I was hoping I'd never have to do another one of these, but life throws you a curve ball every now and then.  For the last few months my dad has been feeling sick with no energy. He went to the ER finally and they found out he has colitis. He completed the treatment but he didn't get better. He ended up staying at Mercy hospital for roughly a week, where they determined he also has diverticulitis and what they thought was an autoimmune disease. He was referred to the Mayo but within being at home for only a few days he ended up back in the ER. Thankfully the nurse practitioner at Firstlight made a transfer to Abbott happen even though there wasn't a diagnosis that is usually required. Blood work was completed, thankfully the hematologist completed a test that is not usually completed and it was found that my dad had a larger than normal number of immature white blood cells which is consistent with leukemia. A bone marrow biopsy was completed and a diagnosis of Myelodysplastic Syndromes was made. In layman's terms it is a type of cancer that is know as pre leukemia. The disease was caught early but he will complete the same treatment as a leukemia patient. This means he will be hospitalized for 3-4 months and will require a bone marrow transplant. His employer does not offer short term disability so my parents will only have one income for a long time. Please, if you can, donate any amount of money you can. If you can't please share this. I have found a few possible programs that my parents will reach out to for assistance, if you know of any groups that help those going through cancer treatment please message me. Thank you for reading, I will update periodically.