Help Support The Rick Araskog Family

On Sunday, March 6th, Rick received the news that nobody wants to hear. Rick has been diagnosed with AML - Acute Myeloid Leukemia and has been receiving care at NCH Baker in Naples, Florida. AML is very aggressive, and they started him immediately on seven days of Chemotherapy. This included two different Chemo drugs, one for seven days, 24/hours a day and the other for the first three days, which took 3 hours. After the Chemo treatments, Rick went through 3 weeks of blood and Platelet transfusions. There have been several complications Rick has incurred during this time.

Rick continues to fight this battle, keeping his positive attitude and strong faith in God. His smile and cheerful personality, for which we all know, remains intact.

As you can imagine, this diagnosis has been quite overwhelming for Rick, Sherrie, their family, and friends. Medical bills alone are incredibly burdensome, as is the uncertainty of what lies ahead. Sherrie has already begun to experience the financial impact of Rick’s diagnosis and the treatments required, as they were without insurance until April 1st.

NCH is arranging consultations for Rick and Sherrie to Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa, FL and Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN to determine the next treatment phase. Until that time, Rick will have consolidation treatments starting on April 11th, which include five days in the hospital having chemo treatments and then home for three weeks. This could be the routine for several months. If the Cancer Center doctors concur with the doctors at NCH, he will need a Stem Cell Transplant, which will be another 3-5 weeks in the hospital and then several months of being close to the hospital that does the transplant.

Please consider helping the person who always offers to help others without hesitation. Rick has always been a kind and generous person, and at this time, we hope you can assist him and Sherrie in raising funds for medical needs and expenses. No gift is too small, and all efforts are greatly appreciated.

On behalf of the Araskog Family, we appreciate any amount you’re able to give and cannot thank friends and family enough for their outpouring of prayers, love and support.