Help Maxfield Winer Fight Cancer!

This is Max. He shreds on skateboard. A rock star on snowboard. He’s generous with his wry and sparkling sideways smile, he’s a great friend and he’s a superhero to the many lucky little kids in his life. He’s Chomsky’s best buddy and Megan and Herman’s truly amazing son. Max is musical, kind, positive, intelligent, compassionate and creative.

Max is also a 16-year-old with cancer. B-Cell Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia to be specific. He has a long fight ahead and his family needs our help.  

In early March, Max was uncharacteristically run down, out of breath just walking around. A diagnostic doctor visit spiraled into a progression of tests and referrals, and an alarming hemoglobin level of 2.9 (normal is 12), which prompted an emergency pick up from high school and a trip to OHSU Doernbecher Children's Hospital, where he was checked in to the cancer unit. After a bone marrow biopsy, a long succession of blood transfusions and days of waiting, Max was diagnosed with B-Cell Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL). After a week in the hospital Max was released on March 15th to go home. Chomsky was overjoyed!

Max has already begun chemotherapy and steroid pills and will undergo regular weekly chemo treatments for three years. That’s 1,095 days, one day at a time. ALL is a pediatric blood cancer with a very high cure rate, but the journey will be rough and the family will need our help all along it. And yes, Max will lose his hair. But it will grow back! And so will his spirit. No doubt about it, this is a horrible situation. But if you know Max, Megan or Herman, you know what remarkable humans they are. They are generous with their joy, time, creativity and love. This will be an adjustment for all of them as they look for the temporary new normal.

Many have asked how they can help and this is one of the simplest and most direct ways. Please donate now to help relieve some of the stress and help make up for lost work hours so they don’t have to worry about necessities like co-pays and transportation or ordering food when everyone is exhausted. All of the money donated will go directly to Max's parents, Jason Winer (aka Herman Jolly) and Megan Pickerel. Please share this with their friends, your friends, or friendly millionaires looking to help. Let’s do all we can for Max, Herman and Megan during this difficult stretch. Prayers and well wishes are also very appreciated from the family. Thank you all!