MADSTRONG: Help Madelyn and Carson Battle Leukemia

On December 16th, 2023, Madelyn Lawrence married her college sweetheart, Carson Henderson, in a joyous, Fayetteville ceremony that brought together family and friends from across the south. The wedding was a celebration of love and especially of life, because just three years prior, when Madelyn was twenty-one years old and Carson twenty-three, Madelyn was diagnosed with Acute Myeloid Leukemia. On the day of the wedding, Madelyn had been in remission for three years, the result of a series of treatments that included chemotherapy and a stem cell transplant with cells donated by her younger sister, Olivia Lawrence.

A few months after the wedding, the Hendersons moved from Fayetteville to Dallas where they began new jobs and a life together as a married couple. They grew closer, made new friends while keeping ties with old ones, moved into a nicer place, even changed jobs for the better, both of them, and they adopted a sweet and feisty Corgi named JoJo. Happiness abounded. But then, from time to time, Madelyn didn’t feel well, she stayed sick longer from infections, she was fatigued, and after she went to her doctor for blood work, the results showed markers consistent with Leukemia. After consulting with the Arkansas oncologist who first diagnosed her, Madelyn and Carson got in the car and sped to the MD Anderson emergency room in Houston. Madelyn was admitted that night, Thursday, February 6th, and since then she has received regular blood transfusions and given blood daily for lab work. On Friday, February 14th, biopsy results confirmed a relapse.

Yesterday, Madelyn was readmitted to MD Anderson to begin initial treatments, after spending a few days away from the hospital to rest with Carson, her parents, and her in-laws. Over the next week, she will take a regimen of three different chemotherapy drugs. Once Madelyn is in remission, she will need another stem cell transplant. Madelyn’s prognosis is good, but the treatment expenses over the next weeks and months will be immense, and the treatment schedule will require time away from work and home and school, not only for Madelyn and Carson, but also their closest loved ones. To help with these costs, both emotional and financial, we, the families of Madelyn and Carson, humbly ask for your support as they fight Leukemia again. More than anything, we ask for your prayers. Please pray for Madelyn and Carson, for Madelyn’s medical team, and for the family and friends who love Madelyn and Carson so much. Please keep us all in your hearts and minds.

God bless you, and thank you.