Help Mighty Mercer Fight Leukemia!

My name is Georgie and I am mom to Mercer! Mercer is a vibrant, sweet, and smart four year old boy. If you know him, you know he’s got a twinkle in his eye and a gorgeous smile always at the ready. He is loved beyond measure by his twin, his older brother, his mom, his dad, his blended family, and his extended family. He loves Spider-man and Lego and art, and he’s also battling B-cell Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia.

Mercer was diagnosed with Leukemia on November 26th, 2024 at BC Children’s Hospital (BCCH) in Vancouver after a few weeks of unexplained illnesses and low blood counts. He became an inpatient that day and has begun the chemotherapy treatment that will last for two full years. The first month is the most intense and the treatment also requires Mercer to remain in Vancouver until early summer 2025. He will then be able to return to Nanaimo and continue the remaining 16-18+ months of treatment by taking day or multi-day trips back to BCCH.

This is an incredibly long journey and it is going to have an immeasurable, lasting impact on his family. Because of the length of treatment, Mercer and I will be staying at Ronald McDonald House just a few hundred feet from the BCCH front doors. There we are able to play, cook, sleep, rest, socialize with other families, and have visitors! But life doesn’t stand still when a family receives a diagnosis like this — Mercer’s brothers Vance and Conrad will stay in Nanaimo with their dad Christian and his spouse Melissa, keeping their lives as close to “normal” as possible during this long season.

No family can ever be prepared for this type of upheaval and the shared goal of Christian and I, together with our families is to see Mercer kick leukemia’s butt and enter remission! There are going to be celebrations, visits, setbacks, holidays, travel, medical fees, unexpected costs, and so many unknowns on the journey ahead. We all know the road to recovery always has unexpected bumps. The very best way to keep the focus on the healing journey for Mercer is to reduce the burdens on the two households over the coming years.

Because Christian will be keeping life going with Vance and Conrad, I am able to become the chemo “pro” and devote all my best energies toward learning Mercer’s treatment protocols and all the new ways our families will have to adapt to our new life with medical devices, medications, terminology, and extra cleaning precautions. And because I will be living away from home and shouldering the bulk of the medical load, Christian is able to provide stability and hone in on the needs of Vance and Conrad and keep them comfortable and cared for in a regular routine as well as facilitating visits to see their brother in Vancouver. Both of us parents are determined to work in tandem in any way necessary to help Mercer put leukemia behind him!

If you choose to contribute to our cause— you will be easing the burden and stress on two homes caring for a sick child. There are so many challenges you encounter when the care a child needs is across the ocean. Even though this is just the beginning, we know there will be so many new and ongoing needs: extra and duplicate items for both homes; travel, housing and visitation costs for both families; extra groceries, food and meals for both families; dietary and precautionary changes to handle Mercer’s compromised immune system; lost wages for both homes as Mercer requires extra care; unknown and future medication and medical supply costs; and more things that we don’t even have on our radars yet. Two years minimum of treatment means we’re plunged into a new world where we are only beginning to learn what needs we will have and only a general idea of the timeline. We cannot minimize or eliminate those needs, but we can alleviate the stress and pressure in two households by asking for help which allows us to keep our laser focus on healing and wellness for Mercer and also his brothers.

Our communities have already rallied around us and we know that even though we could quietly attempt to shoulder this all on our own, opening up our situation to our broader communities provides an opportunity to be blessed, to help Mercer better than we could alone, and to ensure his brothers and everyone else in our families don’t suffer unnecessarily. And it shines a spotlight on childhood leukemia, childhood illness, and the incredible, tireless work of those who have dedicated their lives to curing sick kids.

Thank you so, so much for taking the time to encourage us, pray for us, bless us, care for and uplift us, and help us financially as we all journey alongside Mighty Mercer on his path to remission from leukemia!

You can find updates here and even more details and info on his website—

www.mightymercer.com

On behalf of Mercer and our families, thank you so much!

-Georgie