Let's get Rich back on his feet!

Hi, my name is Adam Miller, I'm fundraising on behalf of my friend Rich Echols. If you've met Rich, you know that he’s a funny, charismatic guy with an easy laugh and a contagious smile. He’s also a pretty private guy, and you might not know that he’s also someone who has dealt with Sickle Cell Anemia his whole life.

It’s been a hell of a burden. Especially for those of us who work with him, there may have been times in the past where you noticed that Rich wasn’t around - he was almost always in the hospital at those times, dealing with complications from it.

Recently, Rich’s condition had progressed to a point that he qualified for a bone marrow transplant, a serious operation that will eventually grant him a life basically free of the problems that Sickle Cell has saddled him with. In February of this year, Rich went down to Mass. General Hospital to begin the series of medical procedures that culminated in the transplant itself. Things went well, and he was recently discharged from his inpatient stay. At the moment, he needs to be close to the hospital for a while due to his extended recovery and many follow-up visits, and has had to rent an apartment nearby in downtown Boston for the month of March, at least. For now, the transplant itself is done, but Rich’s road to recovery is far from over.

When Rich finally comes home, his body, particularly his immune system, will be in recovery mode, and he won’t be able to be exposed to people for many more months. During that time, in addition to having to lay low, he’s also going to have to take weekly trips down to MGH in order to monitor and guide his recuperation. It will be a long and challenging road…

…and an expensive one. Here’s where you come in. Donating here is how you can help with not only the crazy medical bills, but also the lost wages. Your way to pitch in on that apartment, on the travel expenses, on things like food and rent and utility bills. Your way to put our guy back on his feet, for GOOD.

Please be generous - our initial goal of $10,000 may sound like a lot (and it is!), but it represents only a small portion of the overall cost that Rich is bearing throughout this process. Also, his family is small, and located far away, so he doesn’t have the local support network a lot of us are spoiled with. As such, he’s relying on the people in his life to step up here and show their support for him as he goes through a truly life-changing medical situation.

Thank you so much!