Hi everyone! As you may or may not know, I was diagnosed with an extremely rare autoimmune disorder 11 years ago, defined as Pure Red Cell Aplasia. What that really means is my own immune system is killing my own healthy red blood cells.

This means that for the past 11 years I have had to get a red blood cell transfusion every 3 weeks to stay alive, supplying me with donated healthy oxygenated red blood cells, starting at Boston Children’s Hospital and now Dana-Farber. That accounts for over 600 blood transfusions.

Ultimately this treatment has done its job to keep me alive, but along the way countless attempts to cure the auto immune disease have failed. My liver is now suffering from the side effects of getting so many blood transfusions over the years, creating severe iron overload and permanent damage. This leaves me with one last option for an attempt at long term health.

So now, April 2026, I will be undergoing a full Stem Cell Bone Marrow Transplant. This is a very dangerous and a lengthy procedure that consists of chemotherapy, radiation, lots of different medication and 2 years of full recreation and rehabilitation of the immune system. I will be out of work for 1-2 years as a result and require lots of professional medical aftercare to remain safe throughout the process.

Navigating this health journey hasn’t been easy, but having this support system makes the road ahead feel much more manageable. Every contribution- whether a donation or a share- gets me one step closer to transplant and recovery.

Thank you for listening! <3