Help Alex Stein beat Leukemia!
On April 29th 2021, Alex was brought to urgent care in Portland, Oregon after weeks of persistent fevers, fatigue, leg pain and unexplained bruising. The doctors initially suspected sepsis in his leg, but within hours he was being rushed to the hospital as his kidneys started to shut down. We were told by the attending doctor that they were not sure he was going to make it through the night, his condition had deteriorated so rapidly and without explanation. It was a shocking turn of events for Alex- a previously healthy man who played rugby for 30 years and withstood a handful of serious injuries.
Thankfully, Alex DID make it through that night. After several days of tests, he was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL), an aggressive form of leukemia that's common in children but extremely rare in adults. This leukemia attacks the bone marrow, and Alex's platelet counts were so low his blood had lost the ability to clot. To complicate the diagnosis further, he tested positive for a genetic mutation called the Philadelphia chromosome, which causes blood cancers to grow rapidly and uncontrollably. The oncology team quickly started Alex on a combination of steroids, chemotherapy, and a kinase inhibitor to target the gene mutation, in hopes of getting the cancer under control.
On top of the aggressive leukemia, Alex contracted pneumonia while in the hospital, and within a couple days had to be sedated and put on a ventilator in order to get enough oxygen to his body. He was kept on the breathing tube until it became unsafe to continue, due to the chance of permanently damaging his vocal cords, and a tracheotomy was performed to assist with his breathing until his vitals stabilized. All told, he spent 45 days hospitalized until he was finally stable enough to be released to home care.
If you know Alex, you know he's a strong, compassionate man with a huge heart. And he's a fighter. This is literally a fight for his life, and it is not going to be an easy one. Although the cancer is currently in remission, he will need to undergo a bone marrow transplant within the next 6 months to give him a better chance of long term survival. Until then he needs to be closely monitored and undergo chemotherapy to keep the cancer cells knocked down.
We are asking for financial support to help Alex tackle his medical costs. He had just started a new job a couple months before he was hit with this health crisis, and at this point it will be many months before he's able to fully return to work. While he is lucky to have health insurance, the costs of monthly COBRA payments, medications, co-pays, home care etc. are quickly adding up.
Alex turns 47 in November. We want him to see his kids grow up, to hang out with his friends all around the world, maybe even get out on a rugby pitch or a dancefloor again. And we want him to know he’s loved and taken care of the way he has loved and taken care of many of us over the years. There’s endless gratitude and a huge bear hug from Alex at the end of this journey. Please help get him there.
