Help for Herman
Herman and Kevin Roach are amazing men, and for those of us blessed enough to call them friends, we know how wonderful and loving they can be. For years, Herman has been battling cancer and on December 1, 2015 he began a new journey to not only help prolong his life, but also improve it's quality. Neither of them would ever ask for it, but they need our help, love, and support.
Kevin, ever the selfless person and supportive son, will be accompanying his father along every step of the journey. In order to do this, he is having to take off work, drive back and forth from Mt Vernon, IN to Saint Louis, MO, and will also be providing care for his father after the procedure. The amount of money lost along with the medical costs that will arise during this process could be detrimental. 
Everything they have ever done for us, I would like to return tenfold. Every little bit will help, and if you are not able to donate, please share this with as many people as you can. Let's get the word out! Herman and Kevin are so deserving of our support and it would mean so much to show them just how much they are loved.
Here is a brief explanation, in Kevin's own words, of what will be happening over the next few months.
"This will be a long one, but if you are close to either me or my father, stay with me until the end. Many of you already know this, but It is at his request that I am posting this publicly .
My father, Herman Roach, will be receiving a bone marrow transplant this coming month. This is something we've known about for quite awhile. It was always something that would be "eventually necessary," and that time has come. It is a procedure that has a high success rate, and can "prolong a patient's life 10+ years or so."
We found out in the summer that his medicine was losing its effectiveness, and so we began a new weekly treatment of chemo to boost his cells back up. We were told that the process would begin "somewhere around the end of the year, or the start of next year." They never gave us a more defined time frame. They couldn't with this type of cancer. Three weeks ago we got a call saying that it needed to happen as soon as possible, preferably right after Thanksgiving. We leave Tuesday for the first appointment in St. Louis.
This type of transplant does NOT require a donor. They will be using his own stem cells. I'm not 100% on the specifics, but I know It will go like this:
We will go to St. Louis TUESDAY, December 1st, for an all day appointment to run tests, go over the procedure, and set appoints. We will return home, then go back in a week or two to begin the extraction process. For that, they will pull stem cells from his own body, and he will remain hospitalized for about five days in St. Louis. He will probably have a port installed. Then we will return home. Finally, in about ten days, we will return to St. Louis one final time. He will be given a dose of chemo so strong, it will obliterate his immune system. They will then take his stem cells that they 'cleaned' and put them back into his body. He will remain hospitalized there for around a month. When he finally returns home (probably towards the end of January), he will need to take it easy for 90 days.
This has been weighing on my heart so much lately. If I've seemed distant, quiet, or just more anxious than usual, this is why. The next couple months will mean many trips back and forth to St. Louis, and many days off work, as I will remain with him as much as I possibly can. I'll be honest, I'm stressed about the loss of income and what it will cost for all the driving, personal bill payments, etc. I'm concerned about the ability to facilitate things at home should my mother have another seizure or ailment. (My brother will be maintaining the home front, caring for her, as well as working full time, but her 'issues' can be a handful. Should something serious arise, I may have to help him, via phone, facilitate what is to be done.) Finally, I'm just worried for Dad. It's no surprise to anyone that he and I have a close bond, and to see him go through this will exhaust me.
I just wanted everyone to be aware. This is my life for the next couple months. My employers have been understanding and all acting/directing projects have been put on hold until we get through this. They say a journey like this begins with one step, one toe in the water...I'm trying not to let it drown me. I will hopefully only say this once, and it's cathartic to admit it:
I'm very scared right now. About so much.
As Dad would say, quoting his favorite poem: "But I have promises to keep. And miles to go before I sleep. And miles to go before I sleep."
I love you. Remember us.
-K"
