Support Debbie Mielke's Fight Against Leukemia

Hello friends and family!

We are raising money to help the Mielke Family as they navigate Mom’s (Debbie Mielke) recent diagnosis of ALL (*Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia. Specifically, B Cell-ALL, Philadelphia negative, CD20 negative).

Mom started feeling weak back at the beginning of March. She was found to be severely anemic and the blood work and cancer work up started from there. After a bone marrow biopsy on March 26th, the diagnosis of B cell Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (B-ALL) was determined on April 4th. On the 4th, Mom had severe back and leg pain and was admitted to Sacred Heart. An MRI was done that showed she had some spinal cord involvement which might’ve explained her pain. The plan was to get her to Seattle as soon as possible to start treatment.

She took a quick turn south on April 5th and needed to be care flighted at midnight to Seattle to the Fred Hutch Cancer Center at the University of Washington Medical Center. Her blood levels were all pointing toward sepsis, which can happen when your white blood cells are so low that you cannot fight off infection. She was stabilized by the awesome team at Sacred Heart and then at Fred Hutch. She received IV antibiotics, blood, and platelets to help get the sepsis under control and boost up her red blood cell volume. Her in-hospital oncologist, Dr. Scott, recommended that she should consider being in one of their ALL studies. (ALL is more common in children than adults) Mom was able to get into a study for the type of B-ALL that she has and hey have already seen encouraging results from the few patients who are in the study.

Chemo started on April 9th and she was able to discharge on April 23rd after her 15th day of chemo treatment. She tolerated all the meds pretty well with little side effects during this first round. She had her first follow up bone marrow biopsy on April 30th, which is day 22. She is tentatively scheduled to start the next round on May 3rd. At this point, her blood levels have been on the rise and her CSF (cerebral spinal fluid) was negative for leukemia. The team is encouraged by her results.

The study is a 21 day cycle where days 1-5 are in the hospital as an inpatient and she will receive chemo nearly continuously. (This is the regular EPOCH treatment that all ALL patients receive. EPOCH is an acronym for the chemo drugs that she receives.) The study drug, Tafasitamab, is given on days 1, 8 and 15 of the cycle. Debbie will also receive monthly lumbar punctures (LP’s) to ensure the leukemia stays out of her spine. She is discharged on day 5 from the hospital and then heads to the Behnke Family House (formerly known as the South Lake Union House). This is her temporary Seattle apartment during treatment. The housing is connected with Fred Hutch and is a huge help due to it’s proximity to the Cancer Care clinic.

While Debbie’s numbers at this point have been encouraging for the whole team, the treatment will be another 4-6 rounds of chemo with a potential of 8 rounds (each being 21 days), all of which will happen in Seattle.

Mom’s spirits are good considering how weak she feels from having a low red blood cell count for the last month. She is motivated to get well so she can see all her 5 grandchildren and get back to teaching piano lessons for the eldest granddaughter.

And here is where The Village comes in. The Mielke family needs our help in this fight for Debbie. There are three things you can do right now:

1. Donate. All funds raised for the Mielkes will help offset the cost of travel and lodging in Seattle, ensure that things like meals and cleaning are taken care of at home, and remove some of the burden from both Doug and Debbie as they take the necessary time for treatment. Housing will be around $2200- $3000/ month until the financial grants and assistance can kick in. Food and travel is also an expense we are accommodating for any caregivers who stay with Mom in Seattle.

**PLEASE NOTE: GoFundMe automatically sets a tip percentage for any donation you make. These tips DO NOT go to Debbie, but rather to GoFundMe. Please be aware of this and set your tip level to 0%. Thanks!**

2. Make an appointment to donate blood. This is an often-overlooked way to care for someone going through any number of diseases, but as Debbie has been the grateful recipient of those who have donated, we want to encourage everyone to do so if you can. Visit https://www.redcross.org/give-blood.html to find a location to donate near you.

3. You can pray. This journey will long and trying for the Mielkes, and the reminders that they have people behind them, will carry them through the hardest moments. Pray for Debbie and her physicians. Between fantastic modern medicine, her body’s amazing capability to heal, and prayers for complete healing, we believe that Debbie will be cured from her Leukemia. And don't forget to send texts and Facebook posts/messages to let her know you are thinking of her.

Thank you everyone for your support and care of the Mielkes.

You can follow along with Mom’s journey by going to her Caring Bridge page. We will do our best to keep it updated between appointments and treatments.

Side note: If donating via this platform doesn't work for you, please feel free to reach out to me, Andrea Blackburn, or message me for my phone number, and I will set you up with my Venmo, Paypal or Zelle account.