Love to Leslie
Donation protected
This is my beautiful, sweet and amazing niece Leslie. She is a 32yr old single mom and lives in Canada. Leslie was diagnosed with leukemia 6yrs ago. She went though chemo and after 4 months of treatment was considered in remission. We were of coarse ecstatic, but our happiness was short lived as the doctors at Princess Margaret Cancer Hospital in Toronto explained that her chance of staying in remission was only 20%.! Their solution to this was a bone marrow transplant, which if successful, would change her prognosis to an 80% chance of staying in remission! At that time, the love of her life, my sweet great nephew Carter was only 3 1/2yrs old, so the choice was obvious and she agreed to the transplant. We felt very lucky that a donor, who was deemed to be an 86% match, was found pretty quickly. Leslie could accept this match, or since it wasn’t an exact match, decline and go back on the list. If she declined there was no guarantee when, or even if, a more suitable donor would be found. So with the doctors encouragement Leslie was admitted to Princess Margaret hospital for the life saving treatment in July of 2012. This time, she would remain there for just shy of 1 month while going through chemo, full body radiation and then the transplant.
After the transplant we were told Leslie was now considered cancer free! but again our rejoicing was short lived, as she soon developed the worst side effect of this type of transplant, graft vs host. This is a condition that occurs when the donated bone marrow views the recipient’s body as foreign, and then attacks the body. Leslie has been courageously fighting this condition ever since. The symptoms of graft versus host are different for everyone. Leslie developed problems with her skin, extreme dry eyes (to the point that they had to draw multiple vials of blood monthly to make eye drops for her!), difficulty eating and swallowing (little to no saliva, so unable to chew and swallow food), intolerance to many foods (including food and drinks that are hot or cold), fatigue, muscle weakness and over the last year severe damage to her lungs.
My beautiful niece now weighs 88 pounds and her lungs are only functioning at 18%! The doctors have told us that if you survive this condition, after 3-4 years, many of the symptoms can start to improve. Leslie is at 3 and a half years! However, the graft versus host has taken its toll, and we DESPRATELY need Leslie to gain weight and either regain some lung function, or get healthy enough for a lung transplant.
Leslie’s already stressed marriage did not survive through her battle with cancer. Her financial situation has been an added stress for so long now. She is a Canadian citizen so she has free health care, but since she was unable to work though different parts of this battle, and is very limited with what she can do and what she can be exposed to, money is extremely tight.
So, now that you’ve heard this story your probably thinking she is sitting home, collecting what money she can get from disability or whatever, right? Well, let me tell you, just incase you haven’t already figured it out, what a determined, strong and amazing person my niece is!! Knowing that she could never give Carter any kind of a normal life, or even SURVIVE on the eleven hundred dollars a month she would be allotted on disability, she found a job and has worked steadily for the last 2yrs! She works at a car dealership in the service department (and has an amazing employer who lets her off whenever needed for all her doctor appointments and understands when she is too sick to work)! I can't even imagine the strenght and fortitude it takes to get up every morning, take care of herself, her son, go to work, take care of her house, the bills, ect. ect. I am so proud to call her my niece!
Because Leslie's health has deteriorated so much in the last few months her doctors have strongly recommended a rehabilitation program. They found one that is covered by her insurance, but it would mean taking 2-3 days a week off of work. They have also referred her to a dietitian to help with weight gain, but many of the supplements are very expensive and due to pure exhaustion from being sick, working, being a mom etc. she is often unable to shop and cook! Leslie desperately needs to rest, go to the rehabilitation program, and have some expensive (and very specific) meals prepared for her!
Leslie’s health is at such a critical point right now, she has to start improving immediately or we will lose her. There is no way she can continue in her current situaton. She has fought so incredibly hard and now she needs a break from all the stress (especially financially). I can't begin to explain how helpless we feel as a family, wishing with all our hearts that we could be there to help her. But we are spread out over two countries, and unfortunetly don't have the financial resources to make an impact on this huge need.
