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The Backstory- Not his first Rodeo
At age 15, after injuring his arm during a baseball game, thats when it first started. First we were told his arm was broken, then, "no, it's not broken", then the other arm started hurting, then he was sent to Doernbecher Childrens Hospital 130 miles away. His parents were told "something is eating his bone". They ran tests there, and on June 3rd, 2011, Cody was diagnosed with ALL (Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia).
He spent the next 3.5 years fighting. Hospital stays at Doernbecher, lots of chemo, countless tests, many days home sick from the treatments. He missed a lot of school due to appointments and being sick, but most of them simply under doctors orders to not even go in public. Potential exposure to any germs was too risky for him during his treatments. Cody didn't let it keep him from completing his school assignments though, and he worked hard to graduate on time with his class at Crow High School in 2013. It was heartbreaking to have to sit out on many basketball games, missing so many times hunting and fishing, but he pushed through it with a positive attitude. He got back out there way sooner than any of us expected, he even harvested and packed out a spike bull elk the day after one of his chemo treatments! He didn't let it keep him down, and he amazed us all with the way he worked through it all. September 2014 was his last treatment, and we all breathed a sigh of relief on October 9th, 2014 when they removed his chest port. He did it. It was over.
THE NEWS
After his previous 3.5 year fight with Leukemia (2011-2014), every so often Cody was going in for blood tests to check and ensure that he is still healthy. In April we began to worry as his blood counts came back low. The doctor said it could have been from a recent cold and ordered another blood test 1 month out. Again, the counts were low. 1 month retest was done 4 times total, april, may, june, and july, each time his counts had gotten lower, and talk about possible bone marrow damage from his previous chemo treatment was mentioned. After the 4th low count result, he underwent a bone marrow biopsy on July 12th, 2018. Cody had done this before, but before he was considered a child, so they put him under. This time, they did not. The procedure was painful, but nothing compared to the results. 4 days later, on July 16th, 2018, we received the gut wrenching news, Codys' Leukemia is back. A relapse of Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia. White blood cells in their early form are called "blasts". The doctor said he likes to see those at 5% or less. Cody is at 80% blasts. His first diagnosis hit him and his family hard, but to fight through it for 3.5 years, think it's finally over, and then 3.5 yrs later get hit with a relapse diagnosis.... I can't even explain how hard this has hit. He is facing harsher Chemotherapy this time, many months of treatment, and I listened to the doctors prediction of a 50/50 chance at a full cure. CD-19 is a marker they like to see, and Cody DOES have that. They have new treatments that can target that specific protein, so that is good news.
Cody is age-wise in a gray area for whether he would be treated in the child treatment program, or the adult treatment program, but the doctor says the child program would be the best. It is a more aggressive treatment, but has a higher success rate. He would need to have testing done on his blood and heart to determine if he can qualify for a research program that would allow him to be treated in the pediatric program at Doernbecher Childrens Hospital, as he was last time. Cody got a one day break (his 23rd birthday) before heading to Doernbecher on 7/18/18 for the tests.
The test results did qualify Cody for the pediatric treatment program. He alsoqualifies for the Car-T treatment, BUT there is a possibility he may not need it. Everything will depend on how this first 3-4 weeks goes, and how his leukemia responds to the treatment. The whole treatment could take about 2 years, it all depends on how his leukemia reacts. His Doernbecher doctor has high hopes for him and believes he will respond well, which was very good to hear. Obviously there are risks, she says they are less than 10%, but they are still there, and she is going to be very preventative with those risks, mostly of infection. If he doesn't need the Car-T treatment by the end of the first 3-4 weeks of chemo, then that's the best outcome, because that means he is in what they call a "deep remission", meaning his Leukemia responded well to the chemo and they can just continue with chemo and other medicines. It's not necessarily a bad thing if he does need the Car-T though, because it's still a good treatment. Cody will go back on Monday 7/23/18 to have a port inserted into his chest and have a bone marrow aspiration to prepare for his treatment. They will also do a spinal tap and inject chemo directly into his spine. We will know more after this initial 3-4 weeks but she is very hopeful and positive.
Who is Cody Tripp?
Cody is one of 4 boys in his family, one being his twin, and 2 older brothers. He's grown up in Crow as part of the Veneta community, graduating from Crow High School in 2013. He is an all-around sportsman and most enjoys spending his time outdoors. An avid fisherman, skilled bowhunter, and loves shed-hunting, scouting, etc. His family is all very close and the Tripp brothers are all best friends and lifelong hunting/fishing partners, always spending time together out in the woods. His girlfriend Andrea has been a huge part of his life for over a year now, and her family has become a whole second family to him. He has a lot of close people that love him and are ready to help him fight this!
