Help Blair Recover Safely and Comfortably at Home
Donation protected
Hi, readers. Some of you may know us and our family, some of you may not; we are Hayli and Hannah, and our big brother Blair (age 34) was diagnosed in May ‘2020 with a form of cancer called Myelodisplastic Syndrome.
Here is what you need to know: this diagnosis came after nearly 6 years of Blair fighting a bone marrow failure disease called Aplastic Anemia - a disease that effects less than 1,000 people in the US every year. On December 24th 2013, Blair was admitted to Baylor hospital in Garland and diagnosed with Aplastic Anemia. Within weeks, he was transferred to MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, where he spent most of the next year of his life receiving treatment, medications, and hundreds of life-saving blood and platelet transfusions.
Although Blair did reach a point where he was well enough to rejoin society for several years, his disease has now advanced to a type of Pre-Acute Myeloid Leukemia cancer (one of the most aggressive forms of Leukemia) called Myelodisplastic Syndrome, or MDS. As of today, he has finished 4 rounds of chemotherapy, and is scheduled to receive a bone marrow transplant on December 23rd. This will be his new birthday.
Bone marrow transplants are one of the most trying and difficult times the patient and their loved ones will ever go through. For all intents and purposes, it is a highly-calculated and dangerous death and resurrection. Blair will undergo a week of the most intensive chemotherapy on the planet in order to kill his own bone marrow before having donor marrow transfused via IV. This upcoming hospital stay is expected to last 45-100 days. Hospitalization is in almost complete isolation, and is a very dark, emotional, confusing, painful, and helpless experience. Eventually, he will be cleared to continue recovering at home. This is when the family steps in. The recovery area must have structured sanitization routines, have special accommodations built-in, and support staff to assist with care. This intensive out-patient recovery period will likely last for months, due to the high risk of infection and complications.
This process is not an easy one, and is one that our family is prepared for in some ways, and not in other ways - as most would imagine. My sister and I are scared for the life of our brother; my nephew is worried for the life of his uncle; my parents are worried for the life of their son.
In order for Blair to have a safe place to recover from his bone marrow transplant, we are asking for financial support to renovate the back portion of our mom’s house into a room where Blair can recover safely. The room was previously a sound-proof studio, so it has good bones, but needs cosmetic and structural additions to make it not only safe for physical recovery, but a place Blair can emotionally rehabilitate from the trauma of nearly losing his life.
As Blair’s family, we desperately want Blair to recover in a place that is safe, beautiful, and emotionally life-giving; a place where he can wake up and fight for his life, as well as fight to heal emotionally from what a difficult past nearly 7 years it has been; a place where he can put this sickness behind him and look forward to the birth of a new life, without illness.
All in all, we hope to raise $12,000. This should cover the cost of additions to the room where he will recover, as well as help pay for in-home medical care that Blair will need when family is not able to care for him. The back room is in need of a bathtub with railings for safety, a sink for hand sanitizing and washing, a high-quality air filtration system, and (if funds provide) a window, so that Blair can see the outside from the room which he will inhabit (nearly isolated) for months to come. There will also be other incidentals that are needed - things you can’t plan on, but these in-home care costs are the highest priority.
Please consider donating to the necessary accommodations that must be made to help Blair recover safely and comfortably. It would mean the world to us.
With Deepest Thanks,
Hayli and Hannah (sisters), Pam (mom), Gary (dad), and Nolan (nephew)
Here is what you need to know: this diagnosis came after nearly 6 years of Blair fighting a bone marrow failure disease called Aplastic Anemia - a disease that effects less than 1,000 people in the US every year. On December 24th 2013, Blair was admitted to Baylor hospital in Garland and diagnosed with Aplastic Anemia. Within weeks, he was transferred to MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, where he spent most of the next year of his life receiving treatment, medications, and hundreds of life-saving blood and platelet transfusions.
Although Blair did reach a point where he was well enough to rejoin society for several years, his disease has now advanced to a type of Pre-Acute Myeloid Leukemia cancer (one of the most aggressive forms of Leukemia) called Myelodisplastic Syndrome, or MDS. As of today, he has finished 4 rounds of chemotherapy, and is scheduled to receive a bone marrow transplant on December 23rd. This will be his new birthday.
Bone marrow transplants are one of the most trying and difficult times the patient and their loved ones will ever go through. For all intents and purposes, it is a highly-calculated and dangerous death and resurrection. Blair will undergo a week of the most intensive chemotherapy on the planet in order to kill his own bone marrow before having donor marrow transfused via IV. This upcoming hospital stay is expected to last 45-100 days. Hospitalization is in almost complete isolation, and is a very dark, emotional, confusing, painful, and helpless experience. Eventually, he will be cleared to continue recovering at home. This is when the family steps in. The recovery area must have structured sanitization routines, have special accommodations built-in, and support staff to assist with care. This intensive out-patient recovery period will likely last for months, due to the high risk of infection and complications.
This process is not an easy one, and is one that our family is prepared for in some ways, and not in other ways - as most would imagine. My sister and I are scared for the life of our brother; my nephew is worried for the life of his uncle; my parents are worried for the life of their son.
In order for Blair to have a safe place to recover from his bone marrow transplant, we are asking for financial support to renovate the back portion of our mom’s house into a room where Blair can recover safely. The room was previously a sound-proof studio, so it has good bones, but needs cosmetic and structural additions to make it not only safe for physical recovery, but a place Blair can emotionally rehabilitate from the trauma of nearly losing his life.
As Blair’s family, we desperately want Blair to recover in a place that is safe, beautiful, and emotionally life-giving; a place where he can wake up and fight for his life, as well as fight to heal emotionally from what a difficult past nearly 7 years it has been; a place where he can put this sickness behind him and look forward to the birth of a new life, without illness.
All in all, we hope to raise $12,000. This should cover the cost of additions to the room where he will recover, as well as help pay for in-home medical care that Blair will need when family is not able to care for him. The back room is in need of a bathtub with railings for safety, a sink for hand sanitizing and washing, a high-quality air filtration system, and (if funds provide) a window, so that Blair can see the outside from the room which he will inhabit (nearly isolated) for months to come. There will also be other incidentals that are needed - things you can’t plan on, but these in-home care costs are the highest priority.
Please consider donating to the necessary accommodations that must be made to help Blair recover safely and comfortably. It would mean the world to us.
With Deepest Thanks,
Hayli and Hannah (sisters), Pam (mom), Gary (dad), and Nolan (nephew)
Organizer
Hayli Gage
Organizer
Arlington, TX
