Help Erin Lawton Seboldt focus on her fight

Employees of the City of Germantown pride ourselves on being a close-knit group. Some of us consider our co-workers to be a part of our extended family. And so, when two of our own are affected by the unexpected and devastating illness of a family member, we circle the wagons. You see, Erin Lawton Seboldt is the wife of Germantown Police Officer Joe Seboldt and the daughter of our City Administrator, Patrick Lawton. She is also a beloved teacher at Houston High School and mother to Lily, age 5, and Oliver, age 2. And while they are usually the ones helping others out, at this point in time, they could use our help.
 
On Friday January 4, after weeks of feeling rundown and the sudden appearance of large odd bruising, Erin went to the minor med thinking maybe that she had a virus that just wouldn't go away. After receiving the initial results of a blood test, Erin was immediately referred to the Emergency Room where the blood test was repeated. The second test revealed that Erin’s blood count was extremely low in all three areas, red cells, white cells and platelets.  That night Erin received blood transfusions and was admitted to the hospital. By Monday Erin had been admitted to the Intensive Care Unit and her doctor had diagnosed her with Acute Promyelocytic Leukemia. She spent the next two weeks in ICU. 

Erin’s treatment consists of a strict regiment of chemotherapy multiple times per day as well as additional blood and platelet transfusions to maintain her still depleted levels.  As the treatment takes effect her body should begin to produce its own blood cells again but until then she will continue to feel weak. She was released from the ICU on Friday, January 17, but remains in the hospital. By the time she is able to leave the hospital (hopefully in the next couple of weeks) she should be in remission. However, even after leaving the hospital Erin will still have six to seven months of daily chemotherapy ahead of her. As you can imagine, Erin does not feel like receiving visitors and is not able to use her phone at this time due to some complications with her vision.

Throughout this whole ordeal Erin has displayed an immense amount of strength and perseverance. She is determined to beat this and get back to her normal life. Family members are constantly by her side and are working together to assist Joe in caring for the kids, keeping the house in order and stocking the fridge. Where we can all help is in pitching in to help replace the salary that she is missing and with the medical bills that are surely coming. This will go a long way to relieve some of Erin's stress so that she can use all of her energy to fight her illness.