Mahasti’s MDS Journey & Recovery

My dear mother, Mahasti, is the most selfless, loving mom and overall, the kindest soul I have ever known. I know most people say this about their moms, but if you know Mahasti, you know how beautiful she is inside and out.

Last year, she was diagnosed with Myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS).

MDS is an often unrecognized, under-diagnosed rare group of bone marrow failure disorders where the body no longer makes enough healthy, normal blood cells in the bone marrow. The disease is also known as a form of blood cancer. My mom was diagnosed at the intermediate stage - once the disease progresses out of this stage, there is a large chance it progresses into Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML) unless it is treated quickly. In addition to the MDS diagnosis, my mom has also been battling two auto-immune diseases (Lupus and Antiphospholipid syndrome) for the last 22 years. This has further complicated the treatment plan for the MDS due to how the chemotherapy has been affecting the medication intake for her auto-immune diseases.

The only chance of long-term survival for the blood disease and potential cure for the auto-immune diseases is a stem cell transplant however due to complications she is currently undergoing various treatments and clinical trials to keep the diseases under control until the Doctors can approve her for the transplant. Once approved for the transplant (God willing) she will require and extensive recovery for such a life changing procedure and this will put my mom out of work further for a minimum of 1-2 years (God willing there are no complications) as her body adjusts to an entirely new immune system and she will also need 24-hour care while she is home. This would require us to hire a nurse to assist in her care as well as me pausing my career.

This financial burden will weigh heavily on our ability to afford paying her mortgage, for food, gas, and the growing inflation costs of everything in life. We are trying to raise awareness and help her with her finances and care so the only thing she needs to worry about is healing and living a healthy life. I want nothing more than for her to have the beautiful life she deserves. Any help is greatly appreciated, thank you.