Help Dkoa Walk Comfortably Again

Thank you to everyone who generously donated to the Jones family in the original campaign in 2020. While Dkoa's 12-month scans were clear, he is struggling with his donated prosthetic leg. A new prosthetic is not covered by Dkoa's insurance, so the Jones family is trying to raise $50,000 to help Dkoa live his life to the fullest. Dkoa's dad, Evan, writes:

"Cancer resonates.

We have all been affected by cancer directly or indirectly. We all have known someone. Oftentimes, it is someone in the distance. A person we knew a bit, they were in my English/math class. Relatives that lived states away. They were an echo in our mind and likewise the emotions we feel. And rightly so.

I was this person caught only in the distant fringes of the web of cancer.

Autism was this way for me as well. The extent of my knowledge of Autism was the movie 'Rain Man'. Watching Dustin Hoffman mutter "Judge Woppner. Judge Woppner" and "This is not my underwear" was the extent of my exposure to Autism. And then Dkoa was diagnosed with Autism when he was 6 years old. Luckily for me, I was the son of a retired K-4 teacher with a special education emphasis. My mother promptly told me to educate myself. She sent me many books on Autism. We learned and coped as a family and the education gave us the tools to help Dkoa.

When I heard the word Osteosarcoma, I knew nothing, but like a good son I went to Amazon and typed in the mysterious word. There was very little information on this disease and nothing close to the library for Autism. A major factor in that is OsteoSarcoma is rare. Depending on which website you reference there are only 500 to 1,500 cases of Osteosarcoma a year in the United States and over half are in children under the age of 20. This disease is not hereditary and they have no conclusive reasoning why the growth plates in the long bones of the legs suddenly start growing erratically and form these tumors (the majority of Osteosarcoma cases are found in the long bones of the legs but can form in other parts of the body: shoulder, pelvis, ankle, feet).

Dkoa was diagnosed with Osteosarcoma on December 10th, 2020. We were told the same day with almost 100% certainty that he would need an amputation of his right leg above his knee to save his life. We got a second opinion to be sure this was the best course of action. The tumor had grown too big, too fast to save his leg. Cancer was here. The distance cut, sound cranked all the way up, shaking our world until the foundation groaned.

So, on March 3, 2021, Dkoa had his leg amputated above the right knee.

After surgery, we continued through the 32+ weeks of chemo and Dkoa persevered like a champion or as he likes to quip, "Like a gamer."

A new journey began in August of 2021, the prosthetic journey. Sadly, Dkoa's insurance does not cover any costs for a prosthetic. We were fortunate to have a prosthetic donated to us. Dkoa has put his head down and worked. He has slowly improved his strength, stamina, and flexibility in his short leg. The reality, however, is that the prosthetic we have is too old, too heavy, too stiff and the knee does not bend properly for Dkoa to get the functionality he needs to live his fullest life. The price for a middle-of-the-road prosthetic is $50,000. We are coming to you in hopes of support to reach this goal.

We appreciate your consideration and as always we are thankful for your thoughts and prayers.

Evan, Paula, Dkoa, Quaid and Nava Jones"