Rifle forum community raise tens of thousands for terminally ill dad
Members of a rifle forum have clubbed together to raise over £20,000 for the family of a terminally ill man who was denied life insurance
When Brandon Hayslip found out his stage IV cancer had returned to his lymph nodes he reached out to the members of a firearms forum to talk about what was happening. He explained that four years ago he was diagnosed with stage IV colon cancer, aged 29. After being in remission for three years he was told the cancer had returned, just as his wife was due to give birth to their first child.
He had been refused life insurance and, in the face of costly medical bills and the arrival of his daughter, his friends set up a donation link for anyone from the forum who was willing and able to help support the Hayslip family. In a couple of weeks donations reached over $35,000 (£21,000).
During that time Brandon was told that his body had stopped responding to chemotheraphy and he probably had only a few weeks left to live. He returned home for hospice care, sharing his wife’s thanks for the overwhelming support received on the ar15.com forum:
“I have no words for how kind and generous you all have been, and I hope you know how much your community has been an amazing part of Brandon’s life. We laughed over many posts together, and something from the forum was a topic of discussion for us nearly daily.”
Since returning home, Brandon has been working to make videos for his daughter to watch when she grows up.
Writing on a blog about Brandon’s care, his wife said: “We, Brandon especially, are so grateful for all the support… Brandon is not worried about how the extensive medical bills will be paid. Hopefully I can start a small college fund for Aria that will grow with her. I will not go into serious debt from this. Knowing this, Brandon has found peace.”
