Many of you know my big brother Tim Young as UAlberta Law's award-winning, tri-suit sprinting webmaster, IT/exam hero, and world tower-racing champ. I get it. Someone like him who sprints to his own drum is hard to miss. After all, anytime I tell people about my brother spending his lunches running the Tory stairs (WHILE PLAYING A FLUTE!), more often than not, I hear, "THAT'S your brother?" Even people I didn't think had any link to the U knew of the stairwell guy.

To me, those are just things he does, not who he is. He is someone with unwavering principles who has always felt he must give of himself to others even until breaking. Answering desperate pleas for his tech wizardry at 4:00 a.m., listening to people's troubles no matter how weary he is, running errands and doing chores for friends and neighbours, doing his best to be a Mr. Miyagi to anyone who needs him; all has been out of a strong drive to lift others up. As kids, when I was wheezing, miserable, and covered in mud after three hours of being lost while biking in the river valley, he energetically cheered, "We can do this! It's not so bad!" He's never been one to cope well with stopping and even less when there is someone else relying on him... but it's been 2.5 years since daily climbs of 16,000 steps were his norm, because it was 2.5 years ago the unstoppable was clotheslined by a fight against Stage IV rectal cancer.

When most would pull back, he has been unable to slow down. He has been undergoing radiation, chemotherapy, and surgeries while continuing to work insane hours. Remaining at full tilt has not been entirely by choice. Partly, he hasn't wanted to leave anyone in the lurch. He knows how many people rely on his skills. But there has been a more troubling reason too. For many years, Tim had symptoms that he struggled greatly to have taken seriously by doctors. By the time the cancer was severe enough to make them listen, his prognosis was not great. Exacerbating a difficult situation has been the delayed, limited, and flawed care of the public system. To close the gaps, he has had to pursue additional care on his own for timely access, specialized testing, and supportive therapies. These additional efforts have often meant he has surpassed the most optimistic prognoses of the time, even keeping him strong enough to keep fighting for himself while also rushing to the rescue of those in dire technical need. At one point, we even believed he had beaten it for a short time but then we learned locations of metastases had been missed including one (the largest) near his aorta. He now must fight harder than ever.

Where the standard treatments have been falling short, the non-standard continue to excel. His tumor marker (CEA) dropped 4.6% recently (29.3 latest) and his blood counts and inflammation markers appear pristine. He needs to continue these additional and supportive tests and treatments to have a hope of surviving. Unfortunately, despite their demonstrated efficacy for him, non-standard treatments are not covered by AHS and quickly added up to ~$12,300 monthly. Over the last several years, he has endured "financial devastation," as he calls it, despite working full-time while sick just to survive. While the treatments are continuing to show results, the funds to cover them are exhausted.

Now the man who has sacrificed so much being there to help others could use our help to cover his treatments, supplements, and tests to save his life. Our goal is $250k CAD -- a 24-month runway to victory. We would be grateful for any contributions to our efforts to save him. Every bit helps.

If he ever saved you from a midnight tech panic, listened while you shared your woes and worries, helped you meet your basic needs, took you under his wing, or simply seen him run to you, now is the time to run to him. Please help us in getting him back on his feet so we can keep the Tim we all know and love.

Tara Young