Our Story
(This was the last picture of my husband before diagnosis)
In 2024, Rick Hoerner was living a vibrant, athletic life. A 62-year-young husband and father of 3 with a smile that could wipe your worries away, was seemingly healthy. Rick had his sights set on retirement, but a diagnosis of the deadly brain cancer Glioblastoma changed that forever.
My memories of that day in April are clear. It was Sunday, April 14, 2024, and we just returned home from playing pickleball on a sunny, warm, spring midwestern day. It was at that moment that it seemed my life moved in slow motion.
When Rick was diagnosed with cancer, our ENTIRE family got cancer. With each dreadful doctor visit, we are given less and less hope. With each MRI scan showing more growth, Rick sank deeper into a depressive state. This strong man, who provided for his family, was being tortured and consumed by his dreadful fate. Not only was he facing death, but everything that gave him an identity was stolen from him almost overnight.
It was like watching him tied to a railroad track with the train right around the corner, and there was nothing I or any medical doctor could do about it. All I could do was helplessly watch the most vibrant man in my life disappear in slow motion before my eyes. The tumor was shredding every ounce of happiness he ever had. It was evident our entire family was breaking. I realized we needed to leave our home to physically and emotionally recharge our batteries. I needed to find light for our family, if only temporarily.
Friends saw this as well. With their encouragement and help, I packed up our family to get away. Friends provided us with money, vacation homes, and their time to accompany us. I saw each day as a gift, and I wanted us to live fully in that moment with those who meant the most to Rick and I. The trips provided us with hope, not hope of his survival, but hope for another day, for another tomorrow. Hope that this chapter of his life would continue even with his cancer. It gave us hope that, with our community of friends & family, we would eventually walk away with lifelong lessons. Lessons about what matters in the journey of life AND death as learned through Rick’s diagnosis.
On May 21, 2025, Rick took his last breath on this earth. Rick generously donated his brain to the UWM Carbone Cancer Center for assist future Glioblastoma research. The only thing that died was Rick’s body. His spirit, his soul, his amazing ability to give is still with every human he came in contact with. We feel this in the stories people share of how he touched their lives, we see it in the eyes of our family and friends, and above all, it is in the spirit and resilience of his 3 children. Things will never be the same - but the world is better for the years Rick Hoerner lived. Root 2 Leaf will carry that spirit of kindness, helping anyone affected by cancer.
