Brent's Fundraising Page
Donation protected
Brent Portman has a huge heart. He volunteers to help animals through ARF (Animal Rescue Foundation - ARFlife.org) and kids in our community through the Junior Giants (JRGiants.org). He would do anything for these, and other organizations, that he has a huge passion for. He spends countless hours in service to these community groups.
He does this in spite of some major health issues that are becoming more severe because he can't afford life-saving treatments, and there is a shortage of needed blood during the summer.
When he was in high school he had cancer 4 times. This totally destroyed his immune system so he is barely able to fight off infections. He was receiving IVIG therapy (Intravenous immunoglobulin) every week. For this, millions of people donate blood that provides a variety of platelets for cancer patients like Brent.
Unfortunately, his Medicare Insurance stopped paying for the IVIG, so from January until March, he was not getting any treatment. This caused pain, weakness and illness. In April, they decided that they would pay for the treatment every 3 weeks. By then, Brent's numbers were very far down, making it almost impossible to fight off infections. He was very sick in May and part of June but started to improve a little because of treatments every-three-weeks. However, Stanford and other hospitals around the country ran into a nation-wide shortage of blood, which happens every summer, making obtaining treatments even more difficult.
But Brent will be able to receive treatment every two weeks now, assuming more blood is donated (people can donate in his name, and those pints go into his "bank" for future treatments). Unfortunately, the twice-monthly treatments will cost $400 a month since a home health nurse will now be administering them. He is on permanent disability and he and his family is struggling to afford the life-saving treatments.
We are asking for any donations, little or large, to help Brent who does so much for our community. We'd like to keep him and his passionate, kind heart around for a long time. Thank you!
And if you'd like to give blood, check with the Stanford Blood Bank (https://stanfordbloodcenter.org/donate-blood/) or your local Red Cross Blood Bank and ask if you can give in Brent's name.
He does this in spite of some major health issues that are becoming more severe because he can't afford life-saving treatments, and there is a shortage of needed blood during the summer.
When he was in high school he had cancer 4 times. This totally destroyed his immune system so he is barely able to fight off infections. He was receiving IVIG therapy (Intravenous immunoglobulin) every week. For this, millions of people donate blood that provides a variety of platelets for cancer patients like Brent.
Unfortunately, his Medicare Insurance stopped paying for the IVIG, so from January until March, he was not getting any treatment. This caused pain, weakness and illness. In April, they decided that they would pay for the treatment every 3 weeks. By then, Brent's numbers were very far down, making it almost impossible to fight off infections. He was very sick in May and part of June but started to improve a little because of treatments every-three-weeks. However, Stanford and other hospitals around the country ran into a nation-wide shortage of blood, which happens every summer, making obtaining treatments even more difficult.
But Brent will be able to receive treatment every two weeks now, assuming more blood is donated (people can donate in his name, and those pints go into his "bank" for future treatments). Unfortunately, the twice-monthly treatments will cost $400 a month since a home health nurse will now be administering them. He is on permanent disability and he and his family is struggling to afford the life-saving treatments.
We are asking for any donations, little or large, to help Brent who does so much for our community. We'd like to keep him and his passionate, kind heart around for a long time. Thank you!
And if you'd like to give blood, check with the Stanford Blood Bank (https://stanfordbloodcenter.org/donate-blood/) or your local Red Cross Blood Bank and ask if you can give in Brent's name.
Co-organizers (2)
Kelly Adams
Organizer
Sunnyvale, CA
Brent Portman
Beneficiary
Carolyn Lutticken
Co-organizer