Support Needed: Help Our Family Through Medical Hardships

A Journey of Resilience and Hope

Dear Friends, Family, and Kind Strangers,

We are reaching out to you with humble hearts and a deep need for support during an incredibly challenging time for our family. Our journey began three years ago when my husband lost feeling in both his legs, and we discovered he had a tumor (plasmacytoma) in his spine. After enduring weeks of radiation and two major surgeries, the tumor was successfully removed.

However, almost three years to the day of that initial diagnosis, we received devastating news: my husband's cancer had returned and spread, now diagnosed as multiple myeloma, an incurable disease. The doctors quickly initiated chemotherapy, which he has been undergoing for the past three months, with one more month to go. The medical staff began referring to him as "the unicorn" because this rare form of multiple myeloma occurs in only about 1% of patients, and his young age and overall health made it even more unusual.

Following his fourth cycle of chemotherapy, my husband will need to undergo a stem cell/bone marrow transplant, requiring him to be 100 miles away from his family for a minimum of three months. The hospital does have accommodations where he will stay, but unfortunately the insurance won’t cover the cost of the apartment. This is an additional cost ($6,000) on top of our mortgage. As a devoted family man, the thought of missing parts of our daughter's senior year in high school and numerous tournaments for our son is heart-wrenching for him.

Adding to our hardship, my husband does not qualify for FMLA because he has not been at his current job long enough, having left his previous job due to their refusal to accommodate his cancer treatments. I will also need to take a leave of absence to care for him, significantly impacting our family's financial stability. During the time my husband is in insolation recovering from his transplant I will be traveling daily the 100 miles each way to take care of him and still take care of our kids at home.

My husband is one of the kindest souls you will ever meet. He is a volunteer firefighter in our small town and actively participates in many community events. During COVID, he adopted our daughter, providing her with a full-time dad. Despite his own health battles, he has been there for our daughter during her double leg surgery this last month and has continuously supported our son in his activities.

We are kindly asking for your help to ease the financial burden during this difficult time as we are starting to become overwhelmed with medical bills that have already drained our savings. Your generosity will go towards medical expenses, daily living costs, and ensuring our family can stay strong together. Any contribution, no matter how small, will make a significant difference in our lives.

Thank you from the bottom of our hearts for your support, prayers, and kindness during this journey.

With gratitude,

Heather and Family