Support Christy's Fight Against Blood Cancer

Hi, my name is Christy.

I was diagnosed with Mylodysplastic Syndrome, MDS, in March 2024. I will be undergoing a stem cell transplant in October.

I first became ill in 1989, when I was 9 years old, with Aplastic Anemia. I was given 3 months to live if a bone marrow or stem cell match was not found. My family spent over $100,000 looking for a match and never found one.

A few years later my diagnosis transformed into a very rare blood disorder called Parixsysmol Nocturnal Hemaglobinuria, PNH. I was then given a life expectancy of 10 years and rejoiced over these new odds. No treatment existed for PNH at the time but I gave as much of myself as I could to the researchers fighting to find a treatment for those that would come after me.

PNH could be cured by a bone marrow or stem cell transplant. The closest we came was a donor that gave me a 14% chance of survival. At 15 years old I followed my instincts and chose not to risk my life with these odds.

Miraculously I lived another 17 years which was barely long enough to be saved by a treatment they developed. The treatment worked instantly but not completely. Through all of these years I was still receiving blood transfusions monthly and routine hospitalizations.

If you donated blood in the Seattle area anytime since 1990, you may have already saved my life. I've received blood transfusions every couple months for 32 of my 45 years of life.

Earlier this year I started feeling worse. Bone marrow biopsies came back abnormal and by March I received the gut wrenching news that my blood disorder had developed into a blood cancer. I always thought if I got cancer it could be cut out, removed and I'd continue on. Not this cancer. It courses through my veins into every part of my body. There's no escaping it.

So, again we turned to the unrelated bone marrow registry to see if my long run of genetic originality was over. Please, please let my doppelgänger exist this time.

We had looked for a donor in 2007 just before a treatment was FDA approved for PNH. Times have changed and there is now a digital world registry used to search for donors. With 7 million people in the registry, no match was found.

Today the registry has 40 million people enrolled. When we searched earlier this year, 3 matches were finally found!!!!!!!!

They have selected a donor and my odds of survival are 80%. I had steadied myself for odds as low as 50%, so I immediately felt relieved.

I know there is a chance the cancer can come back, the transplant might not take, or my overall health could be worse than it is now. I understand all the risks, the anti-rejection drugs, side effects and uncertainty of what my quality of life will be after the transplant. But I feel like this is the right course of action at this time. I feel the result of this stem cell transplant will cure my cancer, PNH and Aplastic Anemia. I feel my health, this time next year will be much better than it is now.

I will begin the in depth health evaluation mid September and pre-transplant treatment of chemo, full body radiation and de-sensitization early October. If all goes well I will only spend one month in the hospital, followed by nearly daily visits to my clinic for a month or two.

My caregiver is my long time boyfriend Justin. He will have to stop working for several months to take care of me when I come home from the hospital. I will not be allowed to work for 4-6 months if things go well.

The cost of a stem cell transplant is 2 million dollars and we are hoping my health insurances will cover almost all of it. I will be on very expensive anti-rejection medication for years.

I am hoping this fundraising campaign will allow Justin and me the luxury of focusing on my health and our well being during the next 6 months to a year. We cannot thank you enough for any contribution, large or small, you choose to make.

Even if you cannot make a financial contribution, please consider donating blood or joining the bone marrow registry. I'll never stop imagining what it was like for my donor to get the call that they are a match for me.

Thank you,

Christy, Justin and our entire family