Hello friends, family and kind souls,

It is with a heavy heart to inform everyone that my partner of 8 years and I have recently encountered an immensely life changing event. Just a week into the new year, Soa (pronounced sue) had been feeling under the weather with high fevers, fatigue and light-headedness. What seemed like a normal cold soon turned out to be the scariest time of both of our lives. On January 26, 2025, Soa was hospitalized due to dangerously low hemoglobin levels and anemia. During this week-long hospital stay, many tests were performed ranging from MRI scans to pathogenic tests. One of the tests performed demonstrated a high number of immature blood cells which brought up questions if it was a sign of leukemia. After multiple nights of anxiety and waiting, on February 18, our worst fear was confirmed. The hematology team informed us of two mutations in his chromosome from his bone marrow biopsy. The oncologist classified his illness as high-risk Myelodysplastic Syndrome (MDS) that could eventually develop into Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML).

Soa has lived a normal, healthy life for the past 23 years. He is a brother to 9 siblings, a son to 2 parents and friend to many. He continues to show up for his people and brings laughter and joy to the table. For the past 8 years that I have known him, he has always radiated positivity and compassion. In many ways, he has brought people together through his warm and welcoming nature. Aside from his social life, he enjoys and embraces the beauty of nature. It is Soa’s lifelong goal to visit and hike all 63 national parks. He is a person who enjoys traveling and discovering new foods and cultures. Due to his illness, our life plans had to come to a pause.

Our everyday lives are impacted by his illness. Due to the cancer enlarging the spleen, he feels nauseous on most days. He often loses his appetite which then leads to improper nutrition and weight loss. Within this past month, he has lost over 20 lbs. In addition, he has lost the ability to stand or walk for long periods of time due to fatigue and light-headedness. All of these symptoms have caused us to shift how we live our daily lives and adjust to what our new normal is.

The change from a two-income household to one has drastically changed the course of our lives. From the everyday cost of living to future medical bills to housing and groceries, the financial burden is becoming overwhelming. With all of this said, I humbly ask for your support in this new and unexpected journey.

Any donation, big or small, is greatly appreciated and will make a meaningful difference as we all join together to help Soa fight this cancer and get our lives back on track.

Thank you everyone who has read our story, we are deeply grateful for all of your support and kind words.

From the bottom of our hearts, we thank you for supporting us in this difficult time ❤️