Help Nick and Diana with Medical and Living Costs

Help Nick and Diana Barbella with medical and living expenses as Diana must temporarily take family medical leave to care for Nick full-time during his recovery and continued treatment related to multiple forms of cancer he has been dealing with for nearly 4 years.

Nick was diagnosed with large B-cell lymphoma, forcing him to take a leave of absence for treatment and eventually have a bone marrow transplant. After returning to work for some time, he was more recently diagnosed with T-cell lymphoma, a more aggressive form of the disease. He recently underwent a stem cell transplant and must live in temporary housing very near the hospital with his cancer specialists and treatment team. Diana is staying with him there.

Many family members and friends have helped along the way, but it has reached a point where his wife, Diana, has had to take family medical leave to help Nick full-time. As a result, neither Nick nor Diana are actively earning employment income. Over this time, they have exhausted their savings from several decades of working as public educators, all while regular living expenses continued and medical expenses have created additional burden.

Nick and Diana were extremely reluctant to have this GoFundMe shared, but this financial burden has grown and will now be exacerbated as Diana must go on temporary unpaid leave to assist Nick in his recovery and treatment full-time.

All proceeds raised from donations will go to paying medical bills and basic living expenses. Funds will go directly to Diana Barbella and be used exclusively for medical bills, mortgage, electricity and utility/water bills. This is intended to be a way for friends and family to assist Nick and Diana and reduce the burden of debt the existing and forthcoming medical and living expenses will create as both must take leaves of absence from their full-time jobs as teachers.

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More information:

At 50 years old, Nick Barbella pursued his lifelong dream of becoming a teacher by applying to graduate school. After earning his master’s degree in elementary education, he dedicated himself to teaching both elementary and middle school students.

At 58, Nick was diagnosed with large B-cell lymphoma, forcing him to take a leave of absence for treatment. Determined to return to the classroom, he resumed teaching as soon as he was able. However, a very short time later, he began feeling unwell again and was then diagnosed with T-cell lymphoma, a more aggressive form of the disease. This led to his first bone marrow transplant, followed by treatment-related myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) caused by chemotherapy. This, in turn, required a second stem cell transplant. A suitable donor must be found for each transplant, which is not an easy task.

Nick’s wife, Diana, has been a special education teacher for over 30 years, and like Nick, she is dedicated to her career. Unfortunately, while teaching is a noble profession, teachers are not handsomely paid. Nick was first diagnosed with lymphoma two and a half years ago, which has not only been emotionally and physically draining, but financially draining as well. All family members reside out of town and/or state, and while they have helped as much as possible, Diana now needs to take family medical leave to help Nick as he continues with his recovery.

Nick’s passion for teaching has never wavered, and now he needs support to continue doing what he loves. Thank you for donating any amount to facilitate Nick’s continued recovery.