Via Kristin’s Go Fund Me page. https://www.gofundme.com/ntaj2tsk
Howdy folks. I’m here to ask for your help for a friend. Many, many people in the Fort Collins cycling community know Kristin and her unbelievable spirit. For those of us lucky enough to share a ride with her, we also know about her passion for mountain biking, her sense of humor (usually poking fun at herself) and her commitment to friendship. We also know about her battle with bone cancer, unfortunately.
For those who haven’t yet had the chance to meet Kristin or hear her story, she was diagnosed with bone cancer in 2009. At that time she was given roughly 4-6 months to live as the cancer had already metastasized to many parts of her body. Typical treatment programs were not recommended due to the advanced stage and it’s common with this type of cancer to refer patients to studies or alternate treatments. She joined a treatment program that is based almost solely on diet and exercise and was assigned to a team with a trainer. At this point, she had little to lose. Her exercise-method of choice was originally, road cycling but eventually switched to mountain biking due it’s more aggressive manner on bones. Based loosely on Wolff’s Law, putting strain on bones can help to remodel the bones to become stronger.
She is still with us, growing stronger, has managed to put cancer in remission from time to time, is having more fun on her mountain bike and has more friends than she could have ever imagined.
We all see the “happy-Kristin” out on her mountain bike, so it is often hard to remember what is actually going on inside her body. She bounces in and out of remission which is very traumatic on her body. At times full of energy, other times she finds it hard to get out of bed. Some days she wants to ride her bike for hours and other days you can tell there’s a painful struggle going on. While it’s an accomplishment to be surviving “with” her cancer, there can’t be a day that goes by where it’s not on her mind despite putting a smile on her face and pretending life is great.
The stress of fighting this unbelievable battle… I can’t even imagine what that is like. To have a collection of medical bills to worry about on top of it all… While there is no chemo or radiation involved, the endless blood tests, scans, doctor visits have added up… She sometimes even refuses check-up’s, screens, and doctor visits due to financial stress. I’ll let you try to imagine what that is like.
So, what am I asking for? What can you do to help?
I am asking for financial help to unburden her from some medical bills. She’s brought it down over the years from $275,000 but has hit her limits. This is the single biggest thing we can all do to help her right now. If you can donate $10… we thank you very much! If you can donate $50… we thank you very much! If you can donate $1500… we thank you very much! This is very much needed, and it will be very much appreciated. She and her family have battled for years and have done a tremendous job of fighting battle after battle after battle. I think it’s time we get her a big enough army to help her win one of these battles, and put her in a position to win even more!
Thank you!
With much love & support,
Kristin’s friends
