Wallace Family Support Fund

UPDATE From Terry Hall on 5/15/24:

It is with great sadness that we share that John has passed away this morning. Below are the details for his visitation and funeral. If you are the praying type, please send some prayers to the whole Wallace family during this difficult time.

Please join the family with fun stories and happy memories in a celebration of John’s life. Visitation at Highlands Funeral Home 3331 Taylorsville Rd Louisville, KY 40205 on Friday May 17, 2024 from 3pm-8pm and at Chapel in the Woods (Southeast Christian property) located at 1407 Moser Rd. Louisville, KY 40299 on May 18, 2024 from 9:30am-11:30am before the funeral service. The funeral service will begin at Chapel in the Woods at 11:30am on May 18, 2024. There will be a private burial later @ Cave Hill Cemetery 701 Baxter Ave, Louisville, KY 40204.

UPDATE From Greg Conner on 4/30/24:

For those of you following along with John’s battle, John underwent surgery and radiation at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN during early 2023, and was back to his normal self by mid-2023. By late 2023, the family found out they were expecting a new addition – a baby boy due in August 2024. Unfortunately, John’s bile duct became partially blocked again in early 2024. Not necessarily cancer, but the doctors have decided another round of chemo is their best option after two failed surgical procedures. John started the chemo in March, but has had some complications with sodium and blood cell counts that have delayed the process.

With the family focused on John’s treatment, and another baby on the way, we are asking for your support yet again in helping this amazing person (and his family) in his battle. If you prefer non-monetary support, you can support the family through a meal train here: https://www.mealtrain.com/trains/l6l5ym .

Original Post:

Some of you may call John Wallace a friend. Others may call him family. The list goes on – husband, father, son, classmate, former UofL kicker, teammate, animal lover, etc. I have the distinct pleasure of calling him a coworker. But more importantly, I’m going to call him a cancer survivor – and that’s where I need your help.

John was recently diagnosed with bile duct cancer (Cholangiocarcinoma Cancer, or CCA).He is in the fight of his life, and we have started this funding page to help John, his wife Rachel and daughter Macie with any expenses as they battle against cancer.

This all started on a date night one Friday in August when Rachel noticed John had yellow in the whites of his eyes. The next day, it was on his skin, and he was itchy and tired. By Sunday, he had been admitted to the hospital and a procedure was done to investigate the source of John’s symptoms. The next few weeks would be spent undergoing numerous tests and procedures, first here in Louisville, then later at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN. His original diagnosis was a liver disease called PSC. Later, while at the Mayo Clinic, they discovered a cancerous tumor in his bile duct which confirmed the diagnosis of CCA. The doctors at the Mayo Clinic believed they had caught the cancer early enough, and they could operate to remove the cancer. Then came the worst news – the cancer had spread to a nearby lymph node.

John is currently undergoing 3 rounds of chemo lasting a total of 9 weeks. Afterwards the doctors will reassess if surgery is still an option to remove the cancer. This is a rare but aggressive form of cancer. Survival rates are low, and John will not be 'out of the woods' for 5-7 years after treatment because of its high rate of recurrence.

Please help us in supporting this amazing and talented individual as he takes the fight to cancer!Follow along in his fight here:https://www.caringbridge.org/visit/johnwallace45

-Greg Conner

From the Lesley & Rhyan Prather Foundation:

As a colleague of John's myself (Terry Hall), it brings me great pride in seeing the Lesley & Rhyan Prather Foundation support the Wallace family. Getting the call that you have cancer is a moment we all pray never comes, but if/when it does, knowing that you have a community of support behind you truly helps these families in their time of need. We know from helping over 200 families & from our own personal loss, that it's the community support that can motivate you to know that you're not in this fight alone!

The Lesley & Rhyan Prather Foundation is a federally approved non profit organization (EIN: 85-2888525) and all donations are considered tax deductible. LRPFD does not take a percentage of any donation, all proceeds raised goes directly to the family. This is a crowdfunding effort and is to be considered non taxable income to the Wallace family. If your company offers a donation match program, you can submit your donation to your work and those funds will be allocated to the family as well.