As a family we first and foremost ask for your prayers. Please pray that God will wrap Leslie in his healing arms and help her to feel his peace. Also, if you could pray for Carter, this is a lot for a little boy to deal with! Next we are asking with the utmost humility that you donate whatever money you can to aid in Leslie's recovery. We pray that God blesses you for your generosity, and will try to keep everyone periodically updated on her progress.
with love and thankfulness,
Leslie's very grateful family!
Jill, Lizabeth, Ron, Denise, Ashley, James, Jessica, Katie, Meghan, Justin, Rachel, Becca, Dustin,
and her parents, Laura and Jamie
After the transplant we were told Leslie was now considered cancer free! but again our rejoicing was short lived, as she soon developed the worst side effect of this type of transplant, graft vs host. This is a condition that occurs when the donated bone marrow views the recipient’s body as foreign, and then attacks the body. Leslie has been courageously fighting this condition ever since. The symptoms of graft versus host are different for everyone. Leslie developed problems with her skin, extreme dry eyes (to the point that they had to draw multiple vials of blood monthly to make eye drops for her!), difficulty eating and swallowing (little to no saliva, so unable to chew and swallow food), intolerance to many foods (including food and drinks that are hot or cold), fatigue, muscle weakness and over the last year severe damage to her lungs.
My beautiful niece now weighs 88 pounds and her lungs are only functioning at 18%! The doctors have told us that if you survive this condition, after 3-4 years, many of the symptoms can start to improve. Leslie is at 3 and a half years! However, the graft versus host has taken its toll, and we DESPRATELY need Leslie to gain weight and either regain some lung function, or get healthy enough for a lung transplant.
Leslie’s already stressed marriage did not survive through her battle with cancer. Her financial situation has been an added stress for so long now. She is a Canadian citizen so she has free health care, but since she was unable to work though different parts of this battle, and is very limited with what she can do and what she can be exposed to, money is extremely tight.
So, now that you’ve heard this story your probably thinking she is sitting home, collecting what money she can get from disability or whatever, right? Well, let me tell you, just incase you haven’t already figured it out, what a determined, strong and amazing person my niece is!! Knowing that she could never give Carter any kind of a normal life, or even SURVIVE on the eleven hundred dollars a month she would be allotted on disability, she found a job and has worked steadily for the last 2yrs! She works at a car dealership in the service department (and has an amazing employer who lets her off whenever needed for all her doctor appointments and understands when she is too sick to work)! I can't even imagine the strenght and fortitude it takes to get up every morning, take care of herself, her son, go to work, take care of her house, the bills, ect. ect. I am so proud to call her my niece!
Because Leslie's health has deteriorated so much in the last few months her doctors have strongly recommended a rehabilitation program. They found one that is covered by her insurance, but it would mean taking 2-3 days a week off of work. They have also referred her to a dietitian to help with weight gain, but many of the supplements are very expensive and due to pure exhaustion from being sick, working, being a mom etc. she is often unable to shop and cook! Leslie desperately needs to rest, go to the rehabilitation program, and have some expensive (and very specific) meals prepared for her!
Leslie’s health is at such a critical point right now, she has to start improving immediately or we will lose her. There is no way she can continue in her current situaton. She has fought so incredibly hard and now she needs a break from all the stress (especially financially). I can't begin to explain how helpless we feel as a family, wishing with all our hearts that we could be there to help her. But we are spread out over two countries, and unfortunetly don't have the financial resources to make an impact on this huge need.
As a family we first and foremost ask for your prayers. Please pray that God will wrap Leslie in his healing arms and help her to feel his peace. Also, if you could pray for Carter, this is a lot for a little boy to deal with! Next we are asking with the utmost humility that you donate whatever money you can to aid in Leslie's recovery. We pray that God blesses you for your generosity, and will try to keep everyone periodically updated on her progress.
with love and thankfulness,
Leslie's very grateful family!
Jill, Lizabeth, Ron, Denise, Ashley, James, Jessica, Katie, Meghan, Justin, Rachel, Becca, Dustin,
and her parents, Laura and Jamie
Organizer
Jill Fitz Noack
Organizer
Irmo, SC
