We do this in honor of our warrior Andy that was passionate about bringing awareness to this very prevalent disease to the forefront. When Andy’s health journey began doctor’s thought that a bulging disc was the source of pain he had been experiencing. It was not until months of efforts to treat the disc were unsuccessful, and the pain started to increase severely, that he underwent additional testing for back surgery that cancer was discovered. Andy immediately began aggressive chemotherapy, surgeries, and radiation. At the age of 33, Andy was diagnosed with stage 4 colorectal cancer in early January 2017 that metastasized to his spleen, liver, and lungs and that was blocking 80% of his large intestine. Despite this, Andy still remained the most optimistic, energetic and passionate person that he has always been. Prior to his diagnoses, Andy had successfully left corporate America to begin his dream job working as an assistant brewer at Rock Bottom Brewery in Orland Park. After four months of settling into his new career, Andy and I welcomed our beloved son, Andrew Daniel, into the world on October 20, 2016. After a very heroic battle, Andy passed away at the age of 34, on September 13, 2017. He attended grammar school at Gunsaulus Scholastic Academy, is an alumni of St. Laurence High School, graduated from Northern University with a B.S. in Business Management and received a certificate in Brewing Technology from the Siebel Institute of Technology in Chicago, IL. Andy’s Warriors was created by the ‘Den Moms.’ A group of selfless, compassionate, and dedicated women that have known Andy and his family since he was young. In fact, the moms came to call themselves the ‘Den Moms’ because they met and bonded through their sons being in Boy Scouts together. This bond carried them through their endless fundraising efforts to help our family when we needed it the most. Their efforts let us focus on being a family of 3 instead of worrying about the financial burdens that come with a cancer diagnosis. After Andy’s passing, I (Meg) took over the page to continue our Andy’s mission that he too wanted to fulfill in putting his efforts into helping others. The two major areas that Andy was very passionate about were:
1) Raise awareness on colorectal cancer in the young adulthood population - advocacy, education, and research
2) Fundraising efforts to put solely towards helping and supporting those young families effected by cancer
Our son (Andrew Daniel) and I continue to be humbled and grateful for the community of people and family that have supported us through so much unknown. Our Andy always said, “A million thank you’s will never be enough....” and goodness do I echo that. Much love, strength and hope,
Meggan Mikal
