Veteran Suffered Electrocution, Now Has Stage 3 Cancer: GoFundMe

TINLEY PARK, IL — When Peter Barley began to experience stomach pain, he thought he had an ulcer. Taking a trip to the doctor — which the retired third generation electrician does often, after suffering electrocution and a severe fall in 1995, breaking three vertebrae and injuring his neck — he received a diagnosis: stage three pancreatic cancer.

Having been working odd jobs such as fixing broken equipment for years, the 58-year-old Orland Hills resident and his wife, Niccolette, began to fear for both Peter's life, and their future.

The pair say treatment is expensive, and they are trying to catch up on payments dating back years — to when Peter found out he had suffered an abdominal aortic aneurysm. In that case, he needed a repair procedure and had a Y stent inserted.

Although much has been occupying Peter's mind over the years, including helping his wife care for her father who suffered from Parkinson's and blood cancer, he is doing his best to remain positive.

"I know it's kind of a bad cancer to have, but I try to keep a real positive view on things," Peter told Patch. "I didn't want to know what past operations entailed until afterwards because I don't want to be scared about it. If the doctor tells me, 'you know, I got to do this, or I got to do that,' I'll do it, and I'm not going to look it up and try to second guess."

Peter is a Navy veteran. He graduated from Lockport High School in 1980 and joined the military, where he served on the USS Coral Sea aircraft carrier as an operations specialist. He and Niccolette have been together since they were teenagers.

"He's my best friend," Niccolette said emotionally, adding that when the pair got married she found out she was suffering a kidney disease, and Peter never left her side. "We had no idea that he was sick, too."

To help aid in financial distress during this time, the couple has since started a GoFundMe fundraiser. Peter says the money would be a huge relief for the pair, since they have hospital bills piling up, and he is unable to work they way he used to.

"It would give us such peace of mind to receive some help," Niccolette said. "We've been struggling for 30 years to try to take care of Pete and keep our home. I don't even know where we would go if we lost our home."

The GoFundMe campaign has a goal of $77,000. As of Tuesday morning, the campaign had raised $4,300.

Read more about Peter and his journey or make a donation here.

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