Hi, my name is Ben Kollock and I've been battling cancer (AML Leukemia) since early 2014 with my wife Katie by my side every step of the way. In July of 2014 I received an unrelated donor stem cell transplant which kept my cancer away for 4.5 years, but then against all odds, it returned. I had a 2nd unrelated stem cell transplant in April of 2019. This kept me cancer free for over 2 years, but again, it returned. I began treatment immediately and achieved complete remission, but had to continue a monthly maintenance chemo. We did this for the past year, and then Katie and I finally took time to take a few weeks off to visit some of our favorite national parks out west. During our trip, I began bleeding from my mouth without reason, my body quickly filled with bruises, and I was extremely fatigued. We cut our trip short, returned to Stevens Point for blood work, and were given devastating news. My leukemia was back, I was in critical condition, and we needed to head to the ICU in Marshfield to hopefully get me stable enough to begin treatment.

We are not ones to typically ask for help. With all the treatments over the years, long hospital stays, follow up visits, medications, etc., we have all our medical debts in payment plans, but there are many expenses that insurance does not cover. With this most recent cancer relapse, our expenses are now crushing us and pouring over what we can handle. We were just recently transferred to Froedert Hospital in Milwaukee which is where I'm writing this from in my hospital bed. Our main concern and focus should be starting an intense chemo treatment tomorrow, 08/24, to hopefully get me back into full remission, but the mountain of medical debt we have is just making things so much worse.

Katie is a school teacher and will be taking some time off to help take care of me and get me on a path to full health again. We hate having to ask for help, but at this point we've exhausted all other options. I love life so incredibly much and will be fighting my hardest every day so we can return to our home in Stevens Point and contribute to the betterment of our community every chance we can. Anything anyone can help us with, even $5, helps us travel to appointments, keep our bills from going to collections, and will help us focus on beating cancer and getting back to normal life again. All the love from Katie and I to you and your families ❤️