Support for Adriana's New Life

  I am a 29 year old woman who comes from Southern Mexico.  In the summer of 2016, I came to the US to work as an au pair as I wanted to improve my English speaking skills, I love working with children, and I wanted to take some college courses. During the spring of last year, I began to feel unusually tired.  I kept getting sick with colds and just couldn't seem to get enough sleep.  I began to have stomach pain and thought maybe I had the flu.  On July 18th, 2018, I was taken to see a doctor for a stabbing pain in my stomach and the thought that it was my gallbladder. I kept getting worse so I decided to see yet another doctor. At Unity Cardozo clinic, I was seen that evening by Dr. Kate Sugarman. Her intuition told her to order a general blood test. Two days later, Dr. Sugarman called me and told me that I had to rush to the emergency room at Sibley Memorial Hospital. In the ER on 7/20/18, I had a very painful bone marrow  biopsy. My Oncologist, Dr. Khalid El-Shami, diagnosed me with pre-B cellAcute Lymphoblastic Leukemia(ALL) and that treatment had to begin immediately.  After multiple rounds of chemotherapy with many different drugs, some of which were injected into my spinal canal, I finally did leave the hospital until the end of August in remission!
     Since my diagnosis of ALL in July of 2018, I have been hospitalized for chemotherapy well over eight times. Gratefully, these treatments have been successful in keeping me in remission. With the specific type of ALL I have, the average life expectancy is 8 to 45 months if chemo is the only treatment. The good news is that if I have abone marrow transplant(BMT), my life expectancy can be extended 80% and there is a chance to actually cure the leukemia!
     Like others on Go Fund Me, my insurance will not cover any of the cost of a bone marrow transplant. My doctor told me that if I can raise $100,000, then I can have the procedure done. Sadly, I do not have any money to cover the BMT, this is why I am asking for your help.  Time is of the essence for me in more ways than one in that if I have the inevitable recurrence of my ALL prior to a BMT, it will likely be resistant to any of the chemo I have already received. I am asking for your generous support to help me raise the funds I need to begin a new life. I need this transplant as soon as possible to avoid relapsing. With your help, I will be able to increase my life expectancy, see my family again, and help others in my situation. I will also be able to go back to school and pursue the master's degree that I have always wanted. 
     Thank you for taking the time to read my story and for your generous donation. Every little bit does help!