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Treatment For Lexi - #lexistrong

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*** This campaign is to help Lexi get life-saving treatment in a clinical trial and to support her medical expenses as she recovers beyond the trial. Please share her story with your social networks so we can raise  awareness! Her story is below, and we would deeply appreciate you being part of helping her write a happy ending. *** 

For nearly as long as I can remember I have referred to Lexi Thomas as my sister. While she is technically my sister-in-law, that couldn’t matter less. She is a light in the world. 

For the past four years Lexi, who is now 24, has been struggling with a cancer-like disease that has never been seen before. With attributes of cancer, an allergy, and an auto-immune disorder all rolled into one, she has been fighting to stay alive through countless procedures, rounds of chemotherapy, and tests. 

While her friends finished college and began new lives, Lexi has has started her own business making beautiful signs and selling them online to make a living for herself. It is one of the few things she can do while getting infusions, and during periods when her immune system is so compromised that she can’t safely be around other people. 



During periods when she can be with others, she loves spending time at the beach with her friends, supporting other young people living with cancer in support groups, and visiting with family. Lexi loves music, and has made her doctor into a Taylor Swift fan. He plays "Bad Blood" during her bone marrow biopsies. She is truly an inspiration to the many people whose lives she has touched. 

The reality is that outside of her family and close friends, there is no advocacy group or charity for what she has because it is unprecedented in modern medicine. There is no ribbon or race. She is a cohort of one. 

Her doctors at Duke and Hopkins designed a handful of studies to try and find a drug that would offer a cure. While they had some initial success, the disease became more aggressive and ultimately the chemo agents they were testing began to harm her kidneys. The last study got shut down when her renal function deteriorated to the point that she had to go on dialysis.

For the last few months her doctors have been searching for some hope and discovered a small clinical trial for a kind of leukemia that is a close cousin to Lexi’s disease process. The study is a cutting-edge, high-risk, high-reward treatment with a 60% cure rate in early human trials. It would not be an exaggeration to say that this is likely her last chance at life. 

The study, which is not covered by any form of insurance, requires that a percentage of the costs be covered by patients. Lexi’s initial share is $10,000 - which is a lot for anyone, but especially for a young woman who has to spend much of what would be working time in treatments and tests.

We have set a GoFundMe goal to cover both the treatment fee and extensive additional costs related to the study, as well as additional expenses like dialysis which are life-sustaining, but not covered by insurance. Please take a few moments to read Lexi’s blog and contribute if you are able. Meghan and I will be matching all donations up to $3,000 to make sure that we get her the money she needs to start treatment on time. 

While many people have shown their support through prayers as well as donating hair for Lexi, her medical bills have continued to grow. Few people know that most clinical trials are actually not funded. Even trials that are funded often charge for basic things like IV’s when patients are dehydrated. Your support will help give her the best chance at a full life, and will mean the world to our family. 

If you can, please consider supporting this urgent goal. You can read Lexi’s blog about her journey here: https://lexthomas11.wordpress.com

Also, if you know of someone who may want a beautiful handmade sign for their home or office, perhaps for the holidays coming up, Lexi can make just about anything you imagine and all of the sales will go toward funding her basic living expenses and treatment costs. 

Here is a beautiful birthday board Lexi made for my daughter. 





If you have any questions, or might be interested in ordering a sign, please feel free to contact Dan through GoFundMe and I will make sure that messages get routed properly. Thanks in advance! 

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Donations 

  • John Eby
    • $25 
    • 6 yrs
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Organizer and beneficiary

Dan Goldsmith
Organizer
Columbia, MD
Lexi Thomas
Beneficiary

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