Hello, everyone! Sara here, Vanessa's sister.

It's hard to put into words the reality of the last several weeks.

My little sister is fierce. If you know her at all, you know she has a knack for the details while at the same time possesses the ability to see the big picture while also seeing every possibility and managing to plan for it. She skillfully uses these talents in her management work, while maintaining humanity and humor.

She has always been a support for others—she is a deep feeler, very protective and practical. Now, she's the one that needs some help.

After a weekend of mild fever and extreme fatigue, Vanessa was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia (AML). AML is rare and accounts for only about 1% of all cancer occurrences—even more surprising is the fact that this particular cancer generally affects men in their late 60s and older.

Given that the aggressive nature of AML needs to be met with equally aggressive treatment, my sister has been receiving inpatient chemo and support since the end of September. If all goes well, she'll get a small break and get to go home for a week before phase 2 begins.

All of this means that her financial needs have increased while her wages have decreased. She has not been working since this began and most likely will need to continue resting through the end of the year at least. We want her to be able to focus on getting well and not worrying about how to make ends meet—and while we aren't sure exactly how much help she will need long term, we want her to be around to worry about it, so we need to start somewhere.

Every little bit helps. Please consider supporting Vanessa so she can return to supporting others. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

If you are interested in reading a little more about Vanessa's journey, you can visit her Caring Bridge site.