Support Maria in her fight against Leukemia (ALL)

Maria went to see a doctor for what she thought was a stomach virus during the first week of December of 2020. The doctor sent her to the hospital thinking it might be something more serious like appendicitis. She had some tests done but none of them indicated that she had appendicitis or that she had anything that needed immediate attention so they gave her the option of going home. However, while she was at the hospital they took some blood samples, ran some tests, and then called her within a few days recommending that she go see a hematologist/oncologist. Maria already had a hematologist that she was seeing for her Von Willebrand’s Blood disease that she acquired in 2017. When she went to see them they ran some more in-depth blood work. The blood work indicated that she had Leukemia but they couldn’t confirm the type without a bone marrow biopsy, so they sent her to be admitted into the hospital for it. The bone marrow biopsy confirmed that she has Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL), which is sadly one of the fastest-growing leukemias and must be treated immediately. She began her first round of chemo after her diagnosis on 12/08/2020. Unfortunately, the chemo regimen was so strong that after she was sent home she went neutropenic and went into septic shock. She was in the ICU throughout most of December, Christmas, New Years' and into early February. She had to recover from multiple infections due to her weak immune system and had to undergo surgery to address a non-resolving infection. Due to these extra hospitalizations, it has put her behind on her chemo schedule and has also added extra unnecessary expenses that the average Leukemia patient doesn’t need on top of the already expensive chemo regimen.

She is currently on an FMLA leave with her job, but she has exhausted her sick and vacation pay. She will no longer have a check coming in for the rest of her treatment, so she is now struggling to find a way to pay her bills. She has also already accumulated several thousand dollars of debt due to treatment so far. Leukemia is one of the most expensive cancers to treat and the average cost can vary due to the constant need to tweak the regimen. The estimated expenses do not include a cancer patient's cost of living (housing, insurances, food, fuel, etc.)

Before diagnosis, 23-year-old Maria was a college student that would have been graduating this semester with a degree in Mental Health & Human Services. She worked full-time and enjoys volunteering at local shelters because she plans to continue helping the homeless (especially the homeless children/battered women shelters) with her degree. Once she finishes treatment she plans to go back to her volunteer work and graduate. Please consider donating whatever you can to help Maria stay afloat during her treatment. Please also keep her in your thoughts and prayers during this time. Thank you so much!