Help Angela Fight Like a Girl

 Angela Bartholomew is 34 years old and is battling her third round of Acute Promyelocytic Leukemia (APL), a very rare form of leukemia. Angela was first diagnosed with this at the young age of 30, her daughter was a year and a half old. She fought hard and overcame it. She was in remission for almost a year when she started feeling ill again, Christmas time 2012; she was again diagnosed with this horrific disease.

Angela is an artist and a wonderful mother to beautiful 5 year old Bella. Angela, while in the hospital and at home, has completed several art pieces that she has sold to help pay for her mounting medical bills. Angela is married to Dave, whom is a Coal City, Braidwood, and Braceville firefighter and paramedic, helped with the Morris EMA and is former Military. Angela is currently unable to work due to her many treatments as well as her low immune system. Dave currently has 4 jobs and does everything he can to support his family. Even with Dave’s income and Angela's painting income, the family is still struggling to get by. 


 Benefits were held to raise funds for this beautiful family. But those funds were quickly diminished as Angela had a bone marrow transplant right afterwards and was hospitalized for quite a long time. This type of transplant can take a year to recover from. In fact, she wasn’t even fully recovered yet when they found the leukemia again for a third time. Angela is currently undergoing several different chemo treatments that will lead up to another stem cell transplant.

This disease has completely drained the family financially. They need help, not only with medical expenses but also with simple household expenses. Without the help of others, Angela and her husband are going to have a very difficult time giving their daughter a Christmas.