Support Blake's Battle Against Lymphoma

Dear friends, family, and kind-hearted supporters,

We are reaching out to ask for support for Blake, my best friend and bright light of our family, who was diagnosed with Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma in the brain. Since April, Blake has been unable to partake in activities of everyday life. For 4 months, she was unable to eat any food due to constant nausea, which forced her to be on FMLA from her work as a teacher for the American School for the Deaf in West Hartford. In addition, she had plans to complete her teacher-certification program to be a fully certified special education K-12 teacher to support students with significant needs, but that's been paused for the time being.

Blake has received support from friends and family, especially her mother - Jacqueline Futtner, father - Kenny Decoteau, and her dedicated boyfriend - Derek Coburn. She has just begun the start of her cancer treatment at the Smilow Cancer Center at Yale Hospital, New Haven.

Her treatment will be intense - she will have to be in the hospital every other week to receive the strong chemo drugs and then outpatient the other weeks to receive the typical chemo drugs. Because of the intensive treatment, she is unable to work. Right now, treatment is expected to last between 9 months to a year, with the second phase of treatment involving a stem-cell transplant.

We appreciate your time, thoughts, prayers, and any contribution no matter the amount. All funds will go towards medical bills and any shortfall in living expenses.