Craig's (Frog) courageous fight to beat MDS

Craig Super (Froggy), our brother is 58, a self-employed plumber living in Ambler, Pennsylvania his whole life. 

He is the proud father of 3 and a proud Pop-Pop to his grandson.  Married to his beautiful wife
Karen Super for 30  yrs.

If anyone knows our brother,
he is fun loving, has a big heart and is always willing to offer a helping hand.  In July 2019 after routine bloodwork showed drastically low blood counts Craig was sent to the emergency room. He was discharged with no firm diagnosis and told to follow-up with labs at his primary physician.

Over time his energy levels began to drop and he didn’t feel like himself. In January 2020 he was referred to a hematologist and underwent a bone marrow biopsy.  The hematologist gave a potential diagnosis of MDS (Myelodysplastic syndrome is a condition when blood forming cells in the bone marrow become abnormal. It is considered a type of cancer.) and recommended to wait 6 months to see how things progressed for a definite diagnosis. 

Craig and his family decided it was time for a second opinion and made an appointment at the University of Pennsylvania and were able to get an appointment in February of 2020. They were greeted by Dr. Beach who had reviewed his past medical records. He confirmed the diagnosis of MDS, had a treatment plan to initiate the following week.

Craig would begin Chemotherapy with the end goal receiving a bone marrow transplant. His siblings were the first ones to be tested and none of us were a match. Dr. Beech expected this but did not lose hope. The hospital then searched the database and were able to find Craig ten matches which was welcoming news.     

Let’s fast forward to the world of COVID19. Craig was receiving treatment thru the pandemic and was doing well. Thanksgiving approached and Craig started not feeling well. With Craig’s treatments his immune system became compromised and he contracted COVID19. This would now for sure push back his transplant which was not a good thing.  

Shortly after recovering from COVID19 and in an effort to help prepare for the transplant, the doctor then prescribed him a new Chemo regimen. Unfortunately, what they didn’t realize was that this medicine was going to do too much and it wiped out his immunity.   Craig then contracted pneumonia. This pneumonia left him hospitalized for 9 days in order to help rid of the infection. While hospitalized Craig was also receiving multiple blood transfusions to get his white count up.

Here we are present day, Craig is doing well since being released from the hospital. However, truth be told Craig has been unable to work due to his MDS and the conditions of being a plumber.  He had a visit 2/24/21 with Dr. Beech and they were very pleased with his lab work.     

On March 2nd he goes to see the transplant doctor to start making plans to have this procedure.  Craig’s stay in the hospital will be 45 days or longer to ensure that the transplant took.   As you are probably aware this has put quite a financial strain on him and his family as he is self-employed.    

We are asking for support for Craig and his family during this challenging time. All donations received will go to assisting Craig and his family in paying for his medical expenses and to provide support for his family. Craig has the biggest heart and is always there for others when they need a helping hand or a reason to smile.

Please keep Craig and his family in your prayers. Your compassion and support means so very much!