Support Amy Steeves during bone marrow transplant
Donation protected
This campaign is being organized by Sarah Housman with permission from both Amy and Cody.
I met Amy nearly 13 years ago at the University of Florida. You know the moment you meet someone and you become instant friends? Well, that was us! She entertained me with her wit and sarcasm through 4 years of pharmacy school, and we've remained friends all these years.
Amy moved up to NC shortly after graduation with her husband, Cody, who ultimately graduated from UNC with his PharmD. They welcomed their happy baby boy, Hudson, in 2014. When Hudson was only 10 months old, Amy was diagnosed with Angioimmunoblastic T-cell lymphoma (AITL).
Amy was hospitalized for weeks and underwent chemotherapy. Thankfully, she went into remission (yay!) and miraculously welcomed Sawyer, the second Steeves boy that would melt all our hearts with his perfect smile and pretty boy curls (double yay!).
Unfortunately, Amy was crushed when she received the dreadful news that the lymphoma had recurred when Sawyer was only 7 months old.
At this point, Amy needed a bone marrow transplant. She didn't have a full match on the registry to go through a donor, so they prepped her for an autologous bone marrow transplant (using her own cells), which was an absolute nightmare for her both physically and emotionally. She was hospitalized for what felt like forever, and couldn't see her boys for weeks. It took months for her to regain her strength, be able to taste food again, and be able to do regular, mundane, everyday things... things we all take for granted. The recovery was brutal.
Unfortunately, the autologous transplant didn't work the way we had hoped and, within months, the lymphoma reared its ugly head again. BUT get this: her docs checked the registry again, and BOOM. They found a match!
So here we are again, prepping Amy for transplant. Except, this time, she has to move out of her house and into an apartment near the hospital with her mom (who is an angel by the way). Amy has to be separated from the kids for 100 days while she recovers. 100 days.
She is nervous, sad, and scared, but more than anything, grateful. Grateful for her bone marrow donor. Grateful for her family and community of friends rallying around her, Cody and the boys.
But you guys. The financial struggle is real. Amy has been unable to work as a pharmacist due to her health, and the risks involved with being exposed to the general public. Yet through all of this, she has tried to maintain a stream of income teaching English to international students online. Cody is grateful to have a job with good insurance, but even with their insurance, the medical bills they owe now exceed $10,000. Cody is trying to avoid taking unpaid leave. They have to hire someone to help with the kids while Cody works full-time and Amy's mom cares for, well, Amy. Thankfully, the insurance benefit covers some of Amy's housing, but they are still $4,000 short. They've always worked hard, planned for the future and lived within their means, and to be in this position, is... painful, to say the least.
Amy wants her life back. She's told me on multiple occasions: "I just want to be a mom". The last thing Amy needs to worry about is paying for her housing while she goes through transplant. Your donation would give Amy the peace she needs to get through the next 100 days as she recovers. The money would go directly to housing for Amy, medical bills, childcare for her children, and food for her family.
If you are unable to contribute financially, I implore you to please consider registering with the bone marrow registry (it is much easier than you think!) and/or becoming a blood donor. And if you are the praying type, pray without ceasing.
For more information, check out this article written about Amy: http://apex.suburbanlivingmag.com/a-mothers-fight-and-a-strangers-ultimate-gift-by-stacy-kivett/
Amy moves to Durham with her mom on Feb 5th. Chemo is slated to start on Feb 7th, with transplant occurring around Feb 14th.
For those of you who feel compelled to donate: thank you, from the bottom of our hearts.
Also, know this: your name will be written in permanent marker on the back of the UF t-shirt I plan to wear as I run the Florida Half-Marathon in Melbourne, Florida on February 10th. I'm writing your names on the back of this t-shirt to symbolize us collectively taking some of the burden off of Amy and Cody's backs, and carrying it on ours. The shirt will be framed and gifted to Amy and her family as a reminder that she is loved, and that humans can come together to turn ugliness into beauty.
My husband, Stevie, and I have also pledged to donate $5 for every person who donates to Amy's campaign from now through February 9th, up to $1000.
Let's do this, friends.
