Assistance for a friend

[brooksrobinson]

I realize this is quite off topic, but it hits close to home for me and my family and I thought I’d reach out to the steadicam community and see if anyone might be interested in helping out. A close family friend is a musician named Jason Gaviati who plays keyboards for Lindsey Stirling. He was on tour with Lindsey in Germany about a month ago when he noticed a swollen lymph node in his neck. He went to the doctor on a down day to get checked out. After numerous tests, he found out that he had Burkitt Lymphoma, a form of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma which unfortunately produces the fastest growing tumor in humans and is frequently fatal if not treated immediately.

 

He obviously dropped off the tour in order to start treatment. As a travelling musician – an industry (like ours) full of wild swings in monetary fortune, he did not have medical insurance, but was able to sign up for it upon his diagnosis. Unfortunately, the insurance he was able to get isn’t accepted at his first several choices of doctors and he is seeking help in financing his treatment, as well as maintaining with day to day expenses until he is able to beat this disease and go back in the studio and out on tour.

 

Here is the link to his gofundme account:

 

http://www.gofundme.com/2nv6ujw4

 

It provides a way of contributing financially if that is of interest, and also gives information about Jason, his diagnosis, and talks about the kind of person he is. I realize this isn’t the sort of thing we often talk about here, and I’m sorry if it isn’t appropriate for this forum. I am not the sort who posts here often and when I do, it is hopefully about something that is helpful to someone in our community. I try and help people whenever appropriate, and I know Jason to be the kind of guy that those here would appreciate and like – not just for his talent as a musician, but because of the kind of guy he is.

 

Thank you in advance for any possible help – be it financial, or simply warm thoughts for someone in need.

 

All the best,

 

Brooks Robinson

[Osvaldo Silvera SOC]

My Father passed of Lymphoma...Donation just completed. Thanks for sharing Brooks.

[brooksrobinson]

Ozzie,

 

Thank you for taking the time to look at the site and for posting, and I'm very sorry for your loss. Jason is a beyond talented musician and a unbelievable guy who has inspired people around the world. The outpouring of wishes and love from all corners of the globe has been a huge comfort and benefit to Jason and his family, and I really appreciate those who have reached out here, through PM's, and on the gofundme site:

 

http://www.gofundme.com/2nv6ujw4

 

Thanks to all who have looked, and I really appreciate even just taking a moment to send wishes to a great guy who is going through a hard struggle. It all makes a huge difference.

 

Brooks

[brooksrobinson]

I just wanted to say thank you to everyone who has contacted me off-forum to send warm thoughts and also to those who have contributed to Jason's medical fund. Jason's gofundme account has managed to raise over $39,000 towards his ongoing medical expenses and people from around the world have stepped up to help in droves. Some have offered $5.00, some have contributed much more, but the fact that people from such diverse backgrounds have gone out of their way to help is incredible.

 

Since my last post, Jason was admitted to the hospital and has been responding very positively to his chemotherapy treatments. He has a long way to go, but is encouraged by the success of the treatment so far, as well as from the outpouring of love he has received from around the globe.

 

As a way of showing the kind of musician he is and what he does, I have attached the link (below) to a clip from a Lindsey Stirling concert from London (Jason is the one in the striped shirt with the hat playing the keytar - yes, the keytar!). Jason has been touring the world with Lindsey for a few years and was dismayed to be forced to cut his participation in the tour short because of his illness - especially with her recent home date in front of friends and family at the Greek Theater in LA.

 

 

Thank you again for looking, and I just wanted to pass along the story as it has evolved. Here is the link to Jason's gofundme account in case anyone is still on the fence about this:

 

http://www.gofundme.com/2nv6ujw4

 

All the best,

 

Brooks

 

 

 

 

[brooksrobinson]

Thank you to everyone who has been thoughtful enough to contact me directly via email or PM regarding my friend Jason Gaviati and also to all of you that have contributed towards his cause, either financially or by just sparing a moment out of your day for a warm thought or prayer. It is incredibly valuable and it means more than you know.

 

I wanted to take a minute to write about something that happened this past weekend. Jason is a huge UCLA fan but wasn’t able to attend the home game at the Rose Bowl against BYU this past weekend because he was back in the hospital for a second round of chemotherapy. Jason had met BYU senior wide receiver Mitch Mathews after a concert in Salt Lake City while on tour with Lindsey Stirling and the two bonded while talking about football. If you follow college football, you might recall that Mitch Mathews is the guy who caught the improbable last second 42 yard Hail Mary touchdown bomb to give BYU the victory over Nebraska 33-28. Jason gave Mitch some grief and told him that he’d be rooting for UCLA when they played each other in the 3^rd game of the season.

 

In the time since their post-show meeting, Jason was diagnosed with the fast moving Burkitt lymphoma and Mitch has had a great start to his senior season with a terrific BYU team. Mitch learned about Jason’s condition and remembered their meeting and Jason’s love for UCLA football. When BYU played UCLA this past Saturday, Mitch decided to pay tribute to Jason and wrote “Gavi” (for Gaviati) on his right arm with Sharpie so that the 90,000 people in the Rose Bowl and countless millions at home watching on TV could see.

 

Here is an article about the tribute in case you are interested:

 

http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865637364/Mitch-Mathews-pays-tribute-during-UCLA-game-to-fan-battling-cancer.html?pg=all

 

Lastly, here is a link to Jason’s Gofundme page if you are interested in contributing to help fund his cancer treatments or to simply drop him a note:

 

https://www.gofundme.com/2nv6ujw4

 

And here is a link to Lindsey Stirling’s merchandise website where she is selling T-shirts to help Jason with all of the proceeds going directly to support his medical care:

 

http://www.shopbenchmark.com/lindseystirling/catalog/product/view/id/24954/s/wearegavi-shirt/

 

Thank you again for all of your support. It is hard to put into words how much little gestures mean during difficult times and I really appreciate all of the love the steadicam community has shown.