On August 18th, just 2 days after returning home from a family trip, we were hit with a curveball when our dad (Pat Burton) was diagnosed with Acute Myeloid Leukemia.

He’s currently at Siteman Cancer Center in St. Louis where chemo began immediately after his diagnosis. We're now entering the third week of treatment, which is expected to continue for up to 2 more weeks. Once he is released, multiple trips back to STL with additional hospital stays will be required through the consolidation phase of his treatment. While he has a long road ahead, we are believing for complete recovery and remission.

Our mom (Tammie) has stayed by his side through treatment, and the rest of us have commuted back and forth to make sure they have all the support they need to get through this.

We have been overwhelmed by the outpouring of love and support shown to dad by our friends and family. Many have asked how they can help at this time. Our focus from day 1 has been dad's health and recovery. We want that to remain our focus without financial stress creeping up as a distraction. While insurance will cover the bulk of his medical expenses, additional treatment-related expenses continue to add up while they are both away from work.

If you are in a position to help financially, any contribution would be a tremendous relief for our parents and our entire family.

Please continue to keep our family — especially our mom and dad — in your thoughts and prayers.

- The Burton Family