Shannon Wiemers, a young father and veteran, battles aggressive brain cancer with resilience, hoping to access a promising treatment in Germany through crowdfunding.

JUSTIN, Texas — Twenty-seven-year-old Shannon Wiemers, who lives in Justin, Texas, had been a father for only six months when he learned he might have only a few more months to live.
Back in February, soon after his son Lincoln was born, the twice-deployed reserve airman was diagnosed with grade four astrocytoma, an aggressive form of brain cancer.

“It was pretty devastating,” Shannon said. “The first thing I thought about was my family and that I needed to be here to support them.”
“One morning, it’s like the best moment ever and the next, it’s like, what does tomorrow hold?” his wife Hannah Wiemers said.
An avid runner, Shannon was training for a 100-mile race when doctors found the tumor.
They took it out, but even during radiation and chemo, and through severe exhaustion, Shannon kept running, up to 7 miles a day.
“It’s just your way of proving to yourself that you’re not giving up and that he’s going to keep going,” Hannah said.
On average, people with his diagnosis have about a year to live. Since he’s young and active, doctors say Shannon’s odds are greater, although all they can really do is try to limit the spread.
However, there is a cutting-edge treatment that has shown real promise toward curing brain cancer. The only problem: it’s in Germany, and it costs nearly $100,000, money they simply don’t have.

“We’re going to do whatever it takes to get him there and get those vaccines,” Hannah said.
“We’re fighting for the best possible way to be here for all to watch all those first milestones,” Shannon said. “To see him grow up, to graduate, to be there for him as he goes through some of the toughest times of his life, I want to be there for him.”
That’s why they started a crowdfunding campaign to cover the costs.
They remain hopeful, but say they’ve already been blessed.
In fact, Shannon said he believes he was chosen to have cancer.
“It was something that I feel like was given to me because I’m strong, I can handle it and I can show others that if I can do it, you can too,” he said.
What motivates him, however, isn’t what’s spreading through his brain, but rather what fills his heart.
“I need to be a father figure for my son to show him how to treat people, how to grow up in a world that’s not so kind and to be that light to others,” he said