Support Cliff's Battle Against CML

Cliff Crushes CML – Help Us Fight This Battle

Hi friends, family, and kind-hearted strangers—

My name is Tara, and I’m asking for help for my husband, Cliff, as we face a battle we never saw coming.

A few weeks ago, during a routine physical, blood work revealed something alarming—Cliff’s white blood cell count was 148,000 (normal is 4,000–11,000). After urgent follow-up tests, a bone marrow biopsy, and multiple specialist visits, he was officially diagnosed with Chronic Myeloid Leukemia (CML).

Cliff is now on an aggressive treatment plan that includes high-dose chemotherapy pills to try to bring his counts under control quickly. The side effects are expected to be intense—nausea, fatigue, muscle cramps, depression, anxiety—and his care team is prescribing medications to manage each one. He’ll be monitored closely, with EKGs twice a week to check his heart and regular CT scans and labs to track progress.

Recent scans showed a slightly enlarged spleen (common with CML). Still, we know this is going to be a long, hard road.

The Toll – Financial & Emotional

The cost of chemo medications, supportive meds, scans, and specialist visits has been overwhelming—even with insurance. We’re also losing income as Cliff misses work for treatments, and in the event that I also have to miss work to be by his side as we start this more aggressive treatment . On top of that, our biggest prayer is that Cliff stays healthy enough to keep working, and that I can avoid bringing home any sickness from my classroom that could weaken his immune system further.

We are exhausted. We are scared. And we are clinging to hope.

We’re asking for help to cover:

• Life-saving chemo pills & supportive medications

• Specialist visits, labs, and imaging (EKGs, CT scans, bone marrow biopsies)

• Time off work for treatments & recovery

• Everyday bills as medical costs take over our budget

Our Prayer Requests

• Minimal side effects from chemo

• Strength for Cliff as his body fights

• Protection for his immune system

• That he can keep working and maintain a sense of normalcy

• Guidance and wisdom for his team of doctors

Cliff is the rock of our family—a hard-worker, never has taken a sick day, a devoted husband, and an amazing dad. He’s the type of man who would give anyone the shirt off his back. Now, we’re humbly asking for help to carry him through this fight.

If you can’t give financially, your prayers and words of encouragement mean the world to us. Please share this link so others can join #CliffCrushesCML.

From the bottom of our hearts,

Tara & Cliff