Joe vs Leukemia
Donation protected
The Big C Word. Cancer. It’s a word no one expects to hear. It’s a word that immediately sends shivers down one’s spine and fear into one’s heart. On March 28th, 2022 my family not only had to hear the word cancer; I learned my son, Joe, has Leukemia. My name is Sheli and my 37 year old son was recently diagnosed with Acute Myeloid Leukemia. I am here to share his story in hopes that the kind hearts of our community will reach out with prayers, hope, and generosity as he wages an ongoing battle for his life.
If you were to ask any one of Joe’s close friends or family what he is like, we would all say that he is a big ol’ teddy bear of a guy. He’s always been a loving son and a kind big brother. He is also a devoted husband and doting father to his two sons. Family has always been the most important thing in Joe’s life, but family life has not been easy for him.
At the young age of 22, Joe married his wife, Meri, as she was bearing his first child. Over the next 10 years, Joe and Meri would struggle to provide for their family as they dealt with both lack of income and medical issues. Meri has a blood disorder that caused many problems in her life and requires a lot of medical attention. Joe tried his best at balancing his work at the Craigsville Correction Center with taking care of his wife and kids. He found the long hours and stressful work a lot to handle. Much was required of his sons as they had to mature and be independent at a very young age.
For the last 4 years, Joe has worked as a semi-truck driver; a career he loves. He works for a small family-owned company who values balancing work and family life. When Joe wasn’t driving down the road with a delivery, you could find him on the AYSO soccer fields with his sons. Most Sunday’s he and his family also enjoyed attending their local church. Sadly, these are all things he’s had to give up since February of this year.
February 4th was the last day Joe drove his truck. Joe slipped on ice and fell from his truck sustaining a rib injury and fluid in his lungs. Over the next few weeks, his body did not heal. As the sole provider of the home, he tried to continue to work through the pain until one morning when he found blood on his pillowcase and knew things were not okay. Over the course of the next few weeks, he would do extensive lab work and find out he has Leukemia. The day he received his diagnosis, he was sent to UVA to immediately start the highest dose of chemo his body could handle. That was the day the battle began.
For the next seven days, Joe underwent intense chemotherapy. He developed an intense fever that ravaged his body. There were nights that I thought he wouldn’t make it and days that I was happy just to see him open his eyes. After, his body was left weak, but alive. He spent another two weeks at UVA recovering. UVA determined that he was able to go home, under the promise of 24 hour care and visits to the cancer center every few days.
Joe will continue to go through more chemo treatments for the next several months to years. The path that lay ahead is very uncertain. He is unable to return to work for the foreseeable future and his wife must be his 24 hour caretaker as his sons are both in grade school. Joe is a fighter, but the financial stress is wearing on him and his family. I am reaching out to my loving community for help. Please consider contributing anything you can to this GoFundMe account to help my son fight the battle and WIN this battle for his life. We all need him and are immensely thankful for any help you can provide. Thank you and God Bless,
Sheli
If you were to ask any one of Joe’s close friends or family what he is like, we would all say that he is a big ol’ teddy bear of a guy. He’s always been a loving son and a kind big brother. He is also a devoted husband and doting father to his two sons. Family has always been the most important thing in Joe’s life, but family life has not been easy for him.
At the young age of 22, Joe married his wife, Meri, as she was bearing his first child. Over the next 10 years, Joe and Meri would struggle to provide for their family as they dealt with both lack of income and medical issues. Meri has a blood disorder that caused many problems in her life and requires a lot of medical attention. Joe tried his best at balancing his work at the Craigsville Correction Center with taking care of his wife and kids. He found the long hours and stressful work a lot to handle. Much was required of his sons as they had to mature and be independent at a very young age.
For the last 4 years, Joe has worked as a semi-truck driver; a career he loves. He works for a small family-owned company who values balancing work and family life. When Joe wasn’t driving down the road with a delivery, you could find him on the AYSO soccer fields with his sons. Most Sunday’s he and his family also enjoyed attending their local church. Sadly, these are all things he’s had to give up since February of this year.
February 4th was the last day Joe drove his truck. Joe slipped on ice and fell from his truck sustaining a rib injury and fluid in his lungs. Over the next few weeks, his body did not heal. As the sole provider of the home, he tried to continue to work through the pain until one morning when he found blood on his pillowcase and knew things were not okay. Over the course of the next few weeks, he would do extensive lab work and find out he has Leukemia. The day he received his diagnosis, he was sent to UVA to immediately start the highest dose of chemo his body could handle. That was the day the battle began.
For the next seven days, Joe underwent intense chemotherapy. He developed an intense fever that ravaged his body. There were nights that I thought he wouldn’t make it and days that I was happy just to see him open his eyes. After, his body was left weak, but alive. He spent another two weeks at UVA recovering. UVA determined that he was able to go home, under the promise of 24 hour care and visits to the cancer center every few days.
Joe will continue to go through more chemo treatments for the next several months to years. The path that lay ahead is very uncertain. He is unable to return to work for the foreseeable future and his wife must be his 24 hour caretaker as his sons are both in grade school. Joe is a fighter, but the financial stress is wearing on him and his family. I am reaching out to my loving community for help. Please consider contributing anything you can to this GoFundMe account to help my son fight the battle and WIN this battle for his life. We all need him and are immensely thankful for any help you can provide. Thank you and God Bless,
Sheli
Organizer
Michael Hornberger
Organizer
Mauldin, SC