On August 30, the Taggart family received devastating news. Our son, Jack, would be fighting leukemia for the fifth time. He was first diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) at age 8. He endured 3.5 years of chemotherapy and was off treatment for 18 months before his first relapse at age 13. He received a bone marrow transplant from his younger brother in 2017 and spent several months in isolation. A year later, he developed side effects from his treatment and needed a total hip replacement at age 14. Ten months after his surgery, Jack’s cancer returned again. He received CAR-T cell therapy with hopes of achieving a lasting remission. The following year, while his ALL was still in remission, Jack learned that he had developed a secondary blood cancer (MDS) due to all the treatment he had received. So Jack underwent a second bone marrow transplant in September 2021, with his brother once again as his donor, and began his senior year of high school in the hospital. This summer, Jack was looking forward to beginning college and getting a fresh start. He had his one-year post-transplant biopsy at the end of August and was devastated to learn that he had relapsed yet again. Jack moved into his dorm the next day, with the plan to attend college while fighting cancer for the fifth time. Throughout September and October, Jack attended classes and lived in the dorm while also having appointments for spinal taps and bone marrow biopsies, taking oral chemotherapy, and having surgery to have a central line placed in his chest for CAR-T therapy. Jack began four days of conditioning chemo infusions on November 1 and then was hospitalized for his CAR-T cell infusion on November 7. He had grade 3 cytokine release syndrome and neurotoxicity from his infusion, but he narrowly avoided a trip to the PICU this time. After 11 days in the hospital, Jack returned home in isolation, where he will remain until his immune system recovers enough to return to campus. He has regular weekly follow-up visits and labs with his oncologist and weekly nursing home care visits. Last week Jack began his life-long Hizentra infusions to replace the antibodies his body will no longer make because his CAR-T cells are programmed to kill all of his B cells. For the first month after treatment, Jack must have someone with him 24 hours a day, and he cannot drive for eight weeks since neurological effects may still occur. Here is a link to Jack's CaringBridge if you'd like to follow his story: Caringbridge.org/visit/JackTaggart

It is difficult and humbling for us to ask for help, but after ten years of living in the world of pediatric cancer, we've learned that no one can do this alone. We are so grateful for all the support our family has received. Jack will have significant, life-long medical expenses as he is followed for signs of relapse and long-term side effects of such prolonged chemotherapy and radiation treatment. Your contributions will help him start his independent adult life unburdened by medical expenses, and for that we are so grateful.