Kevin was born in Munich, Germany on June 28, 1960. Growing up, he was an Army brat, and he traveled a lot with his dad and the army, for him it was a nice experience. Kevin and his wife, Beatrice, met while skating at Young’s Roller Skating Rink. She tripped him while they were roller skating. This December, they will have been together 35 years. They’ve been able to stay together for so long by talking, working things out, and overall just staying happy. Kevin and Beatrice have lived in Mays Landing, New Jersey for most of their lives. They like how the town is nice for families and has a quiet atmosphere. They also like how it feels like a historical hometown.

While being an active member of the military, he was Captain’s Cook in the Navy. He helped feed 155 people, four meals a day from 1981-1985 and he was also a Commodore’s Aide too. He was diagnosed with cancer after he tripped at work on June 9th, 2016. He was taken to Inspira Medical Center and a CAT scan revealed a large mass on his colon, as well as two tumors on the inside and outside of his liver; one was as big as a marble and the other was the size of a pebble. He underwent surgery and chemotherapy. They shrank the marble-sized tumor to the size of a pebble and eventually, the pebble-sized one almost disappeared. He also went through a colon resection. After surgery, he went through seven cycles of chemotherapy and only has four cycles remaining. He actually managed to gain weight on chemo, about seven and a half pounds. He’s proud to say he’s a survivor of Stage IV colon cancer and even though it’s been a long road of about ten months, it’s been worth it. He loves his doctors and the people he’s worked with through the process. He says his doctors were, “beautiful doctors, and beautiful people.”

“Bringing Hope Home (BHH) has helped Kevin and his family pay their electric bill and that was, as Kevin says, “a huge burden off of my shoulders.'”

His social workers have been great and really nice to him. He originally sought help from a social worker because he and his family were struggling financially and they needed some outlets to help pay their bills so nothing would be shut off. He’s faced some financial struggles since being diagnosed, since things have been a little hard. Sometimes he’s really tired or nauseous but other times, he’s not. He hasn’t had any issues with the Department of Veteran’s Affairs and all of his healthcare and prescriptions are taken care of through the VA. He’s grateful that his chemo treatments, hematologist, and oncologist are provided by the VA Medical Center.

Bringing Hope Home (BHH) has helped Kevin and his family pay their electric bill and that was, as Kevin says, “a huge burden off of my shoulders.” BHH helped Kevin figure out a budget and figure out what they could afford. He thanks all of the people at BHH; he doesn’t know what his family would have done without them. His family had to wait a few weeks for assistance but his experience with BHH was great. When asked to describe BHH, he said, “They’re absolutely great.” He is so appreciative for the help he’s gotten from people like his doctors, social workers, and the people at Bringing Hope Home and he thanks everyone.

Interviewed and written by: Sydney Brestle, BHH Spring Intern

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