Help Austin Defeat Leukemia!

On Feb. 23rd, 2013... Austin (my son) was diagnosed with pre~B Cell Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia. He was treated in Lafayette, LA by the wonderful Dr. Morad at Women's and Children's. Austin beat the Leukemia after 3 1/2 years of chemo and had been in remission for almost 2 years. The profile picture was taken when he was 16. He is 22 now, and fighting a tougher version of the ruthless cancer... Philadelphia chromosome-like acute lymphoblastic leukemia (Ph-like ALL). Up until recently, there were limited treatment options available and the prognosis was very poor. Fortunately, Austin is going to receive the very first Car-T treatment at UC Health Anschutz  provided by Novartis called Kymriah  since it was approved earlier this year. All other treatments were in trials. This has given us much hope for Austin's future... however, the prognosis is still poor. The Kymriah treatment is one of the most expensive protocols to date. Thankfully, my employer-provided insurance will cover most of the burden. But, the "out of pocket" expenses on a half million dollar treatment are staggering to a single income household. In January of this year, I reluctantly accepted a position in the same company but in a different department. The move has turned into a blessing because the support from my new coworkers has been nothing short of amazing. But, the move restructured my pay and, without previously guaranteed OT, my annual gross income will now be $20,000 less a year. Also, I am Austin's sole financial supporter and immediate caretaker when he isn't in the hospital. I do have help from his older sister (Erin) and mother (Julie). But, Erin has 2 toddlers and Julie lives in Louisiana and is raising Austin's little sister (Haley). His mother cared for him the first time he fought Leukemia.... now it is my turn. She has traveled here to Denver once already and plans to return soon. The previous bout with Leukemia has left him with severe AVN (avascular necrosis) in both knees and hips. Once a thriving soccer phenom, he now is a candidate for a total knee and hip replacement. He has been unable to work since he was first diagnosed. I don't know if I needed to provide all that info. And, I didn't give much thought to the dollar amount of the goal. I just typed a sequential number to expedite the posting process. I really didn't want to focus on the overwhelming financial burden of battling leukemia when writing this summary. And yes, i realize that is an obvious contradiction to the purpose of this website. This is all new to me and I expect anyone reading this has already read a dozen other pages just like it. Everyone knows that fighting cancer is expensive. And yes, help with medicals bills would be a blessing. I would think that would be a given on a page like this. But right now, all I want is for my son to be happy and hopeful for the future. I had planned on buying him a gaming computer for his birthday which was on Sept 21st. I wasn't able to fulfill that promise. So, if anyone has used gaming desktop to get rid of... or spare parts... or even knowledge of pc gaming components... I would like to build him a gaming desktop and could use all the materials and advice anyone has to offer. I think that would put a smile on my son's face... a smile I haven't seen in a long time. If you are still reading this, thank you for your time and any good thoughts you may have for my son Austin. And if you are in a similar situation, I pray your goals and dreams are realized beyond your wildest expectations. Blessed be.