Support Ron's Fight Against Leukemia

We (Ron’s children & spouses) have created this GoFundMe to help alleviate the financial burden of Ron’s current condition. Many of you may not know what has transpired and we want to ensure you understand what all has brought to this point. Below is a timeline of events, ending to the current update on Ron’s health. We believe God has given Ron the strength to continue to fight and pray that this is just one piece that can help his fight.

October 2023: Ron was diagnosed with MDS Myelodysplastic Syndrome. The recommended course of treatment was a Bone Marrow Transplant.

January 2024: A match was found for Ron via the National Bone Marrow Registry. We learned this match was a 10/10 match from a donor in Germany. Ron was admitted to the hospital and the subsequent transplant occurred at the end of the month.

February 2024: Ron did incredibly well after the transplant and was released from the hospital mid February. A close eye would be kept on Ron and the next big hurdle would be a bone marrow biopsy 100 days post-transplant to ensure the transplant was successful.

May 2024: Around the 100-day mark, the biopsy was taken and showed that Ron’s blood was 100% donor cells. This would not mean he was in the clear, however if he could maintain this status he would be on his way to a full recovery.

July 2024: A repeat bone marrow biopsy was taken and showed cancer cells present in his blood indicating a relapse. This ultimately led to his diagnosis of Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML).

September 2024: Up until this point, all of Ron’s treatment had been completed by doctors at Advocate Lutheran General Hospital. He pursued a second opinion at Northwestern Memorial Hospital. He followed their recommendation and was admitted to the hospital at the end of the month for intensive chemo in hopes of entering remission which was needed for another transplant.

October 2024: When the time came to test and confirm if this course of chemo worked, we were very saddened to hear that, though the percentage of cancer cells had reduced – they were nowhere near remission. Ron was sent home at the end of the month.

November 2024: The doctors recommended Ron enter a clinical trial. The best options for Ron would be at MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, TX. Toward the end of the month, Ron traveled to MD Anderson to meet with their team of doctors for more testing and information.

WHAT’S NEXT?

Ron will travel to Houston to begin this clinical trial with MD Anderson. He will stay for a minimum of a month. The goal, through the trial(s), is to bring him into remission so he can have another bone marrow transplant. A lot is still very unknown; however, we remain optimistic and hopeful that this clinical trial will be successful. Depending on how his body reacts to this trial, there is a possibility of additional trials resulting in an extended length of stay. As you can imagine, even with insurance coverage, medical expenses add up. This combined with travel and the many unknowns in the future, we felt strongly that this was necessary to help both Ron and Judi with the financial burden of this unfortunate situation.

We are incredibly blessed and thankful for all the continued prayers and support for both Ron & Judi. This has built them up in ways that are immeasurably meaningful. This is just one extra way we feel we can help support in a very troubling time. Please also know that any funds that go unused through this process will be donated and your generosity will be used to help one way or another.

We thank you for reading and please continue to pray for Ron and our family!