#ChrisBostwickStrong Support Fund

Chris Bostwick, who is currently residing in Clemson, SC, has been suffering from a mysterious illness for over a year now, which has become progressively worse in the last 8 months.  Despite being faced with the mental and physical anguish including rapid onset of medical debt, he continues to work and serve athletes at Clemson University who he cares deeply for. He has seen numerous internal medicine specialists, oncologists, and is now pursuing testing for Lyme Disease. Over the course of the last 8 months he has had dozens of blood tests that revealed abnormal white and red blood cell counts, extremely high levels of iron, and abnormal liver enzyme counts. He was diagnosed with Hemochromatosis which is a disease where iron builds up in your organs because you cannot process it out of your body like most people. The toxins lead to chronic fatigue, joint aches, insomnia, confusion, nausea, weight loss, etc. that Chris lives with daily. The high level of iron and possibly another underlying medical condition has also left his liver damaged.

Chris was referred to an oncologist due to the abnormal test results. In November, they performed a bone marrow extraction to test for leukemia. That came back negative so back to the drawing board.  His iron levels have come down a little due to biweekly blood donations that are required to slowly rid his body of iron. However, the chronic symptoms have not subsided and have actually become worse. There are days in which Chris struggles to get out of bed due to the myriad of symptoms, including chronic fatigue. They just performed an ultrasound and liver biopsy to test for Lymphoma, and the results were sent to Johns Hopkins University Hospital for consultation. His specialist said it is the most baffling case he has ever seen, and the doctor is also consulting with the Cleveland Clinic and Mayo Clinic.

Chris will now be traveling to the Mayo Clinic in Florida to see a liver specialist and up to Pennsylvania to see a Lyme Disease specialist, both requiring plane trips. He has already spent almost $8,000 on out of pocket medical expenses not covered by his basic health insurance plan. Now that he will be traveling consistently to see other specialists, the costs will continue to rise even before getting a true diagnosis.

As his family, we asking for any help you can give to offset some of the medical expenses he has already incurred as well as the future costs for treatments. Chris is one of the most kind hearted, generous people we know who is always putting others before himself. Let’s rally around him and help find the cause of his life changing ailment. Please pass this along to others, and we ask for your prayers that a true diagnosis and course of treatment is found very soon. Thank you in advance for your generosity!