I met Amy nearly 13 years ago at the University of Florida. You know the moment you meet someone and you become instant friends? Well, that was us! She entertained me with her wit and sarcasm through 4 years of pharmacy school, and we've remained friends all these years.
Amy moved up to NC shortly after graduation with her husband, Cody, who ultimately graduated from UNC with his PharmD. They welcomed their happy baby boy, Hudson, in 2014. When Hudson was only 10 months old, Amy was diagnosed with Angioimmunoblastic T-cell lymphoma (AITL).
Amy was hospitalized for weeks and underwent chemotherapy. Thankfully, she went into remission (yay!) and miraculously welcomed Sawyer, the second Steeves boy that would melt all our hearts with his perfect smile and pretty boy curls (double yay!).
Unfortunately, Amy was crushed when she received the dreadful news that the lymphoma had recurred when Sawyer was only 7 months old.
At this point, Amy needed a bone marrow transplant. She didn't have a full match on the registry to go through a donor, so they prepped her for an autologous bone marrow transplant (using her own cells), which was an absolute nightmare for her both physically and emotionally. She was hospitalized for what felt like forever, and couldn't see her boys for weeks. It took months for her to regain her strength, be able to taste food again, and be able to do regular, mundane, everyday things... things we all take for granted. The recovery was brutal.
Unfortunately, the autologous transplant didn't work the way we had hoped and, within months, the lymphoma reared its ugly head again. BUT get this: her docs checked the registry again, and BOOM. They found a match!
So here we are again, prepping Amy for transplant. Except, this time, she has to move out of her house and into an apartment near the hospital with her mom (who is an angel by the way). Amy has to be separated from the kids for 100 days while she recovers. 100 days.
She is nervous, sad, and scared, but more than anything, grateful. Grateful for her bone marrow donor. Grateful for her family and community of friends rallying around her, Cody and the boys.
But you guys. The financial struggle is real. Amy has been unable to work as a pharmacist due to her health, and the risks involved with being exposed to the general public. Yet through all of this, she has tried to maintain a stream of income teaching English to international students online. Cody is grateful to have a job with good insurance, but even with their insurance, the medical bills they owe now exceed $10,000. Cody is trying to avoid taking unpaid leave. They have to hire someone to help with the kids while Cody works full-time and Amy's mom cares for, well, Amy. Thankfully, the insurance benefit covers some of Amy's housing, but they are still $4,000 short. They've always worked hard, planned for the future and lived within their means, and to be in this position, is... painful, to say the least.
Amy wants her life back. She's told me on multiple occasions: "I just want to be a mom". The last thing Amy needs to worry about is paying for her housing while she goes through transplant. Your donation would give Amy the peace she needs to get through the next 100 days as she recovers. The money would go directly to housing for Amy, medical bills, childcare for her children, and food for her family.
If you are unable to contribute financially, I implore you to please consider registering with the bone marrow registry (it is much easier than you think!) and/or becoming a blood donor. And if you are the praying type, pray without ceasing.
For more information, check out this article written about Amy: http://apex.suburbanlivingmag.com/a-mothers-fight-and-a-strangers-ultimate-gift-by-stacy-kivett/
Amy moves to Durham with her mom on Feb 5th. Chemo is slated to start on Feb 7th, with transplant occurring around Feb 14th.
For those of you who feel compelled to donate: thank you, from the bottom of our hearts.
Also, know this: your name will be written in permanent marker on the back of the UF t-shirt I plan to wear as I run the Florida Half-Marathon in Melbourne, Florida on February 10th. I'm writing your names on the back of this t-shirt to symbolize us collectively taking some of the burden off of Amy and Cody's backs, and carrying it on ours. The shirt will be framed and gifted to Amy and her family as a reminder that she is loved, and that humans can come together to turn ugliness into beauty.
My husband, Stevie, and I have also pledged to donate $5 for every person who donates to Amy's campaign from now through February 9th, up to $1000.
Let's do this, friends.
Fundraising team (2)
Sarah Housman
Organizer
Raised $2,330 from 38 donations
Melbourne, FL
Cody Steeves
Beneficiary
Amy Steeves
Team member
Raised $390 from 10 donations
This team raised $11,910 from 156 other donations.
