Brian Fitzgerald and his wife Carolyn of Ellabell have their hands full with raising five children, while also maintaining their own interests like woodworking and being outdoors. Unfortunately, the family’s focus has had to turn to healing after Brian Fitzgerald was diagnosed with lung cancer in 2016.

After developing a persistent cough last June, Fitzgerald eventually visited a doctor, where testing and scans determined there was a mass on his lung. A biopsy confirmed the worst: the mass was cancerous. Although faith and encouragement from friends and family have kept the family hopeful, the cancer has limited Fitzgerald’s daily activities.

“It certainly has been a life changing circumstance, physically, mentally and spiritually,” he said. “It has caused me and my family to examine ourselves and to be more thankful each day.”

So far, Fitzgerald has completed seven weeks of chemotherapy and radiation treatments, with more scheduled later in the year. He’s now preparing for immunotherapy treatment.

With medical bills continuously coming, the family has struggled to stay on top of expenses for treatments and travel to doctor’s visits. They’ve created an online fundraiser through RedBasket.org in hopes of raising $10,000 to offset some of these costs.

“Our only income is my disability and that certainly creates some difficulties and stresses through the very expensive battle against cancer,” Fitzgerald said.

The fundraiser will be online through April 12. To learn more or make a tax-deductible contribution, please visit https://redbasket.org/1226/be-there-for-brian.   

RedBasket.org, founded in 2012, is a web-based, non-profit 501(c)(3) public charity headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska, dedicated to helping individuals raise money for personal emergencies and community improvement projects in a fee-free environment.

Red Basket is fully supported by WoodmenLife, which covers Red Basket's administrative costs in their entirety so 100 percent of donations are directly passed through to the cause. To learn more about Red Basket, visit Redbasket.org.