Help David Beat Cancer

If there’s one thing we can all agree on, it’s that no one wants to have to publicly reach out to friends, family, and strangers to ask for help. It’s hard, and it’s frightening, and most of us would do anything to avoid it, but sometimes we have no other choice. I’m creating this fundraiser on behalf of my best friend--who is battling leukemia--and his family, who have fallen on incredibly hard times, and can no longer get by on their own.

Helping David and his family is a no-brainer for me. He’s been one of the most dedicated and loyal friends I’ve ever had, and it was no surprise when he met and married someone equally as wonderful. On January 1, 2015, David and wife, Rebecca, gave birth to a beautiful baby boy named Elijah, which was a miracle in its own right. Five hours after Elijah came into this world, he stopped breathing and spent two weeks in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. He recovered, but I’ve never seen David so frightened before-- nor since-- not even the following year, when he was diagnosed with Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia.

Imagine being a newlywed and a brand new father, your heart full, and your head buzzing with plans for the future, and then your doctor tells you—just weeks before your son's second birthday—that you have cancer.

It’s rare for someone as young as David to have this kind of Leukemia. There are fewer than 200,000 cases per year in the US and most are in people 60-years-old and up, but there are always exceptions, and David is one of them.

The doctors suspect that David has had CLL for some time, unbeknownst to him, so by the time he was diagnosed he was already very symptomatic. David has always been the hardest working person I know. He launched a photography magazine in 2005 and has poured his heart and soul into that magazine ever since. But since getting sick, he is weak, and until he can begin the treatment he desperately needs, he is unable to put his energy into work. Rebecca begins her day at 5 am bringing Elijah to daycare and then commuting almost 2 hours to work, before picking Elijah up in the evening and then caring for both Elijah and David until she collapses. She is trying; THEY are trying, but with David unable to work at the moment, they have fallen behind on bills. Right now, they don’t know how they will continue to pay for daycare, and David is too weak to watch Elijah during the day. If she cannot continue to work, they will be in danger of losing their home.

With Elijah almost 3 years old, pre-school alone is almost $2000 a month, not to mention the avalanche of expenses that come with being ill.

David’s family is everything to him. He’s wanted children since I met him in his twenties, and his son means the world to him. My friend is one of the strongest people I know, and he’s determined to beat cancer. He’s determined to watch his son grow up, to hear the words “I love you, daddy”, to be there when Elijah attends his first days of school, but his cancer is progressing, and he and his family need help.

I know that none of us are without our struggles, but I’m often heartened by how many people are willing to stand up and go the extra mile for those in need. We march, and rally, and do our part to make the world a better place. Today, I’m asking you to make the world a better place for a family you may not know, for friends that I love dearly. I understand why you may hesitate, but all I can say is that your support will literally help to keep a young family afloat, a child with a roof over his head, a dear friend of mine with hope for a future. It would mean everything to them and to me. Thank you so much for reading and for any support that you can provide.