The Tripp family has been long-time members of our Veneta, Oregon community and are involved in different parts of your lives. His mom is in her 13th year of serving your kids lunches @FRMS, one older brother plows snow from and repairs the roads out here that you drive daily, another brother works to protect our local wildlands from fires. Cody himself and his twin brother work for our local West Lane Tree service, clearing trees after storms, etc. His girlfriend is a medical assistant in our local doctors office. One sister in law used to deliver your mail, the other one created and managed the facebook group Veneta Community Network that serves over 3.5k community members. The Tripps are VERY much a part of this little community, living, working, and serving among you all, and now we are needing your help. Please keep Cody and his family in your thoughts and prayers as we help him to fight through this!
How YOU can help
Cody does have private health insurance through his job, but he will still have out of pocket costs, as well as tons of lost wages, travel expenses, etc. His family will also (in order to be there with him as his hospital stays and treatments will be 130 miles away from home).
There is an account set up at Banner Bank in Veneta where monetary donations can be dropped off, simply say its for Cody Tripps medical fund. I am setting up this gofundme account not only to ask for donations, but to also get the word out and keep everyone updated on all the fundraisers we will have to financially help him through this tough time. We are already working to plan a yard sale fundraiser, a car wash, and a papas pizza event, so stay tuned! I know $ is tight for many of us, even if you cannot donate $ there are still many other ways you can help! We would greatly appreciate donations for our yard sale event, and items OR services for door prizes, drawings, and a silent auction for during our papas pizza event, or help washing cars/holding signs for our car wash! Or maybe you have other ideas for us!
Most of all, everyone, please keep Cody and his family in your thoughts and prayers. This is beyond tough, and it's not going to get easier any time real soon. Pray for Cody for his strength, physically and emotionally, and for his body to respond as well as possible to this treatment and recover quickly. Pray for his family that they can all gather around him, stay strong and positive as they care for him and help him through the rough days ahead. Pray for wisdom for the doctors.... lots and lots of prayers, please!
Please, SHARE!
Right now as you finish reading this (and thank you so much for taking the time to do so), please, share this link on your page, and/or in groups that will allow it(and thank you in advance for doing so!). Sharing this is a huge help! The more people that share this, the more the word will spread, and the more successful our fundraising can be!
At age 15, after injuring his arm during a baseball game, thats when it first started. First we were told his arm was broken, then, "no, it's not broken", then the other arm started hurting, then he was sent to Doernbecher Childrens Hospital 130 miles away. His parents were told "something is eating his bone". They ran tests there, and on June 3rd, 2011, Cody was diagnosed with ALL (Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia).
He spent the next 3.5 years fighting. Hospital stays at Doernbecher, lots of chemo, countless tests, many days home sick from the treatments. He missed a lot of school due to appointments and being sick, but most of them simply under doctors orders to not even go in public. Potential exposure to any germs was too risky for him during his treatments. Cody didn't let it keep him from completing his school assignments though, and he worked hard to graduate on time with his class at Crow High School in 2013. It was heartbreaking to have to sit out on many basketball games, missing so many times hunting and fishing, but he pushed through it with a positive attitude. He got back out there way sooner than any of us expected, he even harvested and packed out a spike bull elk the day after one of his chemo treatments! He didn't let it keep him down, and he amazed us all with the way he worked through it all. September 2014 was his last treatment, and we all breathed a sigh of relief on October 9th, 2014 when they removed his chest port. He did it. It was over.
THE NEWS
After his previous 3.5 year fight with Leukemia (2011-2014), every so often Cody was going in for blood tests to check and ensure that he is still healthy. In April we began to worry as his blood counts came back low. The doctor said it could have been from a recent cold and ordered another blood test 1 month out. Again, the counts were low. 1 month retest was done 4 times total, april, may, june, and july, each time his counts had gotten lower, and talk about possible bone marrow damage from his previous chemo treatment was mentioned. After the 4th low count result, he underwent a bone marrow biopsy on July 12th, 2018. Cody had done this before, but before he was considered a child, so they put him under. This time, they did not. The procedure was painful, but nothing compared to the results. 4 days later, on July 16th, 2018, we received the gut wrenching news, Codys' Leukemia is back. A relapse of Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia. White blood cells in their early form are called "blasts". The doctor said he likes to see those at 5% or less. Cody is at 80% blasts. His first diagnosis hit him and his family hard, but to fight through it for 3.5 years, think it's finally over, and then 3.5 yrs later get hit with a relapse diagnosis.... I can't even explain how hard this has hit. He is facing harsher Chemotherapy this time, many months of treatment, and I listened to the doctors prediction of a 50/50 chance at a full cure. CD-19 is a marker they like to see, and Cody DOES have that. They have new treatments that can target that specific protein, so that is good news.
