Ashley's Fight Against Cancer

In August 2020, our friend Ashley tried to donate blood to the American Red Cross and received a phone call that her blood was unusable as her white blood cell and platelet count was dangerously high, and she should see a doctor as soon as possible. After many trips to the doctor's office and many tests later, Ashley was diagnosed with Chronic Myeloid Leukemia (CML) at the age of 27. The timing couldn't have been worse as she was out of work due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which also put more of a threat on her health due to her now compromised immune system. Without a job and her health in jeopardy, Ashley made the difficult decision to move from her established community in Nashville back to her hometown in New York to be closer to her family during her cancer treatments.

Ashley must visit her oncologist for weekly blood tests and is currently taking chemo pills daily. CML makes her extremely weak and fatigued, as well as added nausea from the chemo most days which makes maintaining a job and healthy diet practically impossible. The only job she was able to find is in retail where she is actively on her feet for 12 hours a day in addition to leaving her health compromised being in the public so long. It's a vicious cycle - work to earn money to pay for treatments while also sacrificing her health in the process. This inability to keep down food some days as well as her physically demanding job has led to hospitalization, which creates fear of this happening again.

Watching our vibrant, beautiful friend suffer is incredibly difficult, and knowing we can't do much to help her is even worse. Her active lifestyle of hiking, working out, and kayaking as a part of her normal routine has been transformed, and some days, even carrying a plate of food to the table is exhausting for her. Through all of this hardship, Ashley has the most positive outlook and the best attitude - more than anyone would expect in her position. Even though Ashley has received emotional support from friends and family, the medical bills are piling up and will continue, causing her even more stress.

The money raised through this platform will help pay for Ashley's medical bills, weekly doctor visits, and the medication necessary for her to live a long, full life. It took a lot of convincing for Ashley to agree to this fundraiser as she is so independent and doesn't want to feel like a burden to anyone, but this is one small thing we can do to help her. She is truly one of the strongest people we know, and we are so hopeful we'll be able to see her happy and healthy, back to who she wants to be. Any amount that can be contributed is a true blessing and will be appreciated so much by Ashley and all of her friends and family.

Hunter & Lynzey