Help little Luca beat Leukemia!

Stanislaw Wyslouch is organizing this fundraiser.

Donation protected

We first want to give our deepest thanks to you, our incredible community, for your support, regardless of its form. You mean the world to us and we feel immensely grateful to feel loved and supported during this difficult time.

On Mother's Day, our 18-month-old daughter, Luca, was diagnosed with High-Risk Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia. We are still in shock and will be processing this news for some time.

After a week of strange symptoms: swollen eyelids, a low-grade fever that wasn’t responding to basic meds, small bruises on her body, a low appetite and tiredness, Mariel brought Luca to after-hours urgent care. The doctor suggested we go visit the hospital for blood work, which we did straight away. With Luca in Mariel’s arms and Stash FaceTiming in from his tour in Brooklyn, we were told the news.

The good news: Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (or “ALL”) is the most common type of childhood cancer and has a 90% survival rate. We are also extraordinarily lucky and grateful to be in the care of one of the best hospitals in the country for Luca’s condition, UCSF Children's Hospital in Oakland. ALL comes on quickly (Luca’s symptoms appeared within weeks of her diagnosis) and we were able to get immediate high-quality care. At the moment, it’s too soon to say how everything is working, but she is generally in good spirits. Luca’s situation fluctuates daily, but as she regains some of her strength and personality, she is charming everyone she meets! (No surprise there :) )

The more difficult news: Although the statistics of recovery are on our side, there still are many risks and we are at the beginning of a very long journey. We are told that, typically, the length of care for ALL lasts 2.5 years. Our first month will be spent here in the hospital while the initial chemotherapy is administered and monitored. Once Luca is in remission, the rest of recovery can (amazingly!) be spent mostly at home with weekly+ visits to a nearby lab and to Oakland Children’s Hospital for chemo.

It is too soon for us to know exactly how much Luca’s medical bills will amount to, therefore we are fundraising for the following:

1+ month hospital stay (bi-weekly lumbar punctures, four different types of chemo, a whole boatload of other drugs, blood & platelet transfusions, bone marrow tests, daily blood tests, etc.)
2.5 years of weekly blood labs, chemo drugs and other procedures
6 months of living expenses as we get back on our feet

Any funds left over after this treatment beyond these costs will be saved until Luca can make a decision of her own about how to “Pay it Forward” to other children who are going through a similar situation.

We are astounded, but not surprised, by the strength and resilience that Luca has shown this past week. She is a fighter and we are determined to get through this challenge as a family with love and positivity. We love her so much and it is an honor to get to help her as best we can through this journey. Luca is so full of life, curiosity, confidence, independence and giggles and we cannot wait to return to some kind of normal routine!

We are also blown away by the level of care we all are getting. The balance of professionalism and empathy by all the staff — doctors, fellows, residents, nurses, music therapists, specialists, social workers, therapists, (even a therapy doggie!) — is truly amazing. It’s very clear that we could not be in better hands.

Finally, we want to thank all of you from the bottom of our hearts in advance. We love our community so much and feel incredibly grateful for the love and support we have received so far. If you feel so inclined, please feel free to forward this campaign. Thank you!

A crash course in ALL

This is all very new to us. We had no knowledge of how Leukemia works prior to a few days ago, so if it’s helpful, here’s a bit of what we’ve learned: Leukemia is the cancer of blood-forming cells. White blood cells (which help fight infections), red blood cells (which move oxygen through our body), and platelets (which help our blood clot) are all formed in our bone marrow. A healthy body has a normal ratio of white and red blood cells and platelets. In Luca’s case, her body was making way too many immature and cancerous white blood cells so there was no space for healthy red blood cells and platelets to be created. ALL is treated with several types of drugs, including chemotherapy. The goal of this first month in the hospital is to get her into remission. If you’d like to find out more about Luca’s condition, her head doctor recommends this site: www.childrensoncologygroup.org.

One quick note

As we continue to be presented with new information directly from Luca's doctors each day regarding her condition and prognosis specifically, we kindly ask that you refrain from sharing medical advice or personal research for the time being. Thank you!

We hope to post updates on Luca's condition periodically. In the meantime, here are some photos of Luca! We hope her amazing spirit and joy of life shines through! :)