Corey Martin's Memorial

Update: Corey passed away last night, May 30th, 2024. Please help us raise money for Amanda and her family to fund the memorial services. This is the second memorial Amanda has had to pay for in as many years, let's help her and her family as best we can through this impossibly difficult time.

Here is their story.

Hello friends,

My name is Marc, and I'm here on behalf of a very dear friend of mine, Amanda Martin, widow to my late best friend, Cortney Steven Martin. Together they have four children, and this story is about their oldest son, Corey.

Corey is still fighting Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia (ALL) and has been with incredible courage since October 2023. I’ll start with where we’re at now, and if this story is new to you, please continue reading the original story.

Where we’re at now:

Corey just returned home after nearly six months in Johns Hopkins Childrens Hospital; he’s been there since December due to a blood clot in his brain. Corey survived that blood clot, and one in his lungs, and has endured the most intense chemo- and immunotherapies a young man’s body can handle. This young man is unbelievably strong. I was there with Amanda, his grandmothers and aunt during a visit in December. We all have been blessed to experience this young man’s courage, his strength, his faith. He’s still receiving chemo twice a day at home, taking heavy steroids, and receiving medicine to make him more comfortable. Corey goes to outpatient therapy every other day to receive additional blood support.

Corey is fighting for his life and refuses to give up; Corey’s endurance is inspiring. Speaking of endurance, Amanda has worked tirelessly, always by Corey’s side, but never forgetting to give herself to her other children, CJ, Amaya, and Camden. Let us not forget that the passing of Amanda’s husband Steve, the father of these four children, happened two years ago this June. Corey is surrounded by loved ones and receiving as much positive energy from everyone thinking about him, hoping, praying, caring. Loving.

You all have been so generous already. The best thing you can do now is share this story and reach out to Amanda and Corey if you know them personally and offer your warmth and support. Write notes to them here of encouragement, hope and prayer. If you choose to donate again, thank you. Your support helps Amanda and her family through this incredibly difficult time, and money should not be something they worry about when the most important thing is family.

The original story:

About two years ago, one of my best friends from high school lost his life, leaving behind his wife and their four beautiful children. Courtney Steven Martin, known better as Steve, died unexpectedly - the cause was a lung infection due to covid. Many of you opened your hearts and donated generously to Steve's wife, Amanda, and those funds helped her and her family through that incredibly difficult time with the funeral and lawyer fees just to get back on track. That generosity gave them hope that others would care for them in their time of need. We are all still grieving the loss of Steve, but for Steve and Amanda's family, another fight for survival is underway.

Corey, their oldest son who is now 20, was diagnosed in October 2023 with Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia (ALL). This form of blood cancer typically occurs in early childhood, but for Corey, it's happening now. Corey has spent most of his time since diagnosis in the hospital undergoing the induction phase of chemo, spinal taps, bone marrow biopsies, and surgery. His first trip home resulted in a massive blood clot from the injection site where chemo was administered, and he was then returned to the hospital for observation, followed up by surgery and more chemo. Corey is now home again and beginning the consolidation phase of treatment. Going into this round we're going for that knockout punch to get ALL this cancer out of his body. He self-administers his chemo injections several times a week in addition to a weekly spinal tap. Chemotherapy is miserable. Corey is losing his hair, has very little energy, suffers migraines and feels nauseous all the time. Corey is in the fight of his life, for his life.

Insurance only covers so much for Amanda, a widow, and now single mother of four. Her deductible for 2023 was maxed out for Corey, and 2024/2025 will be no different, as the treatment plan for Corey is not measured in weeks or months, but years. Corey is in the good hands of those miracle doctors at John Hopkins, which is over two hours away from where Amanda and her family live. She still needs to care for her two teenage children and her youngest child, Camden, who is only three.

My goal here is to give Amanda's family some comfort by helping pay their insurance deductibles and day care services for Camden while Amanda focuses her attention on saving her oldest son's life. Being a single mother of four, still grieving the loss of her husband, and trying to figure out how to finance her family, all while fighting for her oldest son's life... Need I say more? Please donate what you can.

Here is some information about ALL. https://www.cancer.org/cancer/types/acute-lymphocytic-leukemia/about/what-is-all.html