A message from Jody:

After a diagnosis of multiple myeloma (a type of blood cancer) in early December, Scott spent 20 days in the hospital and is currently in his third cycle of treatments. In May, he will need to undergo a stem cell transplant. If you are blissfully unaware of what this is, just as we were until recently, I’ll try to explain it as best I can. They will essentially collect his stem cells, remove them, and he will get a high dose chemo “bomb” in an attempt to wipe out as much of the remaining cancer as they can before putting the stem cells back in to create more of the healthy ones. This is not a cure, but if all goes well, it will put him into a period of remission so his body can tolerate more treatments down the road when needed. He will be very sick after the chemo. It will wipe out his immune system completely. There’s a good chance he’ll end up in the hospital again for infection. It’s a scary process that takes several weeks in and out of the clinic, but the window of opportunity is not available after this timeframe, so it’s necessary to do it now. As you can imagine, the recovery will be lengthy and will require around-the-clock caregiving for several months. During that time, neither of us will likely be able to work. And while our insurance will cover some of the cost of the procedure, it won’t be all of it. We already have thousands of dollars in medical bills incurred from the initial hospital stay as well as the weekly treatments and medications he’s currently getting. This is why we are kindly asking for help, which isn’t easy or comfortable, but we are incredibly grateful to anyone willing to contribute even in the smallest way while we focus on Scott’s recovery.