Ole Miss Strong: Samantha’s Health Fight

Help Support Samantha’s Fight—From Ole Miss to Mayo Clinic

Some battles are quiet. Others demand everything—and Samantha is facing both.

Samantha is a full-time student at the University of Mississippi, balancing textbooks and treatment in ways no college kid should have to. Over the past year, she’s been diagnosed with a rare constellation of conditions that have changed her life:

• Immune deficiency, leaving her vulnerable to infections and unable to mount normal vaccine responses

• CHIP (Clonal Hematopoiesis of Indeterminate Potential), a mutation-driven blood disorder that disrupts immune regulation and raises long-term cancer risk

• Renal Cell Carcinoma, a form of kidney cancer that recently led to a major surgical intervention

Samantha is currently recovering from a partial nephrectomy, a procedure to remove part of her kidney affected by the tumor. And while she continues to heal, she also faces a series of follow-up appointments, evaluations, and treatment planning sessions—many of which require repeated travel from Texas to the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota.

Traveling to The Mayo Clinic each week places a significant financial strain on Samantha’s family—averaging around $7,500 out-of-pocket per visit once travel, lodging, food, and medical costs are combined. This fundraiser was created to help ease that burden so they can continue to prioritize what matters most: being there, together, through every treatment and step toward recovery.

What Your Support Will Help Cover:

• ✈️ Travel costs for Samantha and her family for each round of follow-up

• Temporary housing near Mayo Clinic during extended stays

• ️ Meals and living expenses while away from home

• Uncovered medical needs and supportive care

• ‍‍ Lost income while family members miss work to be by her side through treatment and recovery

Samantha is incredibly brave. She’s trying to do what every young adult does—study, grow, live—but she’s doing it while navigating complex medical terrain and managing care hundreds of miles from campus.

Through it all, Samantha holds tight to her faith. Her relationship with Jesus grounds her—not as a cliché, but as a quiet source of strength in the face of hard days and uncertain roads. Her family leans on prayer, community, and grace to keep moving forward.

Your support doesn’t just meet a financial need—it helps ensure Samantha is never alone in this fight. It allows her family to keep showing up for her, physically and emotionally, through every appointment, every challenge, and every step toward healing.

Thank you for standing with Samantha. Your generosity makes a real difference—and your presence is felt in every moment she’s reminded she doesn’t walk this road alone.