I am reaching out on behalf of my beloved father, Gary Dotterweich. He has recently been diagnosed with a life-changing, rare, aggressive blood cancer called Plasma Cell Leukemia.

This is a rare, aggressive variant of Multiple Myeloma where cancerous plasma cells (a type of white blood cell) spill from the bone marrow into the bloodstream. This is different than typical myeloma where they mostly stay in the marrow. Plasma Cell Leukemia is a more advanced, high-risk form of Multiple Myeloma causing bone pain, extreme fatigue, kidney issues, infections, and anemia. He will require intensive treatment with chemotherapy, immunotherapy, targeted therapy, in-hospital stay, several blood transfusions, and hopefully come to a point where stem cell transplants can be an option. He unexpectedly started the first part of this journey on Friday, December 12th, when he was rushed to Buffalo General ER for severe chest pain and received his diagnosis that put our family in shock. He will be in continuous treatment for months on end.

A lot of you reading will know our family from our restaurant, Orange Tree Inn, in Wheatfield, NY. Our business runs off of only Gary, my mother Tammy, myself, my sister Rachel, my brother Jacob, and our family Trisha and Terry. Since 2017, we have worked hard to create a family atmosphere for everyone who walks in the door and create a safe space where you can relax and feel at home. We will be working our hardest to keep our business afloat during these difficult times to be able to continue serving our community and expanding our family.

With this diagnosis, my father will no longer be a part of our team as he was the staple who has done all of our cooking, catering himself, and being my mother's other half in keeping our business thriving. We have unfortunately put an end to our drop-off catering effective immediately and will be adjusting our hours so my mom can attend to all of his appointments.

With this being said, my parents have been put through a huge financial burden with medical costs and will continue to be as he moves along with treatment. My dad is the last person to ever reach out for help as he is the kind of person who will put other people before himself.

All funds donated will go strictly towards his care at Roswell and hope to ease the burden of his treatment costs for my parents.

For everyone reading, I thank you for taking time out of your day to read his story. We appreciate all the support our family has been receiving. Every donation means the world to us.

With sincere appreciation,

The Dotterweich Family