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James fight against a rare Leukemia

Have you ever said something that months later became more of a reality than you ever intended? "2017 will be the year of change!" That's what I told my husband James, in January. We both started new jobs, got new vehicles (well new to us), it seemed like life finally gave us that push to success. I felt that all the struggles were finally coming to an end and we were finally going to have stability for us and our daughter. Or so we thought. 
On June 24th we received news that my husband James might have leukemia. We went to the emergency room because he was having deep purple bruising and some minor hip pain that had been going on for about two weeks, but he works as an electrician so this is not uncommon.  So blood was drawn, tests were ran and the confirmation of leukemia was an absolute devastating blow.  While in the hospital, the hematologist ordered 25 tests to be done to determine what exactly we were dealing with. July 6th was our first visit to the hematologist to get answers, but instead we ended up not getting any closer to the answers we needed. The hospital had "lost" the one blood sample that would give our doctor the answers he needed to make a diagnosis. They had to redraw blood and run the test, but he reassured us that he didn't think it was an acute leukemia, because "he would be dead or close to it" if that was the case. I remember asking in sheer disbelief "it's that progressive ?!?," and he just nodded. So we took a deep breathe , this wasn't the worst case scenario that it could have been. 
July 13th,  we sat in front of the hematologist as he went over the blood tests with us. He goes on to explain that James has two genes, one that has already mutated, and if the other has , then he will have acute myeloid leukemia. This is the type the doctor had assured us he didn't believe it was. The doctor ordered a bone marrow biopsy to see exactly what was happening with the other gene. So the biopsy was done and we were again waiting for the results.
I have broken down so many times at this point, more than my husband some how, I don't know how he's so strong but I am literally beside myself, speechless and I feel broken, so how must he feel? My soul aches for what he is soon going to endure. I broke down one night and prayed, it's all I had, faith, I have nothing I can give to this situation, except faith in my God. I got peace from praying that night, I can't explain it but I'm glad I did, it helped prepare me for our next visit with the doctor.
Chronic Neutrophilic leukemia. 
A very rare leukemia, only 200 reported cases. The doctor told us that acute myeloid leukemia, as aggressive as it is "would have been a better scenario ". He advised me not to look it up on the internet because there is so little information on it and what is out there is not good. He doesn't know me very well. I looked it up and he was right, but I still have my peace, I know what the Lord can do for James. His only chance for a cure is to have a bone marrow transplant, chemo will not irradicate this cancer but they started him on chemo anyway as a way of doing something , anything, while waiting for insurance, paperwork, and the DNA testing to go through. I honestly don't expect much from this gofundme page but anything is a blessing.   The donations are going to go towards medical expenses, bills, medications, anything and everything that wil have to do with his treatment. 
If you are reading this and can't donate monetarily, please I if you believe in God, please pray for James' recovery. I will lose all of my worldly possessions to pay these medical bills, but I cannot lose him and neither can our 10 year old daughter, Ava. So, I ask that you at least pray for him, put him on a prayer list at church, anything, and if you can donate, thank you. I don't know the road we are about to go down but I know it will be hard, anything anyone can offer is that little boost of encouragement to know we are not alone. Thank you for taking the time to read James story.

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Donations 

  • Linda Lewis
    • $50 
    • 6 yrs
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Organizer

Tina Perry
Organizer
Jacksonville, FL

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