
Help Greg go for the Gold!
Hello all,
My name is Brooke Menke the granddaughter of Greg VanStechelman. My sister, Camryn Menke, and I would like to share a story about our Papa, Greg VanStechelman, who was diagnosed with stage 4 Leukemia in 2020.
During the fall of 2020, Greg went in for a work physical. A few days later, his doctor called to inform him he was a very sick man. They ran blood work during the physical and noticed the results were very concerning. A few weeks later, Greg was diagnosed with Leukemia. Fortunately, he lives in Florida, and was able to seek care at one of the top blood cancer centers in the United States, Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa, Florida.
He was hospitalized during October into November for approximately 30 days. During this time he received several chemo treatments and blood transfusions. Overall he faired pretty well considering chemo treatments are never easy for anyone. It was hard going through this during the COVID-19 Pandemic and not being able to see him or visit him.
Once released from Moffitt, he was faced with a big decision, how to extend his life expectancy living with Leukemia. The doctors strongly suggested a bone marrow transplant. After careful consideration, the decision was made to add Greg to the bone marrow transplant registry list and find a donor. Within a few months, a donor was found and he had the transplant the week of Easter 2021. Again another 30 days stay at the Moffitt Cancer Center. This was by far the more challenging event. Many days were hard, but Greg kept faith in those caring for him and stayed positive. After his release, each week he was required to travel back and forth from his home (one hour each way) to Moffitt for blood work and testing. This went on for another 60 days.
Greg is now 90 days out from his bone marrow transplant and is feeling significantly better. The bone marrow biopsy looked promising. Our family is thankful for the wonderful staff at Moffitt Cancer Center for taking such good care of our papa and helping him through all steps in the process.
Please consider donating to aid in hospital bills and travel expenses that unexpectedly impacted our Nana and Papa.