Rod Underhill Family
Donation protected
I am setting up this go fund me on behalf of my sister Leah, and her and Rod's children Samantha and Jesse. Rod had been undergoing treatment for mantle cell cancer that was first diagnosed 9 months ago. During his time in treatment he qualified for a new trial treatment, called car-T, that offered a complete cure. He qualified for this trial because in spite of their rules for qualifying being very stringent , and other than the type of cancer that he was being treated for, he was considered to be in very good health and his heart was strong.
His cells were harvested from his bone marrow and sent off to the lab in order to weaponize his T cells. They would then re-inject his T cells in two to three weeks and when re-introduced to his body they would attack and eat the cancerous B cells. This is cutting edge therapy and has already been FDA approved to treat some B cell cancers.
On the day before his sample was to be re-injected into him, his health took a very sudden and unexpected turn for the worse. He was admitted to the ICU immediately, and eventually spent three days on dialysis. Leah never left his side. After the third day on dialysis he was determined by his doctors (and Leah) to be doing much better. His vitals all looked great and his blood counts had significantly improved. His doctors then started anew the plans for the next ideal day to re-inject his sample. On the evening of September 7th Rods heart suddenly stopped. The doctors tried unsuccessfully to restart it for 37 minutes, and he was pronounced dead at 11:39 pm.
During his treatment Rod never complained about the pain.
When I was a young single mother Rod would often tell Leah to give me money to help with my finances, or buy necessities for my son without me ever even asking. Because i personally know of his generosity I would like to help by setting up this go fund me account. I know that Rod has helped many people throughout his life.
I am hoping that now that his family is in need there will be those of you out there who also remember how big this man's heart was and help his family who are now in great need.
This has been an extremely hard blow to Leah and their kids. His entire family had been looking forward to, and planning for, a future with Rodney in it.
Because they have spent the better part of the last year going to medical appointments and traveling to and from Los Angeles for his trial therapy, their finances took a hard hit. They spent their savings and more in pursuit of getting Rod healthy, so that he could be here for his family. Rod never called this treatment anything other than "the cure", because that's what he was looking towards. Samantha, who is 13 years old, has been worrying about the finances and trying to figure out how to set a page up to start taking art and writing commissions, and their son Jesse who just graduated from high school and has no prior work experience has been looking for jobs so that he can help. Leah has been permanently disabled since their car accident and is unable to work.
Their family is financially and emotionally devastated, and truly at a loss without Rod. They are unsure of whats to come, or how they will tackle the surmounting bills that need to be paid. Anyone who knew Rod probably already knows how much he loved Leah and his children, and he often wrote long passages on Facebook about his great love for Leah. He was an excellent provider for their family. He was also a very proud man and never wanted anyone to know if he was sick or having a rough time of it. His attitude was to just dig in and try to get better.
At this point their house payments are running two months behind, they have past due property taxes, funeral arrangement bills, a roof that is leaking with no finances to repair it, insurance, phone, and gas and light bills, and therapy necessities.
Rod always gave of himself, and it was actually just a normal part of how their family operated to offer help generously to anyone who was in need of it. Its a sad and ironic twist that someone with a heart so big, would then suddenly die of heart failure, ultimately leaving his family without the resources they need to survive.
We will always love Rod, and there will always be a huge hole in our hearts and lives without him.
His cells were harvested from his bone marrow and sent off to the lab in order to weaponize his T cells. They would then re-inject his T cells in two to three weeks and when re-introduced to his body they would attack and eat the cancerous B cells. This is cutting edge therapy and has already been FDA approved to treat some B cell cancers.
On the day before his sample was to be re-injected into him, his health took a very sudden and unexpected turn for the worse. He was admitted to the ICU immediately, and eventually spent three days on dialysis. Leah never left his side. After the third day on dialysis he was determined by his doctors (and Leah) to be doing much better. His vitals all looked great and his blood counts had significantly improved. His doctors then started anew the plans for the next ideal day to re-inject his sample. On the evening of September 7th Rods heart suddenly stopped. The doctors tried unsuccessfully to restart it for 37 minutes, and he was pronounced dead at 11:39 pm.
During his treatment Rod never complained about the pain.
When I was a young single mother Rod would often tell Leah to give me money to help with my finances, or buy necessities for my son without me ever even asking. Because i personally know of his generosity I would like to help by setting up this go fund me account. I know that Rod has helped many people throughout his life.
I am hoping that now that his family is in need there will be those of you out there who also remember how big this man's heart was and help his family who are now in great need.
This has been an extremely hard blow to Leah and their kids. His entire family had been looking forward to, and planning for, a future with Rodney in it.
Because they have spent the better part of the last year going to medical appointments and traveling to and from Los Angeles for his trial therapy, their finances took a hard hit. They spent their savings and more in pursuit of getting Rod healthy, so that he could be here for his family. Rod never called this treatment anything other than "the cure", because that's what he was looking towards. Samantha, who is 13 years old, has been worrying about the finances and trying to figure out how to set a page up to start taking art and writing commissions, and their son Jesse who just graduated from high school and has no prior work experience has been looking for jobs so that he can help. Leah has been permanently disabled since their car accident and is unable to work.
Their family is financially and emotionally devastated, and truly at a loss without Rod. They are unsure of whats to come, or how they will tackle the surmounting bills that need to be paid. Anyone who knew Rod probably already knows how much he loved Leah and his children, and he often wrote long passages on Facebook about his great love for Leah. He was an excellent provider for their family. He was also a very proud man and never wanted anyone to know if he was sick or having a rough time of it. His attitude was to just dig in and try to get better.
At this point their house payments are running two months behind, they have past due property taxes, funeral arrangement bills, a roof that is leaking with no finances to repair it, insurance, phone, and gas and light bills, and therapy necessities.
Rod always gave of himself, and it was actually just a normal part of how their family operated to offer help generously to anyone who was in need of it. Its a sad and ironic twist that someone with a heart so big, would then suddenly die of heart failure, ultimately leaving his family without the resources they need to survive.
We will always love Rod, and there will always be a huge hole in our hearts and lives without him.
Organizer
Lula Alarcon
Organizer
National City, CA
