I Have Been Scheduled!!

Our dear friend Allison is again fighting cancer. For those who don't know Allison's story in the summer of 2019 after dealing with back pain and numbness in her legs an MRI revealed a tumor on her spine. Within 24 hours of receiving the MRI results she was in surgery to have the tumor removed. She received a diagnosis of Ewings Sarcoma and went through 16 rounds of chemo and radiation. Throughout her treatment she rarely missed work. She often said that when life happens, the response is not "why me, but why not me." In April of 2020 she got the great news that her tumor was gone and she was cancer free. (Although she did have to continue chemo treatments until July 2020.)

While traveling this summer to see the Avett Brothers play Red Rocks she started having breathing difficulties. Once home, routine blood test showed that something was off. She spent her 40th birthday in the hospital getting a blood transfusion. Allison was then diagnosed with Myeloadysplastic Syndrome (MDS), a blood cancer caused by the chemotherapy she went through for her previous cancer.

Allison treatment for MDS is chemotherapy and then a stem cell transplant. She is currently on the third round of cancer treatment and has three more to go before she can recieve a stem cell transplant. Chemo has been more difficult this time and Allison has spent many days in the hospital recently. (Still working 8 hours days for work when she can and cross stitching to fend off boredom.)

Recently Allison learned more about what the stem cell transplant will entail. She will travel to Charlottesville for the transplant where she will be inpatient for one month as her new immune system is created. She will then have to stay in Charlottesville as an outpatient for two more months. Allison will be unable to work for these three months and need to find lodging in Charlottesville for the two months she is outpatient. She will also have to be away from her amazing husband and three children during this time.

Allison is a fighter and her spirit continues to amaze us. She is not one to ask for help and had to be convinced that she should be open to us creating a GoFundMe. Allison will need to deal with lost income on top of medical bills and additional housing cost for her treatment. We hope that by alleviating some of the mental stress that these financial difficulties bring, Allison can put all her energy in to getting better.