Trevor Cummings, husband and father of two, was diagnosed with a rare form of stomach cancer in 2019, just a few weeks into his deployment with the Montana National Guard to support airlift operations in Kuwait.
Trevor had his 8cm tumor removed along with a third of his stomach, but then was diagnosed with Stage 4 Metastatic GIST in 2023.
He said: “I [have] two little girls to worry about and my wife, it's just kind of devastating. I'm only 43, a little young to be calling it quits, but there’s nothing we can do, so I've just decided that from here on in, it's time to make memories.”
Along with the diagnosis, Trevor’s doctors said he has about two years, but he is hopeful he can stretch that more to be here for his family as long as he can.
He explained on the GoFundMe page:
In 2019 I was deployed to Kuwait to support airlift operations in the middle east. I was slated to be in country for 120 days but was sent home early due to a family emergency. Two weeks after I returned home I was diagnosed with an 8cm tumor growing on the exterior of my stomach. The tumor was removed along with 1/3 of my stomach. I spent the next three years taking oral chemotherapy to prevent recurrence. The military has denied me service connection based on a belief that the tumor existed prior to my 2019 deployment, even after filing appeals all the way up to the Secretary of the Air Force. I was forced to voluntarily retire with no benefits from the military until I reach 60 years of age. I was officially separated on September 8th 2022. The VA did step in and gave me 100% service connection based on the PACT Act. April 19th 2023 I was diagnosed with Stage IV metastatic GIST. Inoperable and terminal.
His biggest dream in life is to be able to attend a Yankees baseball game in New York with his family and leave behind good memories for his wife and kids, after he is gone.
“It’s really important to me and I want to share things that are important to me with my girls so they can have a better understanding of who I am, what I am, and you know why I sit down and watch a baseball game almost every day during the summer,” Cummings said. “The Yankees are playing, and they don't understand that it's something that that keeps me going and it gives me something to look forward to.”
A GoFundMe has been set up for the Cummings family, partially to cover medical bills, but more importantly to give Trevor the ability to take his family on some trips to provide good memories for them.
“I want to give my family something positive out of this,” Cummings said. “It's such a downer that ‘dad's sick’ and, you know, these days I don't feel good, but I want to give something positive to my kids, and that's why I reached out to the community to see if they're willing to help me make this dream come true.”
For those in the community who are interested in donating to the Cummings family, you can click here to visit the GoFundMe page.
