Help find a cure for Liz – NO BATTLE IS FOUGHT ALONE –
Please join the Navy SEALs Fund, Teammates, friends, and famiy of retired Navy SEAL Tim Cruickshank and his cherished wife, Liz, in supporting them during the hardest battle they have ever faced… Cancer. Whether it is with donations, encouraging words, or quiet prayers, all is welcome and all is needed.
Most people know Liz and Tim as individuals that spend their lives in service to others and it is not in their nature to ask others for help themselves. Many people during this journey have asked what they can do to help them but have been met with “I appreciate the offer but I don’t know what you can do to help” It is hard to ask for help and put your story out for everyone to see but Liz and Tim believe that God has a plan.
Anyone that knows Liz can attest to her grit and fortitude but what we’ve seen of this woman is close to supernatural. Her will to live is extraordinary and her faith in God is second to none.
Liz is in a battle for her life and we are asking for your help.
Liz was diagnosed in 2008 with Renal Carcinoid and had a Heminephrectomy (half her kidney removed) to remove the cancerous tumor. This was not the news a mother of 3 young children needed to hear, especially with a husband deploying during the war. It was soon learned that the tumor was removed to late and the cancer had spread to her regional lymph nodes and her spine. Not once has her faith faltered and she would introduce herself to each Doctor she met by saying ” Hi, my name is Liz Cruickshank and you’re the Doctor that is going to save my life! You see, I plan on living until 88 years old so let’s figure out how we’re going to do this”
Liz pushed on for years, never losing focus. Doctors appointments, scans, injections and treatments until November of 2021. She started not to feel well, her physical complaints mounted and we took her in for some tests. Within hours our phones were ringing off the hook with news of her lab tests. Her glucose was over 800 due to the tumor load in her pancreas. Through the help of friends we found her immediate treatment to get this under control and formulate a plan. Liz had Stage 4 Cancer that had spread to her bones and every organ.
Liz bought her wig, named it January, mentally prepared herself for what was to come and started IV Chemo that December. With each week that passed we saw Liz get weaker and weaker as the chemo took it’s toll on her body. On March 24th of 2022 she was asked by her Oncologist to go in for a Type and Screen for a blood transfusion. She coded while they drew her blood and her husband ran the code as he held her in his arms. They revived her with a B/P of 40/20 and rushed her to the ER where she received 2 bags of red blood cells to replenish her depleted body and admitted her to the hospital. By mid-April, she was in such bad shape her attending physician, took everything off her IV pole, told the nurses not to help her anymore and at 2 AM told her husband to take her home, put her on Hospice and let her die……. This Doctor was immediately fired and a new team of doctors formulated within hours. The race was on to save Liz’s life!
What followed can only be described as a miracle. What she endured is heartbreaking and inspiring all in the same breath. With the help of family and friends and the love of her 3 children, the doctors started to work on their plan. She slowly started to recover. Multiple surgical procedures, medications, injections and being fed through a tube. She walked out of the hospital in May!!
In July, Her husband took Liz to work in a wheelchair to talk to her Principal about the upcoming year. She told him she was ready to work 5 days a week! He kindly said, let’s see how you do 2 days a week. Out of shear determination, she made it 6 weeks and begrudgingly agreed to go on long term disability. Subsequently, her husband, Tim has also lost his job in his attempt to take care of his wife and find a cure for her cancer. Now a new struggle has emerged.
The past year of treatments and extensive hospital stays have presented an incredible financial burden, and these medical expenses will only increase as Tim and Liz look towards alternative treatment options.
Although doctors are now telling her she’s running out of options again, Liz and her husband have not lost faith and do not believe this. They will continue to seek a cure to her cancer and believe she still has many options left but some are not covered by insurance.
Your donations will go directly to help support the family and pay for new alternative treatments to help Liz find a cure
Please join the Team and help Liz fight as we know that no battle is fought alone. If you are unable to donate at this time, your prayers are greatly appreciated!!
Please send questions to info@navysealsfund.org
The Navy SEALs Fund – Brotherhood Beyond Battlefield is honored to be working with Tim and Liz to support their fight. 100% of all donations from this campaign will be donated directly to Tim and Liz.
All donations are tax-deductible.
Donations can also be mailed to:
Navy SEALs Fund
Attn: Tim & Liz Cancer Support
PO Box 89
Mason OH 45040
