Help Sam Continue to Fight: Surgeries, Travel & Treatment

Hey everyone,

We are beyond grateful for the incredible support we’ve received through Sam’s journey so far. Your generosity helped us meet our previous goal and covered crucial expenses during one of the hardest stretches of our lives.

We’ve now entered a new and more demanding phase in Sam’s care — and we’re humbly asking for your help again.

While our last fundraiser helped us reach a major milestone (including 3 surgeries, 5 different treatment therapies, and two different second opinions out of state), the road ahead has grown more complex and expensive with the recent findings of the spinal fractures caused by his disease, HA20.

We found out this week insurance will not cover his PT, spinal brace, or wheelchair modifications necessary. Sam will need PT for his spinal fractures as well as his ankle post-surgery. Each session out of pocket is $75; we anticipate he will need PT for the next 3 months, 1-2 times a week. This comes just as Sam’s care is increasing in urgency and intensity. This adds to the already incurred cost of all medical travel, lodging, therapies, and procedures — and the financial load has quickly become overwhelming.

In the next three months alone, Sam will need:

• Five separate trips to Duke

• One trip to Pittsburgh for a research consult that requires the whole family for a potential treatment option.

• Physical therapy, travel, and recovery costs

• Ongoing medication and lab work coordination, as well as intermittent transfusions

Your support will help cover:

• Flights, gas, car maintenance, and ground transportation for multiple long-distance medical trips

• Hotel stays during weeklong and surgical visits

• Food and daily expenses while away from home

• Surgery-related costs not fully covered by insurance

• Physical therapy

• Out-of-pocket medication and lab expenses

We will continue to utilize resources such as Ronald McDonald House and PALS, but as you know, those services are not guaranteed. We always have to book backup just in case and don’t know until the day before if we have a spot.

Even though Sam’s care team is giving their all — and we’re doing everything in our power to plan wisely — the reality is that we can’t do this alone. Andy and I have promised each other we will continue to seek out help and treatment for Sam until he decides he won’t do any more. Your donation, share, or note of encouragement continues to lift us up and bring Sam closer to the quality of life he deserves.

If you have questions about where your support goes, please know we remain committed to full transparency and are happy to share details.

Thank you for loving Sam and our family through this. Whether it’s your first time here or you’ve been following his journey from the beginning, please know your kindness means more than we can ever fully express.

With Love,

The Creech Family