Dear friends, family, and kind-hearted strangers,

We’re reaching out with heavy hearts to support two incredible people, Lura and Austin Smith, who are facing the toughest challenges of their lives. Lura and Austin are loving, hard-working, and generous individuals who have always gone out of their way to help others. Now, they need our help.

The only way I can convey their journey is to share a timeline as they have suffered heartache, life-fighting hospital stays for both of them, all while maintaining normalcy for their little boy Cruz. Between these dates of hospital visits, they have fought the anxiety, hope, loss of hope, side effects from treatment, and unexpected turns from both of their battles.

After a few months of severe pain in his lower back, Austin went to the doctor expecting to hear that it's normal aches and pains of being 39. On April 4th, Austin was diagnosed with Multiple Myeloma, a life-altering illness, and the medical expenses are overwhelming. This is a type of cancer that attacks your bone marrow. It was detected on his scapula, lower spine, and hip.

A few months in, Lura found out they are pregnant with a miracle baby. We are sad to say that this ended with her in the ICU and the cost of losing a baby is immeasurable.

April 17th, bone marrow biopsy and now the wait begins to find out next steps.

April 22nd, trip to the oncologist to discuss results and treatment plan that will begin as soon as insurance approves the plan of care. Austin is considered high risk due to the volume of a certain protein found in his blood and being an unusual patient as most diagnosed are anemic and have high calcium levels, and he does not.

May 2nd, another visit with the oncologist to learn about the chemotherapy and review the results of his recent PET scan. This showed multiple lesions in his pelvis, bilateral iliac crest, lumbar, thoracic, and cervical- and even 2 rib fractures caused by the cancer. Due to the discomfort in his neck, he will start radiation treatment in that area first. He has doctor permission to work if he can work through the pain (Austin owns his own company in Tallahassee, a pressure washing business).

May 6th, Chemo #1.

May 10th, Moffitt called, they have a cancellation and worked him in, have to travel to Tampa to meet the Multiple Myeloma Specialist. Dr. Blue reviewed Austin's current meds, treatment plan, and agreed they are heading in the right direction.

May 20th, Chemo #3.

May 28th, Chemo #4.

May 30th, Radiation Treatment on his neck begins, they will do this for 10 days in a row to help reduce the size of the lesions and in turn reduce the pain.

June 3rd, Chemo #5, they started with bloodwork to find out if the treatment is working, will likely be a few days to hear results.

June 5th, Results of bloodwork came back! His bad cancer cells went from 299 to 70! 20 and below is considered normal. Chemo and treatment is working!!!!

June 10th, Chemo #6, today was radiation followed by chemo, he is feeling relief from the radiation and his neck is feeling better. We are hoping this round of chemo will drop his cancer cells to a normal range so he will be eligible for the bone marrow transplant sooner than anticipated.

June 17th, Chemo #7, while his neck is feeling better, he is experiencing throat irritation which is a side effect of the treatment.

June 24th, Chemo #8.

July 2nd, Chemo #9, spent some time with a therapy dog Molly.

July 7th, Lura shares that she is pregnant!!!!! After a battle with infertility and once Austin starts treatment they can't have any more children, Lura finds out that days before Austin started chemo they became pregnant and they have a miracle baby due in January!!!!

July 11th, Made it to Moffitt Cancer Center to meet with the transplant team to learn about what to expect. This was a long day with 3 different doctors and lab work done. They want him to stay on his current chemo regimen for at least 6 cycles as he is responding well and it will give him a chance of staying in remission for as long as possible. The bone marrow transplant is still necessary as this type of cancer will come back at some point so the goal is to keep it at bay for as long as possible.

July 22nd, Chemo #12.

July 29th, Chemo #13, Austin's energy level is not where it has been and it takes a lot more effort to do what is necessary. He is still working but it is a struggle and he is pushing through.

August 12th, Chemo #15, got the call that while his cancer numbers are dropping, it's not as fast as they were in the beginning but heading in the right direction.

August 19th, Chemo #16, Austin has gained some weight back and is working as much as his body will allow.

August 26th, Chemo #17, this is a long day as he has to get labs done, meet with the oncologist, and then his chemo.

September 2nd, Chemo #18.

September 9th, Chemo #19.

September 11th, Lura gets devastating news and is referred to Shands to check on her pregnancy in the next week.

September 23rd, Chemo #21.

September 24th, Lura arrives in Tampa on their son Cruz's 5th birthday and goes to the L&D department surrounded by excited expectant mothers to say goodbye to their unborn son.

September 26th, after 48 hours of labor, Lura delivers their son. During the procedure, she was taken to the OR as she had ruptured her uterus resulting in extreme blood loss and after an exploratory laparotomy, she woke up in the ICU intubated and terrified. Their plan to say goodbye to Colt didn't go to plan and the team at Tampa General put together a memory box. Austin stayed by Lura's side with her mom stepping in when he had to step away for his chemo treatments.

October 3rd, after being sent home, Lura ended up back in the hospital from some post-ICU complications, her dad and little Cruz man came by to check on her.

November 1st, they tell Cruz they have to leave for over a month to go get daddy's bones fixed. If you know this family, they are tight-knit and this was excruciating for Cruz to be away from his amazing parents.

November 6th, Austin is no longer able to work and they have to announce that his business will be on hold until after he has recovered from his bone marrow transplant which can take months.

November 10th, Austin gets his first set of growth factor shots which will force his body to produce good healthy bone marrow. He will get these 4 days in a row. After that, he will get a central line placed where they will extract his bone marrow and then give it back after he is done with high-dose chemotherapy. The downside is that these shots cause major bone pain.

November 14th, Austin is hooked up to the Apheresis machine that is collecting his bone marrow for 6-8 hours so they get enough to not have to come back tomorrow.

November 17th, Austin is cleared for his next chemo.

November 18th, Today is chemo day, this is what they call at Moffitt a "chemo bomb." This is very strong and will kill any cancer that is left over in his bone marrow following the 7 months of chemo that he has already completed. This strong chemo will knock out his immune system and tracking for fever and infection is key. Lura is by his side journaling every vital and anything he ingests to help detect any infection that would need to be treated right away. Wednesday is transplant day!!!!

Why They Need Our Help

We can't control the pace of treatment or change what they have suffered but we can help alleviate the mounding financial burden from months of hospital stays. The medical bills, temporary housing, transportation, recovery expenses, etc. have placed a tremendous strain on their finances.

Despite the challenges, Lura and Austin have shown remarkable strength and resilience. However, no one should have to face this kind of hardship alone.

How You Can Help

We’re aiming to raise $20,000 to help cover the expected and unexpected costs of medical bills, rehabilitation, and daily living costs while they get back on their feet and fight. Every dollar raised will go directly to Lura and Austin to ease their financial burden and give them the peace of mind they so desperately need.

Here’s how your contribution can make a difference:

$50 can cover a tank of gas for travel to appointments.

$100 can help pay for groceries and basic needs.

$500 can offset a month of rent or essential bills.

No amount is too small, and every bit helps. If you can’t contribute financially, sharing this page with your network can go a long way in spreading the word.

Lura and Austin are overwhelmed by the outpouring of love and support from everyone around them. Your kindness and generosity mean the world to them and serve as a reminder that they’re not alone in this journey.

Thank you for helping us lift up two amazing people during their time of need. Together, we can make a lasting difference in their lives.