Let's Help Marissa beat Leukemia

Hello Everyone,

I (Jessica Crabtree) am raising money for my niece Marissa Pena (Chavez Pena). She was diagnosed with Leukemia- AML (Acute Myeloid Leukemia) last week, less than a week before her 30th birthday. She had not been feeling well for about a week and had some blood work done. Her doctor immediately sent her to the Emergency room (1/25/2022) at our local hospital due to a high white blood cell count. A few hours later, she was diagnosed with Leukemia and transported by ambulance to the bay area. Since then, she has been through multiple chemotherapy treatments and various other medications. This week (2/1/2022), we just found out that she has a mutation that will require her to get a bone marrow transplant. This will be a long and burdensome treatment regimen that she has to go through. If everything goes perfectly, it could be up to 9 months, and she won't be able to work for at least a year (she just became a Medical Assistant recently). She will still be in the hospital during this first treatment period for approximately another 3 weeks, after which she will continue to be on medication and then come back for further treatments, and the transplant later this year.

For those that don't know her personally, Marissa is a single mother to her son Josiahs who is 6 (almost 7). It is breaking her heart to be unable to see him and hug him during this time. They have been able to Facetime and she has been able to help him with his homework on days that she feels ok. Marissa just recently became an MA at Prime Care NS and loves her job and misses her Co-workers, Doctors, and Patients. She also loves playing slow pitch softball and being active with her son in sports, such as baseball and soccer.

Our goal is to raise funds to help her pay for her medical expenses, including the housing she will need to get in the bay area, and just normal living expenses during this time (as she will not be able to work for at least a year). She will be required to stay in the area of the hospital (2 hours away from home) for 3 months after the transplant. Any help would be appreciated to help her through this time.

If you have any questions, please feel free to ask me (Jessica Crabtree).