Cancer survivor now fights for son

Tommy Brown is a 5-year-old little boy, facing what no child should have to endure: cancer. Not only in himself, but also in his mother, grandmother, and previous generations. Unbelievably, Tommy is now the fifth generation in his family to receive a cancer diagnosis. Tommy has Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL). His mother, Judy, has beaten breast cancer numerous times; most recently in 2017 after undergoing a double mastectomy and difficult rounds of chemotherapy. His grandmother also had breast cancer resulting in a double mastectomy. To make matters worse, Tommy’s father, Tom, has recently been experiencing mysterious heart issues leading to frequent episodes of passing out. He has been admitted to the hospital regularly, undergone multiple tests, and still has not received a diagnosis. It has been overwhelming as a relative to watch this humble family’s world get swept out from under them time and time again in the last few years. It all started when Tommy became sick about a week before his diagnosis. He wasn’t feeling well and started acting sluggishly. Each day he progressively worsened until he was occasionally vomiting. Things took a sudden turn when he began to vomit blood. He was immediately taken to a local hospital, where they were informed he was bleeding internally and needed a life flight to a children’s hospital right away. While en route to the helicopter, Tommy’s dad passed out right there in the parking lot from his continued heart problems. He was left behind to be admitted as a patient as his son and wife continued without him. When Tommy arrived, the staff ran tests and found for certain that he had Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia. He was quickly rushed to surgery and has been undergoing weekly chemotherapy since. Although recently released from the hospital to recover from the comfort of his home, this is only the beginning of his new way of living. Tommy must complete chemotherapy for the next 3 years intermittently. Despite dealing with all this chaos, I cannot express the mental and spiritual toughness this family possesses. They have fight in them and respond to life’s curveballs with humor and grace. But if I am being completely honest, they do not have what it takes financially to get through these turbulent times. What they need more than anything right now is relief from the medical bills that they were already drowning in before Tommy joined the ranks of the seriously ill. Tommy's family knows he can beat this! All of us who know and love him are full of hope, as his survival chances are very good; about 90%. But, what we do ask is that you please consider serving this family, so they can receive some much-needed monetary support as they navigate through these financial challenges. We have so much faith that everything will be okay, and are eternally grateful for this community of caring individuals who contribute to the needs of Tommy and his family.