, Luke became sick and started experiencing pain in his gut. My husband and I then drove him and Grace over to the hospital before heading home. Little did any of us know this marked the beginning of about a 2 month stay, and afterward a continuous cycle of hospital stays.
The following are DMs I received from Grace, laying out the timeline of what's occurred this year:
"On February 22nd Luke went in and had to get his appendix removed. A couple of days later we were told he had Appendiceal adenocarcinoma, a rare cancer. About a week after his appendix removal, we went back to the emergency room because he was having lots of pain, it was discovered he had a blockage and ended up having to get a right hemicolectomy to clear the blockage, but also to collect lymph nodes to see what stage cancer he had. It was discovered to be Stage 4. Shortly after the surgery he went into toxic shock and they had to open him back up and do a washout, essentially clearing the bacteria. The surgery went well, but a few hours later he went into toxic shock and died for 3 minutes. Once stable they airlifted him to Portland Providence, this was March 26th. He remained in the ICU for a month and then was brought up into a normal room all along still dealing with serious bacterial infections. He was still dealing with all that until he got to come home the first week of May. While home we were still treating what remained of his incision and now having to change and take care of an ileostomy. That month went better then most. In June we were supposed to start chemo, but Luke got sick again and went to to emergency room, to discover he had another gut infection and had to be on antibiotics and get a draining tube put in. You can't be on antibiotics and do chemo at the same time. For two weeks in July Luke went through Radiation and that was successfully done, and then finally on July 28th Luke had his first chemo appointment. It went well. Unfortunately due to his ileostomy, you can become very dehydrated, and so Luke's second normally every two weeks chemo got pushed out a couple weeks more so he could get fluids. So his second chemo appointment wasn't until August 25th.
For his third chemo appointment the same thing happened, needing fluids and he was pushed out to September 22nd. This Appointment we found out that his tumor markers had gone down by 50%, which was so exciting. After the third round of chemo Luke started loosing 7 liters of fluid through his ileostomy so he was dying of dehydration and was once again hospitalized. While there his ileostomy all on the sudden stopped really producing anything and it was discovered he had a blockage that couldn't be removed, a week later he got a blockage in his kidney and had to get a drain bag put in. During this time he also got a gastrostomy tube put into his stomach to help drain fluids, because they no longer go through his ostomy. I believe this stay was a month or more. It was decided by the oncologist there would be no more chemo because he said it was killing him. When he finally go to go home he was only there for two days before coming back after fainting from pneumonia. When he got to go home after that he was only home for a week before coming back again, due to severe dehydration. That was on November 5th, we have been here ever since, he will most likely stay here until he dies of his cancer."
On November 8th, at 12:30 AM, Grace and Luke had their wedding ceremony at the Providence hospital. The original plan was to have it at a venue out in Oregon City at 2:00 PM Sunday the 9th, but sadly Luke's health was too poor to leave the hospital. So, they held it at the hospital instead. Despite it being a rushed event, the ceremony was lovely. It was bittersweet as this was a moment I'd wanted for my friend for years. There she was, marrying a man who loved and adored her and whom she loved with every fiber of her being. Yet despite all this, their union had to be marred with the promise of the end to it: the very real possibility that they wouldn't have an anniversary together.
We still hold hope that things can turn around. If the blockages weren't there then there's a chance Luke could make a slow recovery or at least remain at a stable state. But even with this positive outcome the road ahead is rugged. It should go without saying but this has damaged their finances beyond repair. The two where already struggling to make ends meet and were close to paying off college debts this year before all this happened. I can't even imagine the medical expenses that will come from this. Couple that with rent, utilities, and just general cost of living and it's unlikely the can stay in their apartment another year.
So, that's where this SpotFund comes in. Anything helps, and is very much appreciated. And if you're unable to send any funds then please, if you could share this and send healing prayers then that would be very helpful. We're praying for a miracle, and given the blessed time of year we're hoping our prayers will be answered.
