Jordan's Leukemia Battle
Donation protected
At the end of January 2016, at 19 years old, my nephew, Jordan Grow, was diagnosed with B-Cell Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia - a particularly nasty and aggressive form of an already nasty and insidious blood cancer.
Over the past nine months, he has endured months of hospitalization, multiple painful bone marrow biopsies, intensive chemotherapy and, since September he has been in San Francisco at UCSF engaged in an experimental CAR t-cel therapy that is bringing some light from what has been a very dark tunnel.
At one point his leukemia counts were 96%, but now things are looking more promising with a path to remission. Within the next few weeks he has to undergo a bone marrow transplant. That’s the good news.
Being a single mom has always had its challenges - from day one my sister Caitlin has embraced her life with her son, risen to those challenges and has, single-handedly, produced a son who is an extraordinary, kind, caring, intelligent, artistic young man. There have been no grandparents to help, and we are her closest relatives - and we live in Massachusetts.
Through this intense and terrifying journey, including multiple trips from their home in Santa Fe to San Francisco, Caitlin has been, with phenomenal strength and clarity, at his side fighting, encouraging, cajoling, advocating and caring for her son. She has slept for weeks, in hospital chairs at his bedside. She has given up everything in her own life to do whatever is necessary to make sure Jordan has a future.
While she has had support and tremendous flexibility from her employer, this battle has been financially catastrophic. Credit cards are maxed, and what savings she had are long since wiped; the latest step, the bone marrow transplant, requires that Jordan be attended 24/7 for at least three months all while staying within 35 miles of the transplant hospital in San Francisco.
This is the reality of medical care in America — while we are excited, and hopeful, that Jordan appears to be responding to his experimental therapy, the crippling financial crisis that has come with this treatment is going to be a burden on Caitlin and Jordan for years and years to come.
The next few months are critical for giving Jordan the best possible chance at survival, and he needs his mother by his side. This is a situation that could befall any one of us without warning.
Please donate what you can to help them cover the mountain of costs they face as they head down what we hope will be the homestretch of this brutal fight. In addition to the costs of staying in the SF Bay Area, Caitlin needs to maintain her rental home in Santa Fe. Your donations will help her keep her home, allow her to be with Jordan, and ease the fiscal worries of making it through this stage in his treatment.
Thank you.
Over the past nine months, he has endured months of hospitalization, multiple painful bone marrow biopsies, intensive chemotherapy and, since September he has been in San Francisco at UCSF engaged in an experimental CAR t-cel therapy that is bringing some light from what has been a very dark tunnel.
At one point his leukemia counts were 96%, but now things are looking more promising with a path to remission. Within the next few weeks he has to undergo a bone marrow transplant. That’s the good news.
Being a single mom has always had its challenges - from day one my sister Caitlin has embraced her life with her son, risen to those challenges and has, single-handedly, produced a son who is an extraordinary, kind, caring, intelligent, artistic young man. There have been no grandparents to help, and we are her closest relatives - and we live in Massachusetts.
Through this intense and terrifying journey, including multiple trips from their home in Santa Fe to San Francisco, Caitlin has been, with phenomenal strength and clarity, at his side fighting, encouraging, cajoling, advocating and caring for her son. She has slept for weeks, in hospital chairs at his bedside. She has given up everything in her own life to do whatever is necessary to make sure Jordan has a future.
While she has had support and tremendous flexibility from her employer, this battle has been financially catastrophic. Credit cards are maxed, and what savings she had are long since wiped; the latest step, the bone marrow transplant, requires that Jordan be attended 24/7 for at least three months all while staying within 35 miles of the transplant hospital in San Francisco.
This is the reality of medical care in America — while we are excited, and hopeful, that Jordan appears to be responding to his experimental therapy, the crippling financial crisis that has come with this treatment is going to be a burden on Caitlin and Jordan for years and years to come.
The next few months are critical for giving Jordan the best possible chance at survival, and he needs his mother by his side. This is a situation that could befall any one of us without warning.
Please donate what you can to help them cover the mountain of costs they face as they head down what we hope will be the homestretch of this brutal fight. In addition to the costs of staying in the SF Bay Area, Caitlin needs to maintain her rental home in Santa Fe. Your donations will help her keep her home, allow her to be with Jordan, and ease the fiscal worries of making it through this stage in his treatment.
Thank you.
Organiser and beneficiary
Jason Grow
Organiser
Gloucester, MA
Caitlin Grow
Beneficiary
