Support Danielle's Fight Against Leukemia
Donation protected
our little world has been turned upside down & sideways. and it can all be summed up with one little word - cancer - six little letters. one giant impact.
back in mid-december, 2023, my younger sister, Danielle, was rushed to the hospital after feeling incredible weak, short of breath and with a racing heart-rate. after two long days of us pacing around the hospital halls, the team of doctors came back with the diagnosis: B-Cell ALL: Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (Blood Cancer).
within hours, Danielle's world was turned upside down. while most others were gearing up for the holiday season, joyful get togethers, and celebrations, our family was relearning how to breathe, how to exist, how to be.
those early weeks, will stay with me forever:
- watching my sister, at the age of only 29, shuffling through the cards of this new hand she was dealt, with a peace and grace all her own. from sadness and grief of what once was & of the long journey ahead, to learning her role, stepping into her power, and accepting her fight ~ i have never seen anyone stronger.
- watching my family break. truly, utterly, deeply, break, out of the purest love. there simply aren’t many words to express what happens to a family torched by unwavering sadness. but there are even fewer to express a journey through empathy & acceptance ~ i have never seen a family stronger.
- watching how easily the world fades away, as time & togetherness are the only thing that matters
now, here we are, nearly eight months later, and my incredible sister is still fighting! within these past months she has received at least three different cycles of chemotherapy treatments, celebrated a thirtieth birthday, received 10+ blood transfusions (and counting), undergone numerous bone marrow biopsies, emergency room nights, countless hospital stays, and the list goes on.
while she still has a very long road ahead on the journey to be cancer free, Danielle isn't giving up. due to the nature of her cancer and additional factors discovered along the way, Danielle will need a BMT or Bone Marrow Transplant, to give her 'her best chance' in beating this thing for good.
we are currently gearing up for her transplant, currently scheduled for mid-September 2024. all three of her siblings were tested to be a match in the hunt to find her a donor, and i think its pretty cool to say, that i was selected as her best match.
donating to Danielle's journey toward a cancer free life would not only help her focus on healing, but also help our whole family give her the care and support she deserves:
- helping cover housing costs (as none of us are local to the Baltimore, Maryland area where she is receiving treatment)
- travel and transportation - her and family (we live scattered across the east coast)
- food/meal/nutrition
- everyday expenses: while she fights she still has those ordinary stressors including rent, car payments, insurance, bills, etc
- &, of course, medical expenses
know that even the smallest gift will give a great impact
thank you so much for helping Danielle and our whole family on this journey to CURE
as we say every morning, lets take it one day at a time
& remember you can do hard things
THANK YOU
may you wake daily with a constant reminder of how precious this one life is & how, to wake able-bodied & able-minded is a blessing
xoxo Karissa
Organizer and beneficiary
Karissa Johnson
Organizer
Brooklyn, NY
Danielle Johnson
Beneficiary