Fight Lymphoma with the Ahlstrom's

Joseph is a typical teenager. His favorite colors are blue and black. He likes video games. He likes cheeseburgers and pasta. He likes to bowl and read and build with Legos and do photography. And he likes to go to school. Yes, though he might not have admitted it before, he loves to be at school with his friends, learning.

But Joseph isn't like every other teenager now. He has Hodgkin's Lymphoma. He hasn't been able to go to school and learn and be with friends since March 4. It wasn't planned. He didn't know it was going to happen to him. It just did.

Joseph has a family--a dad, a mom, and a younger brother. They are like any other family, too. Except now they are a family who has a teenage son going through chemotherapy for Hodgkin's Lymphoma. It wasn't planned. They didn't know it would happen to them. It just did.

 But there's hope! Joseph has completed two rounds of chemotherapy and has three MONTHS of it left. The doctors say it's working. Despite setbacks along the way and having to return to the hospital several times, he has remained positive and is looking forward to returning to school in the Fall. He wants to see his friends and continue learning with them. 

Until then, the Ahlstrom family is facing many hurdles. One big hurdle is the day-to-day expense of having a child in-and-out of the hospital.  Another is caring for him when he is confined at home, isolated from the public.

While working full time, both parents are trying to maintain a normal schedule for their 6th grade son and still provide the best care possible for Joseph.  Taking time off from work is difficult and the Ahlstroms are doing their best to tag team care, while burning the candle at both ends.  Sometimes, it is difficult to make ends meet.  

The smallest of expenses add up quickly when you are faced with a child in and out of the hospital.  With many people giving just a little bit,  it can add up to a WHOLE LOT of help for Joseph's wonderful family!