Kara's Journey

In June, my step mother Kara Hall went to the doctor for a reoccurring cough and tighteness in her chest that she thought was just bronchitis. After chest x-rays and a CT scan it was discovered that she had a large mass in her chest. Over the last 3 weeks, there have been multiple biospys of the mass, a bone marrow biopsy, and numerous amounts of blood tests done. On Tuesday July 11th, the diagnosis came back as a rare form of leukemia called Acute lymphoblastic Lymphoma. This rare cancer only affects about 2% of adults each year. Karas oncologist immediately referred her to the bone marrow transplant center at LSU Health Center in Shreveport. This the only hospital that handles this rare disease in North Louisiana. While this is a treatable and curable disease in most cases,  the length of the treatment plan is 2 years and will be very aggressive. The first month of the induction phase of the chemotherapy will require Kara to be hospitalized for 21 days. The response to the induction will determine the need for a bone marrow transplant. 

With Kara being laid off in April, my dad provides the only source of income and insurance for our family at this time. The out of pocket portion of expenses are shocking even with our insurance paying a large portion. If a bone marrow transplant is needed there are no in-network hospitals in Louisiana and Kara will have to go to Houston or Dallas and live there for 6 months. For anybody that knows my dad he does not like to ask for help and always puts others before himself. So I am asking for everyone's help to please help my family get through this long journey we have ahead of us. Anything is greatly appreciated and the rest is in Gods hands.