Kathy's Stem Cell Transplant Fund
Donation protected
Kathy Peel is fighting for her life. She is a 34 year old mother of two young children. She has been bravely managing a chronic disease since 2007 finally getting a diagnosis of Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE)
in January 2009. Confirmed at Shands Hospital in 2010 and the Mayo Clinic in 2012.
The disease has become fatal, now affecting her internal organs. Some of the more devastating results of the disease has been her lungs collapsing, pluerisy and pericarditis. Medication has not relieved the symptoms nor slowed down the progression. The chronic pain and fatigue make day-to-day activities difficult for Kathy while she struggles to work full time and maintain some sense of normalcy for her young children.
With her body shutting down and feeling like she is running out of time, she began a journey to find a cure. She discovered that Hematopoletic Stem Cell Transplants (HSCT) have been used successfully to cure others with this fatal disease. In November, she traveled to Chicago to undergo pretesting for the procedure with Dr. Richard Burt. After extensive testing, she has been approved for the procedure. Although it has the potential to save her life, her insurance is refusing to pay for this procedure deeming it experimental.
This treatment requires multiple rounds of chemo to eliminate her faulty immune system, then her own stem cells are harvested, conditioned, and transplanted back in to grow a healthier immune system thus potentially curing her of this fatal disease. The recovery time is based on her own body's ability to recover but it is a lengthy process.
In support of this young mother, and in a race against time we've set-up this GoFundMe page to help raise the $125,000 'self-pay' cost of the procedure along with some support funds needed to help sustain this family during the long treatment and recovery process.
Any donation, big or small, will be greatly appreciated!
Thank you so much for taking the time to view this page and please keep Kathy and her family in your prayers.
in January 2009. Confirmed at Shands Hospital in 2010 and the Mayo Clinic in 2012.
The disease has become fatal, now affecting her internal organs. Some of the more devastating results of the disease has been her lungs collapsing, pluerisy and pericarditis. Medication has not relieved the symptoms nor slowed down the progression. The chronic pain and fatigue make day-to-day activities difficult for Kathy while she struggles to work full time and maintain some sense of normalcy for her young children.
With her body shutting down and feeling like she is running out of time, she began a journey to find a cure. She discovered that Hematopoletic Stem Cell Transplants (HSCT) have been used successfully to cure others with this fatal disease. In November, she traveled to Chicago to undergo pretesting for the procedure with Dr. Richard Burt. After extensive testing, she has been approved for the procedure. Although it has the potential to save her life, her insurance is refusing to pay for this procedure deeming it experimental.
This treatment requires multiple rounds of chemo to eliminate her faulty immune system, then her own stem cells are harvested, conditioned, and transplanted back in to grow a healthier immune system thus potentially curing her of this fatal disease. The recovery time is based on her own body's ability to recover but it is a lengthy process.
In support of this young mother, and in a race against time we've set-up this GoFundMe page to help raise the $125,000 'self-pay' cost of the procedure along with some support funds needed to help sustain this family during the long treatment and recovery process.
Any donation, big or small, will be greatly appreciated!
Thank you so much for taking the time to view this page and please keep Kathy and her family in your prayers.
Organizer and beneficiary
Kathy Bitting Peel
Organizer
Arcadia, FL
Nora Bitting
Beneficiary