UPDATE: TRICIA HAS REACHED A MAJOR MILESTONE IN HER JOURNEY. SCROLL DOWN FOR THE LATEST UPDATES. AGAIN, OUR FAMILY IS SO TOUCHED BY ALL THE SUPPORT. GOD'S BLESSINGS TO YOU ALL!

On December 19, 2022 my sister-in-law Tricia Ronkowski went to the ER as she had large unexplained bruises on her body. She was quickly admitted to Aurora Bay Care Medical Center in Green Bay Wisconsin and was told that she has a very rare form of blood cancer called APL acute promyelocytic leukemia. She was told she would have to stay in the hospital for 2 – 3 weeks to stabilize her as well as receive chemotherapy and then would likely do at least 8 months of outpatient chemo. She received her first IV chemotherapy treatment on Christmas Eve day.

As she started to receive treatment, the doctors recognized that she is having a rare reaction to the treatments, and because they thought she should be in a place that had more specialists in this area, she was transferred to St. Luke’s Medical Center in Milwaukee and will be staying there for about the next month.

Tricia is a single mother of 2 and her boys mean everything to her. Joseph, age 13, and Michael, age 11 are anxiously awaiting for their mom to get home. We anticipate there will be many out-of-pocket costs involved in Tricia’s care and that is why we are starting the Go Fund Me page. We also do not know when Tricia will be able to return to work and as we all know the bills still need to be paid.

Our family is new to all of this, so we ask for your prayers as we also emotionally support Tricia and the boys through this journey. We know that our dear God is faithful and will see us all through. A source of strength for us is God’s never-ending love and strength and hope you can say a little prayer for Tricia.

“God is my refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear; though the earth give way and the mountain fall into the heart of the sea, though its water roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging.” Psalm 46: 1 - 3

On December 30th, Tricia was transported to St. Luke's Medical Center. In her first week, they stabilized her to the point where they were giving half doses of IV chemo, and on January 5th, she received her first full dose since being in Green Bay. This is a major milestone as the doctors have explained that her body is responding well and the good news is that other important numbers like platelets and liver enzymes are holding their own, praise God!!

The in patient treatment for this type of leukemia is still likely to be approximately 28 days at St. Lukes, so we appreciate your continued prayer and support at this time. Some of the immediate family have made their way to Milwaukee to visit Tricia and she lights up when she is able to visit with family and friends, so feel free to drop her a text or phone call. There is still a long road ahead, but we are feeling very confident in the medical care she is receiving at St. Lukes. They have treated this type of leukemia before and still encourage us by saying it's a journey, but this type is highly curable.

Again our family is blessed by the support of all of you. We can feel Christ's love and the love of so many, so THANK YOU.

Psalm 46:1 - "God is our refuge and our strength, and ever present help in times of trouble."

UPDATE: On January 18th, 2023 Tricia was released from St. Luke's and able to come home. What a great day as she was able to breathe some fresh air outside a hospital for the first time in a month! Tricia's mom Debbie forever by her daughter's side brought the boys for the treck home, but first they had to stop for an ice cream at Leon's which was the ice cream place that Tricia could see from her 12th floor window at St. Lukes. It was a fabulous day.

Immediately the next day, Tricia started out patient chemo. Along with a battery of bloodwork and an EKG to make sure that her heart is remaining strong, they finally were able to administer the chemo. Tricia is quite weak from all the treatments so she is navigating to the different areas of the complex with her walker, but is working to get her strength back. Right now she will be receiving chemo 5 days a week. They plan to do another bone marrow biopsy in a few weeks to evaluate how her body is responding and will proceed from there. They are still predicting 8 months of chemo for this type of leukemia. She will continue to be unable to work both because of the weakness but mostly because she has no immune system while receiving treatment and it would be too risky for her to be in the public right now.

So although the road is long, our family continues to take it day by day and we see God's grace around us. We know that God will never leave us or forsake us and we feel His presence in so many ways including the acts of kindness from so many of you. THANK YOU for your continued prayers as Tricia continues her treatment.

UPDATE: August 18, 2023

We are overjoyed to report that Tricia has received what we hope to be her LAST IV Chemo treatment. This completes the recommended 8-month treatment. Next, they will do a bone marrow biopsy, and hopefully, that shows no cancer cells and she will officially be in remission. Then, hopefully, they can start to take away some meds, but continue to do blood work to make sure that the body is still doing OK. We don't know what the future looks like, but we are so grateful for this milestone in the road. Hopefully the next step is for Tricia's body to heal from all the treament. THANK YOU to all of you for your prayers, meals, texts, calls, and thoughts for Tricia and our family. We are grateful to our mighty God for His faithfulness every step of the way.

"For I know the plans I have for you. Plans to prosper you and not to harm you. Plans to give you hope and a future." Jeremiah 29:11

"He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak." Isaiah 40:29