Help Fund Jesse's Bone Marrow Transplant

First, in case you don’t already know him, a little about my brother-in-law, Jesse Barrett. I know, I know, it is funny that I share my name with Matt’s older brother. We actually have an ongoing dispute, which originated in his best man toast, over who is the better Jess(i)(e). If you do know Jesse, this is not surprising as he loves to goad everyone. He is brilliant and hilarious; a lightening quick wit and a terrific, booming laugh. He and his wonderful wife, Erin, live in Spokane with their awesome kids, Addie and Oliver, who are 17 and 14, respectively. My kids adore him and quote funny things he says and does all the time. When I think of all our memories of holidays and travels and sharing in life’s biggest moments, I feel profound gratitude and love.

Second, the reason I’m creating a GoFundMe. About two months ago, Jesse called to let us know he had been to the ER with acute pain in his abdomen. He learned that his spleen, which is usually about the size of an apple and located in the upper left abdomen under the ribs, had quadrupled in size and now nearly reached his navel. A bone marrow biopsy later confirmed our worst fears, and he was diagnosed with Myelofibrosis, a rare type of bone marrow cancer. If you’ve never heard similar words out of the mouth of someone you love, please count your blessings and I truly hope you never do. Since then, we’ve tried to learn as much as we can while Jesse has begun medication to reduce some of the uncomfortable symptoms and undergone a ton of tests to determine the best course of action. Waiting was hard, but we recently learned that his team at the Seattle Cancer Care Alliance is recommending he receive a bone marrow transplant. I’m no doctor (as if the apple comparison didn’t clue you in already), but basically this means he will undergo high doses of chemotherapy or radiation or both to kill off the bad stem cells in his marrow. Next, he’ll be given donor stem cells that will eventually take over growing his blood cells. Though an arduous process that can be dangerous, especially because his immune system will be rendered completely vulnerable, this option offers the most hope as successful transplant recipients are essentially then cancer free.

So, he has a long road ahead but is approaching it with the kind of positivity and strength that are putting him in line for the best Jess(i)(e) title. There are still a lot of unknowns. We are currently awaiting the results to see if Matt is a match to donate marrow. Even siblings have only a 25% chance to meet all of the 12 markers for doing so, but Matt is really hoping to be able to lord it over him and says that Jesse will thereafter have to do anything he asks. Joking aside, we really hope that Matt will be a match, but if he is not, there is a life-saving registry of people who have donated (more on this below) and hopefully one will be a perfect match. Then there are the knowns. We know that he will have to travel away from his family to Seattle for the treatment and transplant. We know that he will need to live in Seattle for a month prior to transplant and that treatment can last anywhere from a few months to half a year or more. We know that his family will want to be able to be with him as often as is possible and safe. We know that the expense of treatment is stressful even in the best circumstances.

We are hoping that through GoFundMe, we can ease some of the burdens that Jesse and his family are facing. Please join us in supporting them as Jesse focuses on beating cancer. Even if you do not donate, please take a minute to consider donating your marrow or blood stem cells to save someone’s life. If you are between the ages of 18-44, please sign up at https://my.bethematch.org/.