Kelsey's cancer transplant
Donation protected
Kelsey has had an uphill, unrelenting battle with blood cancer for over two years. She was diagnosed withStage 3 Hodgkins Lymphoma two years ago at 19 years old. While all of her friends continued college and a normal young adult life, Kelsey had to quit her job and school to start Chemotherapy. Initially, she completed six months of the "standard" AVBD chemo for Lymphoma and was declared 99% cancer-free.
Devastatingly, a few months later we found out she relapsed. There was only one more "standard" treatment, which required two seperate hospitilaztions and she got incredibly ill. The doctor didn't feel the results were good enough to justify keeping her on the extremely harsh treatment.
After that only drug trails were available to her. Since beginning treatment, she has undergone many, many chemo/cancer treatments non-stop and "failed" many of them. The cancer kept coming back and at one point she was Stage 4 and running out of options. We became more and more frightened by this, but we remained positive and Kelsey never gave up.
Finally one of the trial drugs got her cancer-free enough to start the process of Bone Marrow Transplant. This procedure is very grueling and very expensive and also the potential cure to her cancer.
To get approved for the transplant, she was required to have a full-time caregiver that could stay with her in the hospital and post-transplant in the hospital out-patient housing.
Therefore, Kelsey and I (her older sister) both had to quit our jobs before coming to the hospital. It was heartbreaking for both of us to leave our jobs. Kelsey worked at an after school program and I was a preschool teacher. Saying goodbye to the children and coworkers has been very difficult for both of us.
The transplant required over a month of extremely harsh treatment and isolation hospitalization. While in the hospital I tried my best to keep her spirtis up and made an Amazon wishlist for her and posted this online. I was SO overwhelmed by the response as packages kept pouring in every day for her. I am so grateful for friends and family that thought of her during the trying time. Many still ask how they can help, so I have set up this account.
Kelsey will be unable to work for up to a year while she heals, and I have been unable to work as I am taking care of her and staying with her full-time as her caregiver. During this time, we have been at the hospital full-time for over two months, which is over an hour and a half away from home.
Without either of us working, Kelsey and I will not have a way to pay for everything. Insurance will cover some of the cost of the $500,000+ transplant--but not all. Post-transplant Kelsey takes 16 different crucial medications a day and insurance doesn't cover the cost of all of it. The deductible must be met before insurance will cover the cost and I was unable to save enough to meet the entire deductible.
Additionally, the insurance doesn't cover all costs, such as covering the stay for the out-patient hospital housing, mandatory weekly Dr. visits, essential household items while we are out-patient, medical supplies, etc. Kelsey and I have been living off the little I could save while teaching. I have done all that I can but unfortunately it doesn't cover all costs and funds are becoming tight and any little bit helps, no matter the size of donation!
If anyone deserves some additional help, it is most certainly Kelsey. In the two plus years of pokes, prods, scans, tests, infusions, trails, surgery, etc during cancer treatment, Kelsey has never lost her smile or positive attitude. No matter how ill she felt, she has always been so kind, caring and gracious. Patients, nurses, doctors and even assistants all fall in love with Kelsey and her pure spirit. Treatment has only exemplified her character, rather than damage it.
I have been keeping a blog of her story thus far on the Caring Bridge website. If you would like to read her journey in-depth, it is found at www.Caringbridge.com/visit/KelseyBlackham
Devastatingly, a few months later we found out she relapsed. There was only one more "standard" treatment, which required two seperate hospitilaztions and she got incredibly ill. The doctor didn't feel the results were good enough to justify keeping her on the extremely harsh treatment.
After that only drug trails were available to her. Since beginning treatment, she has undergone many, many chemo/cancer treatments non-stop and "failed" many of them. The cancer kept coming back and at one point she was Stage 4 and running out of options. We became more and more frightened by this, but we remained positive and Kelsey never gave up.
Finally one of the trial drugs got her cancer-free enough to start the process of Bone Marrow Transplant. This procedure is very grueling and very expensive and also the potential cure to her cancer.
To get approved for the transplant, she was required to have a full-time caregiver that could stay with her in the hospital and post-transplant in the hospital out-patient housing.
Therefore, Kelsey and I (her older sister) both had to quit our jobs before coming to the hospital. It was heartbreaking for both of us to leave our jobs. Kelsey worked at an after school program and I was a preschool teacher. Saying goodbye to the children and coworkers has been very difficult for both of us.
The transplant required over a month of extremely harsh treatment and isolation hospitalization. While in the hospital I tried my best to keep her spirtis up and made an Amazon wishlist for her and posted this online. I was SO overwhelmed by the response as packages kept pouring in every day for her. I am so grateful for friends and family that thought of her during the trying time. Many still ask how they can help, so I have set up this account.
Kelsey will be unable to work for up to a year while she heals, and I have been unable to work as I am taking care of her and staying with her full-time as her caregiver. During this time, we have been at the hospital full-time for over two months, which is over an hour and a half away from home.
Without either of us working, Kelsey and I will not have a way to pay for everything. Insurance will cover some of the cost of the $500,000+ transplant--but not all. Post-transplant Kelsey takes 16 different crucial medications a day and insurance doesn't cover the cost of all of it. The deductible must be met before insurance will cover the cost and I was unable to save enough to meet the entire deductible.
Additionally, the insurance doesn't cover all costs, such as covering the stay for the out-patient hospital housing, mandatory weekly Dr. visits, essential household items while we are out-patient, medical supplies, etc. Kelsey and I have been living off the little I could save while teaching. I have done all that I can but unfortunately it doesn't cover all costs and funds are becoming tight and any little bit helps, no matter the size of donation!
If anyone deserves some additional help, it is most certainly Kelsey. In the two plus years of pokes, prods, scans, tests, infusions, trails, surgery, etc during cancer treatment, Kelsey has never lost her smile or positive attitude. No matter how ill she felt, she has always been so kind, caring and gracious. Patients, nurses, doctors and even assistants all fall in love with Kelsey and her pure spirit. Treatment has only exemplified her character, rather than damage it.
I have been keeping a blog of her story thus far on the Caring Bridge website. If you would like to read her journey in-depth, it is found at www.Caringbridge.com/visit/KelseyBlackham
Organiser and beneficiary
Brittany Blackham
Organiser
Dana Point, CA
Kelsey Blackham
Beneficiary