Cody is age-wise in a gray area for whether he would be treated in the child treatment program, or the adult treatment program, but the doctor says the child program would be the best. It is a more aggressive treatment, but has a higher success rate. He would need to have testing done on his blood and heart to determine if he can qualify for a research program that would allow him to be treated in the pediatric program at Doernbecher Childrens Hospital, as he was last time. Cody got a one day break (his 23rd birthday) before heading to Doernbecher on 7/18/18 for the tests.
The test results did qualify Cody for the pediatric treatment program. He alsoqualifies for the Car-T treatment, BUT there is a possibility he may not need it. Everything will depend on how this first 3-4 weeks goes, and how his leukemia responds to the treatment. The whole treatment could take about 2 years, it all depends on how his leukemia reacts. His Doernbecher doctor has high hopes for him and believes he will respond well, which was very good to hear. Obviously there are risks, she says they are less than 10%, but they are still there, and she is going to be very preventative with those risks, mostly of infection. If he doesn't need the Car-T treatment by the end of the first 3-4 weeks of chemo, then that's the best outcome, because that means he is in what they call a "deep remission", meaning his Leukemia responded well to the chemo and they can just continue with chemo and other medicines. It's not necessarily a bad thing if he does need the Car-T though, because it's still a good treatment. Cody will go back on Monday 7/23/18 to have a port inserted into his chest and have a bone marrow aspiration to prepare for his treatment. They will also do a spinal tap and inject chemo directly into his spine. We will know more after this initial 3-4 weeks but she is very hopeful and positive.
Who is Cody Tripp?
Cody is one of 4 boys in his family, one being his twin, and 2 older brothers. He's grown up in Crow as part of the Veneta community, graduating from Crow High School in 2013. He is an all-around sportsman and most enjoys spending his time outdoors. An avid fisherman, skilled bowhunter, and loves shed-hunting, scouting, etc. His family is all very close and the Tripp brothers are all best friends and lifelong hunting/fishing partners, always spending time together out in the woods. His girlfriend Andrea has been a huge part of his life for over a year now, and her family has become a whole second family to him. He has a lot of close people that love him and are ready to help him fight this!
The Tripp family has been long-time members of our Veneta, Oregon community and are involved in different parts of your lives. His mom is in her 13th year of serving your kids lunches @FRMS, one older brother plows snow from and repairs the roads out here that you drive daily, another brother works to protect our local wildlands from fires. Cody himself and his twin brother work for our local West Lane Tree service, clearing trees after storms, etc. His girlfriend is a medical assistant in our local doctors office. One sister in law used to deliver your mail, the other one created and managed the facebook group Veneta Community Network that serves over 3.5k community members. The Tripps are VERY much a part of this little community, living, working, and serving among you all, and now we are needing your help. Please keep Cody and his family in your thoughts and prayers as we help him to fight through this!
How YOU can help
Cody does have private health insurance through his job, but he will still have out of pocket costs, as well as tons of lost wages, travel expenses, etc. His family will also (in order to be there with him as his hospital stays and treatments will be 130 miles away from home).
There is an account set up at Banner Bank in Veneta where monetary donations can be dropped off, simply say its for Cody Tripps medical fund. I am setting up this gofundme account not only to ask for donations, but to also get the word out and keep everyone updated on all the fundraisers we will have to financially help him through this tough time. We are already working to plan a yard sale fundraiser, a car wash, and a papas pizza event, so stay tuned! I know $ is tight for many of us, even if you cannot donate $ there are still many other ways you can help! We would greatly appreciate donations for our yard sale event, and items OR services for door prizes, drawings, and a silent auction for during our papas pizza event, or help washing cars/holding signs for our car wash! Or maybe you have other ideas for us!
Most of all, everyone, please keep Cody and his family in your thoughts and prayers. This is beyond tough, and it's not going to get easier any time real soon. Pray for Cody for his strength, physically and emotionally, and for his body to respond as well as possible to this treatment and recover quickly. Pray for his family that they can all gather around him, stay strong and positive as they care for him and help him through the rough days ahead. Pray for wisdom for the doctors.... lots and lots of prayers, please!
Please, SHARE!
Right now as you finish reading this (and thank you so much for taking the time to do so), please, share this link on your page, and/or in groups that will allow it(and thank you in advance for doing so!). Sharing this is a huge help! The more people that share this, the more the word will spread, and the more successful our fundraising can be!