Help us pay for little Luke's lukemia treatments

Lukas and Mom one month prior to diagnosis

(For those who may not know Lukas, he is the Great Grandson of Katerina and the late Demetrios Kretsedemas).

Here's Lukas' story (as told to us by his Mom):

Lukas has always been a happy, active and talkative child. He loves being his father's shadow and wrestling with his older brother. In August of 2020, two months prior to his 3rd birthday, Lukas woke up with a cluster of unexplained bruises on his face. We took him to his doctor who performed a series of tests on him. When the results of his blood tests came back, his doctor instructed us to go directly to the emergency room as his blood cell levels were critically low. Within a couple of hours, our little boy was diagnosed with Leukemia. We were then admitted onto the oncology floor where we virtually lived the next month. Our family was then introduced to a "new family", which included a team of oncologists and their nurses. Lukas’ first day of cancer treatment consisted of a surgically placed chemo port located in the center of his chest. He calls this his "Iron Man Port" and loves to show it off when he meets new friends. He has gone through an enormous number of chemo treatments, steroids, and continuous spinal taps. He had lost his hair and eyebrows during these "intense chemo phases," but they have thankfully returned. He loves seeing his hair back on his head and won't let Dad trim the hairs above his ears or around his neck. He is closely monitored by an amazing team of people. This little boy has proven how brave a 3 year old can be.

At the beginning of 2020, eight months prior to Lukas’ diagnosis, we switched to a new medical insurance company. At the time, as a young family, we were all healthy and did not have or anticipate any significant medical issues. After his diagnosis and treatment began, we discovered that the new insurance company limited coverage for cancer treatment to a total of $10,000 in payments for clients during our first year of enrollment, and even collecting this amount from them has been a battle. This has led us to accrue over $60,000 in outstanding hospital bills so far, and we are looking at yet another year and a half of treatments (and bills), barring any hiccups which might extend the period even further.

While this experience has turned our world upside down and has forced us into a new lifestyle, we have been blessed time and time again with people who want to help us, and words cannot express the amount of gratitude that we feel. "Thank you," no longer adequately describes our appreciation.

Everyone's prayers are needed for Lukas' healing and that his treatment does not need to extend beyond the already projected period. All donated funds (minus GoFundMe fees) will be withdrawn directly by and under the strict control of Lukas' parents and will be used solely for his care and treatment. Any donated funds remaining once he has been (we pray!) freed of this horrific disease will be released to Lukemia/Lymphoma Society in Phoenix.