A husband, father, brother, friend, and neighbor who lives in our community, is in dire need of our immediate help!

At the beginning of July 2010, Chris Blankinship, a trusted and caring volunteer with Catz Jazz Rescue, was diagnosed with an Anaplastic Astrocytoma (grade III). This is a rare (about 4% of the population), life-threatening, rapidly-growing, malignant tumor and is inoperable because it is located on the brain stem.

The longest survivor on record lived for five years and the prognosis for individuals with grade 3 astrocytoma have a median survival time of 18 months with treatment (radiation and chemotherapy). Chris has been given a survival rate of between 9 months to one year.

This has been incredibly surreal for his family and for his friends here at Catz Jazz. It’s been shocking and devastating beyond words, and… completely unbelievable. Because Chris is so well-loved by his friends and family and has always been the "go to guy" for not just his loved ones but for people in this community who have needed him and rely on him to be there, the news of this is heartbreaking and crushing to anyone who knows him. Due to the nature of this specific tumor and it's location, the only available treatment possibilities are very limited clinical trials (experimental treatments) for chemo and radiation treatment possibilities that will easily exceed the tens of thousands of dollars mark, with no guarantees as to success.
But, we are hoping he has been given a conservative prognosis and that with assistance, treatment may be within reach; Chris is not about to give up easily and neither are we.

We believe that with prayers, positive energy and strong willpower, and the financial help from compassionate supporters who are sympathetic to his plight, we can give Chris a chance to opt for those treatment possibilities.

Chris has a wonderful wife and son. Chris’s medical insurance covers them, but not himself. Insurance has denied assistance. Medicaid and Disability have denied assistance because they consider him able to work even if he continues to have seizures. The cost of C.A.T. scans, tests, and lab work are overwhelming, already at the $15,000 mark just for the initial diagnosis and two scans to track the development of the tumor. If Chris is to proceed with any form of treatment, whether it be chemotherapy or less traditional methods of treatment, he has been informed by the medical providers that he will need to pay off the debt related to the first three medical visitations, and though he, his family and friends have gone through all of the savings they have, there is still $15,000 owed before he will be allowed to commence with treatments.

Like everyone, Chris wants to live as good a quality of life as for as long as possible. For him, this now means fighting for the very best cutting-edge treatments available.

Seeing how time is of the essence, having considered different treatment methods versus his quality of life and him needing assistance with medical costs, after unsuccessful appeals to insurance companies, Medicaid, Disability and various charity organisations, and taking into account basic cost of living and building a trust fund for his 3 year old son, Jaxon, -- his friends, as bold as ever, have decided he would get the uncovered treatments available to him that his doctors believe are the best for him -- by paying for them out of pocket.

We have taken this effort on because we love Chris so much for enriching our lives, for always being there for us, for making us smile and laugh, for listening and being such a good friend to us and for the great work he does as a volunteer in animal rescue work and want the people that read about his urgent plight to know what a wonderful and worthy person he is.

And so, after giving everything we have, and still giving as we can, we are now sending out an urgent plea for help from the community to help ease some of the immediate financial burden off of him and his family during this difficult time so that he has the chance to proceed with treatment possibilities.

We understand that there are many other people within our community and across the nation who like us, have been hit by financial difficulties as a result of the recession, but the battle to give Chris, a valued community member and beloved friend, a shot to have a chance at treatment by giving as much as we possibly can, greatly surpasses many of our own needs and because of the extreme urgency of this pressing situation, we therefore humbly beg you to please give anything you can to help us with this expensive endeavor.

Chris needs our help! He currently has lost sight in one eye... and has been suffering fatigue, amongst other ailments and cannot currently work as much as he wants to. He has continued to apply for disability and other foundation options but this process is taking a long time, when time is not a luxury for him.

His sister, Sydney, another volunteer for Catz Jazz Rescue and co-owner of Jaguar Media Group, has set up a new ChipIn! Account for Chris on June 1st, 2011, which will help publicly track the progress of this critical fundraising event as people help by chipping in with PayPal that will send donations directly into the PayPal account designated for the Chris Blankinship Allowance & Trust Fund.
Outside of this fund, his friends have raised right under $3,000 and still desperately need funding for medicine and other expenses.

Please join us in our goal to raise $10,000 by contributing anything you can to support Chris in his journey. Help us ensure that Chris gets the chance to get the healthcare he deserves by participating in this ChipIn! event. There is a moral urgency to this. Please find the compassion within yourself to make a donation of anything you can, as it will surely start adding up bit by bit, and the sooner you help, the sooner Chris has a chance for treatment. Please consider that acting quickly is imperative in order for this effort to be a success. A kind donation of anything - $5, $10, or $20 will help Chris and his family during this crucial time and would be so sincerely appreciated by his friends and family.

We'll list contributors and sponsors on this page and share updates as we have them. We want to thank the compassionate support of anyone who helps us meet our fundraising goal of $10,000 and if you haven't already, we encourage you to connect to your friends within our community and help spread the word to support our brave and beautiful friend.

Our wish is that he gets the opportunity to try treatment possibilities that could help him. Please help our wish for him to come true.

Thank you all for your help. Chris will surely appreciate this.