Family & Friends,

Please join us for a memorial celebration in honor of Todd Fertig on August 16 at twelve o’clock in the afternoon. We will celebrate Todd’s spirit and honor his memory with family, friends, and loved ones.

The celebration will be held at the Glen Ridge Country Club in Glen Ridge, New Jersey. Please RSVP using the invitation below. In the coming days, we will be posting additional details regarding the event on the Evite.

 RSVP Here

 So many of us have great stories about Todd. The Fertig family would like to build collection of stories from all the wonderful people that Todd had in his life. Please use the link below to share your Todd story(s) and pic(s).

 Todd's Stories

 -Friends of the Fertig Family

Todd passed away yesterday morning surrounded by his parents, sisters and wife.

We will keep you informed of the plans for the memorial service.

Rest in peace, Daddy. We love you.

Dear all,

The Celebration of Life event scheduled for this Saturday, August 2nd has been cancelled. Todd is too sick to participate.

Todd was able to walk Ellis down the aisle at the hospital chapel last Thursday, at the suggestion of his doctors. The event was attended by family and many of his doctors and nurses. Todd also spoke beautiful words about the gift of life. It is a cherished memory.

Thank you all for your support.

Love, Michelle

Hello.

Michelle asked me to post to the blog on her behalf and update everyone concerned about Todd's condition.

A week ago, Todd was re-admitted to Sloan Kettering after a couple of days at home with his family. As noted in an earlier post, his health has deteriorated, but his spirits remain high. It's not clear how much time he has left, but fortunately his pain and discomfort are manageable and he is lucid most of the day. He has been enjoying chatting with his many visitors about such topics as motorcycles, wine and tax theory.

While Todd and Michelle wish they could respond to everyone's texts and emails, they are physically unable to get to them all, but want everyone to know how very much they appreciate the outpouring of love and support you have provided throughout this process. It has made all the difference in their lives.

As the situation changes, we will post additional updates.


-Federico, friend of the family.

Dear family and friends,

Todd's spirit shines so bright. Throughout this ordeal, he has inspired us to be our best selves. He IS zest for life.

Todd's physical health continues to deteriorate. We meet with multiple doctors, multiple times a day. The chemo is not working. Given complications with his liver, kidneys and other areas where the cancer is growing, there are no treatment options to reduce the cancer. Todd continues to receive pain medication, and we will keep him as comfortable as we can for as long as we can. The nature of Todd's fight has changed. It is about showing LOVE. The cancer will never take away his love for life, friends and family. It cannot destroy our hopes and dreams. We are spending our moments filled with love.

Todd and I are at peace. We are still. Be not afraid.

Love, Michelle

Dear friends,

With your amazing generosity, we made it to our financial goal. Todd and I are so humbled by this. The amount that some people were able to give, the number of anonymous donations, the people who we don't know and still gave, the donations that came as a result of families pinching back themselves, or kids selling candy, or washing cars -- it's all so humbling. To each of you -- thank you from the bottom of our hearts.

We are living moment to moment. Your generous donations have eased the burden on whether or not I can take a cab home from the hospital, or drive into the city and pay for parking. The donations will also help us to explore treatment options or in-home care options that would have never otherwise been available to us. Most meaningfully, the donations allow us to keep our kids cared for and in the home that we love so much.

We are not going to "close" the GoFundMe donation page, since we don't know what the next moment will bring. We are very, very appreciative of every cent that has gone into this jar.

With love, and joy, and peace and a big bear hug - Michelle

Hi friends,

Quick update on Todd:

-- We're back in the hospital at MSKCC, due to a bowel obstruction.

-- Todd will give his intestines a rest for the next couple of days while in the hospital.

-- On Wednesday, we will re-evaluate the treatment plan and options. Chemo was cancelled for today.

While this is viewed as a pretty big set-back, we are hopeful in that Todd is already showing some signs of improvement. We are praying that we can continue the chemo so Todd can stay in the ring, so to speak.

Thank you for keeping us and our children in your thoughts and prayers.

Love, Michelle

Hi - I am Kris, Michelle's (younger) sister. Todd Fertig is what I call my Bother -- he's my brother/father. I am fortunate to live close to Michelle and Todd and have been experiencing first-hand Todd's fight since his diagnosis. Today, I had to post a blog entry -- not about what Todd means to me, we'll save that for another day -- but about a truly remarkable experience that I witnessed today in seeing my community come together as FAMILY to support someone in need.

Many of you may know that I teach 5th-8th grade at TEAM Academy in Newark, NJ. At a time when most children are swimming in their community pools or on vacation with their families, today, TEAM kids chose to go to school...to volunteer their time working (washing cars)...to support Todd in his fight against cancer. Wow.

Past students, current students, future students, parents, TEAM colleagues, neighbors, cousins, friends, and others coordinated a car wash at our TEAM school in Newark, NJ, complete with home-made posters, beautiful custom t-shirts, spare change collection cans, donated sponges and soap, lots of energy and plenty of smiles and hugs . The sole purpose was to raise money for Todd for his fight against pancreatic cancer. A majority of these people have never met Todd, or have only seen my pics of his kids on Facebook. They did this because Todd is my "Bother" and they know he needs our help. They did this because they have seen Ellis, Wyeth, Owen, and Michelle at TEAM Academy-  in person,  through my thousands of videos and photographs, and through my stories. They did this because they know my family means the world to me. They did this because it is one of our school mottos, "If a TEAMmate needs help, we give." They did this because the community at TEAM, and more broadly in Newark, is more than just an organization of teachers, parents,  and students...they did this because we are Family. We are a TEAM and Family.

One parent also told me that many kids have been selling candy, hosting lemonade stands and saving their allowances to donate to Todd -- anonymously. Why, I asked. Her response was that the students were taught at TEAM to do the right thing, not because they want recognition or reward, but because it's who they are. Those students are demonstrating Kohlberg's level 5 and 6  of moral development -- something we teach them at TEAM Academy  when they are in 5th grade. "I do the right thing because it is my moral code." Wow.

I've always believed that I would do whatever it takes to help a child succeed. Never would I have imagined seeing them do whatever it takes to help ME succeed. I am so proud of them, so humbled, so grateful. We are Family. We are TEAM.

Peace - Kris

#TEAMsupportstheFertigs
#noonefightsalone

I’ve been left a little bit speechless about the fundraising effort led by my friend Rachel Kendall, a mixed marshal arts expert.  And you know that it takes a lot to leave me speechless.  You may have seen some of the many #KickCancerintheFaceforTodd videos on Facebook and Instagram that the MMA community have created to raise money on my behalf.

More than that, I’m so very glad that my story has brought together so many people to directly support families in our situation.  Rachel has already gone on to found a non-profit, Kick Cancer in the Face, for this purpose and the MMA community is uniquely and wholly qualified to provide a visual of face kicking. 

If you have a few minutes, please take a look at the video montage that Rachel has assembled highlighting the first 100 videos (apparently, they’re still rolling in) of Kick Cancer in the Face’s inaugural campaign.