Join Paul Steward's Battle: Aid His Recovery

Our friend Paul Steward has been chosen to bear the disease of Multiple Myeloma. Multiple Myeloma is a blood cancer that affects a type of white blood cell, a plasma cell. With Multiple Myeloma, cancerous plasma cells build up in your bone marrow and lead to a myriad of issues in the body.

It is currently unclear what causes Multiple Myeloma, but for Paul, being a male in his 60s of Black heritage all increased his risk for the disease. Paul’s cancer recently spread to his spine, causing compression in his spinal cord. Multiple Myeloma in the spinal cord is a serious complication that can cause permanent neurological damage and lead to temporary and/or permanent paralysis.

Paul survived a seven-hour surgery to his spinal cord on December 19, 2024, to remove the cancer and replace the vertebrae in his neck. Paul recovered from the surgery in the ICU at Cleveland Clinic at Mercy and is currently receiving care at Amherst Meadows Skilled Nursing and Rehab Center in Massillon. Paul has spent the last 11 weeks at the rehab center getting post-acute care along with physical therapy. In addition to this, Paul is transported every Monday and Thursday to the Gabrail Cancer and Research Center to receive chemotherapy treatments for his cancerous blood disease.

Paul is the most physically fit 63-year-old you will ever meet in your lifetime. Paul spent the last 20 years as a personal trainer at Hall of Fame Fitness Center in Canton, Ohio, and is an avid runner in his spare time. Paul completed seven marathons, including the Boston Marathon in 2016, and over 100 other races in Ohio. He could often be seen running alone in the streets in Canton as it was his passion. However, given his current circumstances, this is one race Paul cannot run alone; he needs our help. Paul needs others to run beside him to encourage and support him along his path to recovery.

Due to the surgery, Paul currently does not have use of his legs and has been working extremely hard in his rehab efforts to regain the function of his legs. He recently received an electrode device that stimulates his spine and legs. While progress has been slow, he has regained some sensation in his feet and can move his toes, but he has a long road ahead of him to regain the use of his legs. Paul’s lifelong dedication to physical fitness gives him the greatest chance to make a full recovery.

While Paul has health insurance, they’re only covering a portion of his care and, in some instances, covering just a percentage of the costs he is incurring for his chemotherapy and other critical services. Upon discharge from Amherst Meadows, Paul will need long-term acute care at home in addition to the needed prescriptions, medical equipment, transportation, physical therapy, and 24-hour nursing care. These co-insurance and non-reimbursed costs are all in addition to the normal monetary needs for food, clothing, and shelter for a person who in the short-term is unable to work to provide for himself.

We thank you for your time in reading this and hope you can find it in your heart to donate whatever you can afford to assist Paul in mounting his comeback. The last thing he needs in his life at this moment is the financial stress these mounting bills are creating.

If nothing else, please let him know you are rooting for him and send him your words of support and encouragement. We thank you for your generosity and prayers for Paul, his sisters, and brother.