My name is Kaity Clark. My dad, David, was diagnosed with MDS (blood cancer) back in June of 2025 after routine blood work showed an extreme lack of white blood cells. The nurse from his doctor's office called him at home that night and insisted he head to the ER because of how low the levels were. After many tests and days in the hospital, he was referred to Roswell Cancer Center in Buffalo, NY. At Roswell, he was given the news of his diagnosis, MDS or Myelodysplastic Syndrome. In MDS, the blood stem cells do not become healthy blood cells or platelets. These immature cells do not work as they should; they usually die soon after entering the bone marrow. This leaves less room for healthy cells if the body is producing any at all, drastically increasing the risk for infection. Without healthy white blood cells to fight infections, this can be a very scary and life-threatening matter. My dad has started chemotherapy and will continue to be on chemotherapy until hopefully, he can have a stem cell transplant. The chemotherapy will act as a band-aid so that MDS does not progress into leukemia (hopefully), but the only cure for MDS is a stem cell transplant. That is where we are asking for the help and generosity of friends and family.

To be approved for the stem cell transplant, David first has to undergo a lot of genetic testing, which means trips to Buffalo often. The biggest kicker is he is mandated to stay in Buffalo for 60 days post-transplant. The first 5 days will be in the hospital, but after that, he is required to find lodging and his own full-time caregiver. His daughter, Hannah, has agreed to be his caregiver as he will need to go back to the hospital for monitoring post-transplant every day, then every other day, until he is stable enough to continue to decrease the monitoring trips and eventually go back home. We are asking for help to cover the cost of lodging estimated at about $6,500. The medical bills to follow the hospital stay and transplant itself (total unknown at this time) and also maintain the bills at home while he is out of work and recovering from the transplant. David is a single father of 4, and while his children are grown, he has many grandchildren that would like to continue to make memories with their Papa. It has been an extremely rough couple of years for David. He lost his brother and best friend to suicide right before Christmas 2023. His eldest son passed shortly after in April 2024, and most recently, his mother in June. My dad is an extremely private person; he is not one to ask for help, show emotion, and most definitely not one to accept charity. We are all scared for what the future holds and can only hope and pray the stem cell transplant works and his body accepts the new cells. Please consider donating to help save his life and ensure his grandkids get to grow up with their Papa.