Steven Turner's Relief Fund

Hi, my name is Sylvia Russell and I'm starting a fundraiser for my brother, Steven.  He is in need of the compassion and generosity of others now more than ever after a series of life-altering events that none of us would have ever expected.  While trying to regain his health following a bone marrow transplant,  he finds himself without a job and faces a serious financial crisis with no money coming in. 

He hopes to find work when he is physically able to do so. Steven has always been a hard worker and in addition had a passion for working with children ever since he was a teenager working vacation Bible school and spending summers working as a counselor at Camp Sumatanga. He never lost that passion. He has been a registered leader with the Boy Scouts for over ten years has volunteered for many roles on a local and District level. He has mentored many scouts through the Cub Scout and Boy Scout Program and has led his son, Joseph, as he achieved Boy Scouts’ highest rank of Eagle Scout. He has volunteered with Girl Scouts and was an active parent helper as his daughter, Anna, achieved Girl Scouts’ highest rank of Gold Award. Steven has served as an Elder at his church working hand in hand with the children’s ministry director and has taught Sunday School for the children as well as worked the Wednesday night program, Covenant Kids for many years. Steven has been married to Marcie for 22 years and, as mentioned, they have two children, Joseph (20) and Anna(16).




The story of Steven’s diagnosis begins with a routine doctor’s visit and bloodwork on July 21, 2020. He received a call that afternoon from the doctor’s office telling him that his platelets along with his white and red blood cells were low, and they needed him to stop taking one of his medicines and to retest in a week. After the retest came back with the same results, he was referred to a local Oncologist.  After a couple of visits, the oncologist ordered a bone marrow biopsy. The results of the biopsy were returned with the conclusion that it was Myelodysplastic Syndrome (MDS). With that diagnosis Steven was referred to the University of Alabama at Birmingham hospital (UAB).

Steven started seeing his doctors at UAB and the conclusion was that a bone marrow transplant was his best option. He was blessed when he found out that our brother was a perfect match as his donor. After a couple of delays, Steven entered the hospital in late January of 2021 to begin chemo and other treatments needed before the transplant. He had his transplant on January 27. The transplant went well and so did the remainder of his time in the hospital. He was released a couple weeks later.


After the release, he has had to be readmitted for complications twice. Once for a short stent because of a fever that the doctors thought may have been because of an infection, and a second stay that lasted for 22 days due to graft-versus-host disease (GVHD), which is a condition that happens in bone marrow transplant patients where the new marrow tries to reject its new body. Kind of the opposite of organ rejection where the body rejects the organ. GVHD can attack any part of the body, but in Steve’s case, it attacked his gut. While he was in the hospital, he began to lose his strength due to the high dose of medication he was on.


This process has been hard on Steven and his family physically, mentally, and financially. As his caregiver, Marcie had to leave her job, and they no longer have the second income that the family relied on. Now Steven has lost his job of 15 plus years and the insurance that was a benefit. They need to take out COBRA to keep the benefits where they were. I have set up this fundraiser to help Steven and family with the financial burden that has fallen upon them. There are many expenses that they have now such as:

·        Prescriptions of over $500 a month

·        Physical and occupational therapy

·        Magnesium therapy that as of now is over $800

·        Hospital stays totaling 46 days

·        Ongoing doctor visits and labs

·        Transportation and travel expenses

·        COBRA health coverage $1393/month

You can help by clicking the donate now button and give whatever is on your heart. You can also help by sharing this page with your friends and family on Facebook, Twitter, email, and any other way you know to get it out there. You can also help save a life by considering becoming a bone marrow donor. It’s a simple process to get on the registry. Just go to Bethematch.org and register. They’ll send you a kit to swab your cheek, and then you send it back. It’s an easy thing to do, and you can save somebody’s life.

We thank you so much for all your help.