Update: With heavy hearts, we share that Erik passed away in the early morning hours of January 6th. He was at home, surrounded by the love of his family, in peace and comfort. Erik fought with incredible strength, courage, and grace until the very end. His love for Danielle and their children was evident in everything he did, and it will continue to live on through them and all who were fortunate enough to know him. We are deeply grateful for the overwhelming support, love, prayers, and generosity shown to the Brechbill family during this incredibly difficult time. Your kindness has meant more than words can express. Please continue to keep Danielle and the family in your thoughts as they navigate this profound loss. First of all, thank you for clicking the link and reading the Brechbill's story. Erik has been fighting Stage 4 Metastatic Colorectal Cancer for over 2 years. Through every treatment, operation, and hospital stay he has been so strong and brave for his beautiful family. Since December 26th, Erik has been hospitalized at UC Davis and the doctors are working to make him as comfortable as possible. Unfortunately, his body is tired and we unsure what the future holds. Danielle is working to get things set up for him to come home and spend his final days surrounded by family and friends who love him so much. Danielle has been a stay-at-home mom that has cared for their special needs daughter for many years. For years, Danielle's days have been filled with therapies, advocacy, and so much more to support Maddie in her development and growth. It has been a blessing that Erik's job allowed her to do just that. In addition to being wonderful parents to Maddie, they also have their baseball star, Gunner. Gunner and his team traveled to New Jersey last year, with Erik and Danielle in tow, to play in the Cal Ripken Little League World Series - a cherished memory for the 3 of them! Gunner and his dad share their love of all things sports and are incredibly close. Watching their bond has been a true blessing! As the family navigates their next steps in life, we felt it was best to put together a fundraiser to help the family far beyond the next few days.
The hope is that we can set up meals for 2 to 3 times a week for Gunner and Danielle. Preference is gluten free. Maddie is very particular with her palette and her diet. Her favorite foods are: Annie’s GF Real Aged Cheddar Mac n Cheese cups, bananas, Tillamook Medium Cheedar cheese slices, Simple Mills Chocolate chip cookies, Schar GF chocolate chip muffins. Grocery store gift cards would be a helpful option as well ( Raleys & Walmart). Childcare can be complicated for Maddie. Maddie has an aide through the State, however, she has a limited number of hours allotted to her each month. A financial contribution would help cover childcare for Maddie's aide and allow Danielle some space to navigate these changes. You can send money via the gofundme https://www.gofundme.com/f/support-the-brechbill-family or Venmo @Danielle-Brechbill.