Young parents both fighting cancer
LOWELL, Mich. — Friday night, members of a western Michigan community rallied support for a husband and wife, Ben and Shelby Offrink, who are both fighting cancer.
"It feels really unfair to have all of this happen," said Jay Tomczak, Shelby's older brother.
The Offrinks have two small daughters, 3-year-old Maeve and Hazel, who turned 1 in December.
Shortly after giving birth to Hazel prematurely, doctors discovered Shelby has a rare and incurable form of cancer on her spine. They diagnosed her with Stage IV glioblastoma. Then, in January, after months of radiation and chemo, doctors found three new tumors on Shelby's brain.
Shelby's brothers, Jay and Luke Tomczak, are among the many family and friends who have helped Ben care for the girls while Shelby undergoes extensive treatment to extend her life.
In the midst of it all, Ben learned his own cancer, Hodgkin's lymphoma, had returned for a third time.
"I feel a lot of their pain," said Jay, while sighing heavily. "As a brother, it has been a very difficult thing to absorb. I think one of the things that has made it possible for them to get through is the love and support from the family and all the friends."
Ben says his parents and in-laws have helped to support the couple; they are constantly at Shelby's bedside and helping to watch Maeve and Hazel. Shelby's longtime friends have also been there to offer emotional and financial support through various fundraisers.
"There is support all around her, so we feed off of that," said Luke.
"She has an intelligent, witty sense of humor and I'm really happy she has been able to maintain that throughout all of this," said Jay. "Shelby has always been the strongest person that I've known."
And she needs every bit of that strength now.
"If she is having a rough day, we try to keep them up with Ben and the girls," said Luke.
Shelby will continue to fight her cancer with chemo and radiation. Ben has also had some setbacks: his first round of chemo was not effective. He will need to go through another round to eradicate the cancer before receiving a necessary bone marrow transplant.
Jay says, "seeing him get weaker has been a really hard thing. We love him like a brother, and we are there to support him as much as we can."
"We are hoping and praying for him to have that go well this time around," said Luke.
Before cancer invaded the Offrink's lives, Shelby worked as an engineer and Ben was a stay-at-home dad. Now neither works, and the medical bills are piling up.
The family is accepting donations on the website YouCaring.com.