Support Randy And His Family In Their Fight Against Leukemia

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On Friday, April 25th, Randall received life-altering news — he was diagnosed with T-cell Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (T-ALL). This diagnosis was and continues to be a complete shock to everyone.

Randall is 33 years old, a devoted father to his young daughter and son. Davey (turning 3 in September) is Dad’s biggest helper and #1 fan. Walter (turning 1 in June) is just about as cool, calm and collected as his dad. Randall is also a loving husband to Mallory and a pal to Winnie girl (the best chocolate lab around!). Beyond his role as a family man, he is passionate about baking sourdough, tending to the bees, chickens and garden, cycling and running outdoors, fly fishing and occasionally catching fish.

Professionally, he works full-time as a licensed therapist working in a small private practice, specializing in the treatment of eating disorders in both adolescents and adults. Over the last ten years, his background has been in social work, working in various settings including foster care, community mental health and non-profit services. His career tells you who he is at his core — he is approachable, steady, consistent, and kind.

To our family, Randall is a rock. He is the person we can always rely on, generous with his time, his wisdom, and his love. Anyone who knows him has experienced his "open-door" policy and his calming presence firsthand.

He began his first round of chemotherapy on Saturday, April 26th. Despite the fear, and uncertainty, he has continued to show unwavering courage and a sense of optimism. His strength during this difficult time has been nothing short of inspiring. His sense of humor is ever present.

As he begins this long journey, we are humbly asking for your help — whether it’s through financial support, prayers, uber eats gift cards, letters or family focused experiences. Every bit of support (no matter the size) will make a difference in helping him focus on what matters most: fighting this battle and being there for his family.

At this time, it is unclear what the financial needs are ultimately going to amount to for The Morrisons. Maintaining ongoing expenses, with the loss of his income while undergoing treatment will be the immediate primary concern. With the understood upcoming medical expenses (that are relatively unknown at this point) being the secondary concern. As this piece of the puzzle becomes more clear, we hope to outline needs more specifically and provide the most accurate goal we can.

Thank you for standing with Randall and showing him the same love and support he has always so freely given to others.

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Below is written by Dr. Sam Walker, long-time friend, college room-mate, and now Internal Medicine Doc at UT Med to offer clinical perspective:

Randall Morrison has been diagnosed with a very rare and aggressive form of leukemia. Randall notes he hasn’t felt like himself dating all the way back to November 2024 when he had a bad upper respiratory infection with a month long cough. Since that time he has felt more fatigued than usual and frequently been inconvenienced with recurrent cold symptoms. He remembers feeling decent for about a week or two then sick again for a week or two. As anyone with the demands and sickness exposure of having young children would, he didn’t think too much of the symptoms initially.

This began to change as he also noticed his appetite had been relatively poor and he’d been losing weight, up to about 20-30 lbs over the course of a few months. As his concern began to grow he set up an appointment with his PCP on Monday 4/21/25 where lab work was performed. The labs resulted two days later on Wednesday and his medical provider told him that morning they were referring him to a hematology/oncology doctor to help interpret some of the abnormalities. Later that afternoon he received another call saying he needed to proceed to UT Medical Center immediately as he may have acute leukemia.

Randall had labs rechecked which confirmed the abnormalities, he was admitted and further testing began. He met with an internal medicine doctor and an hematology/oncology doctor. They ordered a bone marrow biopsy and a CT scan of his body. The biopsy was only partially successful (according to the doctor it’s because his bones were so hard, remember of course, he is an Ironman) so it would need to be repeated. The CT scan surprisingly also showed a large mass right above his heart and it was encasing many important blood vessels in the area. He then noticed severe pain and swelling starting in his left arm and was diagnosed with a deep vein thrombosis (DVT, or large blood clot) extending from the left side of his neck down his arm. The blood clot most likely occurred because of the mass compressing the major blood vessel that returns flow to the heart from his arm and also this new diagnosis itself increases the likelihood of blood clots forming. On Friday he was sedated for a repeat bone marrow biopsy as well as a biopsy of the mass in his chest.

Friday evening the whirlwind of unknowns began to slow down some and he received a diagnosis of T Cell Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia which is a rare and aggressive form of blood cancer affecting the bone marrow, where various types of blood cells are created. The T Cell is an important part of our immune system and in this case is incorrectly and rapidly reproducing, crowding out the bone marrow from producing the other necessary components of his blood (red blood cells, white blood cells, and platelets). This specific type of leukemia commonly presents with both affected bone marrow as well as lymph node tissue in the form of a mass which is the one present in his chest. This is a very serious and life threatening form of cancer, however there is a pathway to a cure.

He started chemotherapy on Saturday 4/26/25 which is the beginning of about a four week treatment course which he will remain hospitalized for due to the severe intensity of the treatment, complete depletion of his immune system, and frequent need for transfusions of various blood products. After this he will have a repeat bone marrow biopsy to assess for treatment response. Lord willing he will have an effective response to treatment then move on to the next steps in what will be a long road ahead.