Janice Olmstead's Transplant Fund

Dear Family and Friends,

 

So I guess its time to talk about this. I have put off writing these words and putting on paper what is the truth for my life right now. Sharing the circumstances that got my family here. The story that I wish wasn’t mine. I’m not fearful of living out loud, sharing what I know, wearing my heart on my sleeve. I just haven’t had the words to match my deep grief and raw reality.

Last year Bobby and Rocco and I flew to South Korea to meet the boy we had waited 10 years for and had been matched with for 2 years. The 10 days in South Korea, last October, were the happiest 10 days of my life. There is a huge difference between happiness and joy. I believe we choose to be joyful even when things are hard. I believe ‘happiness’ is when your circumstances are good. For all of you who know the Olmsies on a deeper level we have been through so much hardship and have chosen to be joyful. I know now that we experienced true happiness when we flew to meet Jinwoong (G) and walked around his homeland for 10 days. When we flew back to Spokane to wait for the paper work to go through we knew we had about a 1 month wait before we could go back and bring our boy home. Like clockwork we got the call two weeks later that we could go back and pick him up. Things worked out how we thought they would. Until they didn’t. Around that time I thought I was having appendicitis. We ran to the ER, told the Dr. to yank out my appendix because we had to be back on a plane in 12 days to pick up our son. He had adopted a boy from South Korea in the 80’s and was so excited for us! We were laughing and not deterred for a second, I’ll just get this out and everything will stay on target. After my scan the ER doc came back in with a completely different tone and was ashen. He told me to call my doctor; this was not an appendix issue. He mentioned that there was something going on with my bones. I was so HAPPY and in bliss about bringing G home that it went right over my head. I have scolded myself a million times since then for not getting it. I called my doctor. They scheduled me to come in and meet a new doctor because mine had moved to the valley. I honestly just thought we were going to meet this new doctor. Bobby and I have a motto for our family. We go in together, we go out together. You know life has lobbed some garbage at you when you have a motto you live by! So we went on a Monday morning, 4 days before flying out to pick up Jin (G) and sat down together in front of this new doctor. She drew on a piece of paper, words were not sinking in, all I saw was like this bell curve on the paper and she told me that I had 5 years to live. She asked me if I understood what she was saying. I must have gotten it a little bit because I was crying but I look back now and I know I didn’t understand. I cried for the next 4 days. All I could think was, my kids. My kids. But my kids.

I have been diagnosed with Secondary Myelofibrosis. My mom and her brother have both had a form of what I have. My Uncle Johnny beat his cancer. My mom is living with her form of the disease. My cancer is in my bone marrow and it can best be described as cement being poured in my bones. The cancer is scarring my bones so that I no longer produce Platelets, Red Blood Cells, and White Blood Cells. With out a stem cell transplant my body will stop producing these things and well….

There has been a huge amount of work over the last 14 months to get to today. We have settled on a great doctor at the Mayo Clinic in Arizona, I have received a 10 out 10 match from a donor and in a few months we will sell our house and move to Arizona for a stem cell transplant. That is the most simplified way to explain it. There are a thousand details and a God awful amount of money needed that are wrapped around every thought and conversation Bobby and I have, just to figure out how to get to tomorrow. And the next day, And God willing until we leave Arizona cancer free. We will be in Arizona for about 3.5 to 4 months. Bobby is quitting his job to be with me and our boys will home school there. 

The truth is this is so much bigger than us. The financial burden, the strain. We are selling our home to shore up cash. Please, trust me, we have discussed this into the ground. I can't talk about it anymore; this is what we feel needs to happen first. Secondly is we open up to you, our friends and family and say yes, there is a need and we would love some help. When I was wavering on putting our need out there Bobby said that the people who want to give will do it gladly and with joy. And I appreciate that because I love to give, its fun and it makes you feel like you have control over ‘helping’ a helpless situation. Just know that I appreciate every ounce of help that will be offered and I am grateful in advance. I really am.

 
Love,

Janice Olmstead and Ohana