Christys Transplant

In  2009 , my wife Christy was diagnosed with stage 4 Non Hodgkin's Follicular Lymphoma. Testing revealed that her bone marrow consisted primarily of abnormal cancer cells.  Though her chances for survival were extremely low, Christy gave everything she had to fight back. The chemo regimen that she needed to save her life was pretty harsh on her body. Christy developed chemo induced peripheral neuropathy which severely damaged her nerves. Damaged nerves make it difficult for Christy to do everyday simple tasks like walking. It also causes her severe pain throughout her body.  Though these treatments were necessary to keep the Lymphoma at bay, they also took a toll on her body. Christy suffered through serious medical complications such as kidney failure, multiple blood clots in her lungs and legs. She also had developed a severe case of shingles which caused encephalitus of the brain, seizures and complete loss of sight in her left eye. Each time, she showed perseverence and fought her way back to health. In December 2016, she finally received news she longed to hear...Remission. Unfortunately the good news did not last long. Instead of relapsing with Lymphoma again, she was diagnosed with AML Leukemia.  Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is an aggressive cancer of the blood and bone marrow. We learned that some of Christy's past chemo treatments were linked to causing AML Leukemia. Doctors feel Christy's only true chance of beating this Leukemia is to have a Bone Marrow transplant.  Our daughter Kelly intends to be her donor. Christy has gone through her first three induction chemo rounds. The doctors expect that she will need 1 more round which should begin in early February.  During this time, various in depth testing is being done at John Hopkins. This testing is all part of the normal protocol before beginning a transplant. Christy and I will need to find her temporary housing which is located close to John Hopkins. It is the hospital's policy that a Bone Marrow patient stay close to the hospital (the closer the better) so they can manage and treat any sudden fevers and infections that should arise. It is extremly important that she get to the hospital as quickly as possible as she will have a weakened immune system that will not be able to fight off these things on its own. We live an hour and a half away, which is way too far to be suitable. This campaign will help fund the costs of staying in suitable housing close to John Hopkins hospital in Baltimore, as well as the many other expenses that transplant patients incur. We are trying to raise these funds as quickly as we can so we are not caught off guard. If you can donate anything towards this transplant, we will be most grateful. We will only use these funds for the transplant. If for some reason Christy is unable to go through with the transplant, we will gladly refund your donation.  Some of you may not know us. If you need verification this is a legitimate fundraiser, we can provide transplant information to you. Thank you in advance for your time. This is an extremly exciting yet scary time for us. We are hopeful for a life without cancer and all its nasty side effects  looming. We appreciate any donation you can spare.