Naomi was diagnosed with Aplastic Anemia in the Fall of 2013 at the age of 6. She received a bone marrow transplant in January 2014 and seemed to have a good recovery. For two years she was able to live as a normal child. Unfortunately in October 2016, during a routine blood draw, it was discovered that her platelets were below normal and her red blood cells were slightly low. She became transfusion dependent and her doctors were unable to determine why this was happening. Her parents reached out to Children's Hospital of Wisconsin and on Sunday evening, February 12, they decided to transfer her care to Dr. Margolis in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. At just 9 years old, Naomi received her second bone marrow transplant on March 7, 2017. Her older brother Micayah was her donor. She is currently staying with her mom and sisters at the Ronald McDonald House by the hospital, as she has frequent outpatient clinic appointments every week. With the help of the Bone Marrow & Cancer Foundation, Naomi’s family has raised funds through the CareLines Fund program, which will be used to help pay medical bills, allow her dad and siblings to travel to visit or stay with her while she recovers, and go towards the increased costs of having Naomi and Kristy across the country from the rest of the family.
Stephanie is the mother of three children and wife of a member of the US Navy. Stephanie was diagnosed with chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML) and received a Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation (HCT) transplant. She turned to the Bone Marrow & Cancer Foundation for assistance to help cover the cost of housing so that her family could stay nearby while she was hospitalized, and to ensure that her parents could stay with her when her husband was on military duty.
Marc was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL) in April of 2016. He underwent an Allogeneic bone marrow transplant in February at the City of Hope in Duarte, California. As he is single, Marc needed to pay for full time caregiver support during his three-month stay at City of Hope. The support of the Bone Marrow & Cancer Foundation allowed him to cover these expenses until he was able to return home to Santa Barbara, CA.
Byron was originally diagnosed with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) in December 2014 at age 31. He and his wife, Michal Ann, have a young family with three daughters. Byron began chemo in January 2015 and achieved remission. The cancer returned after only six months and by July 2016 his lymph nodes had swollen to a size that made it difficult to turn his head. The oral chemo put him back into remission, but he was told there was no other approved treatment option for his specific type of CLL and autoimmune disease. His doctor recommended that Byron have one as soon as possible to give him his best chance of a cure. Byron had an allogeneic bone marrow transplant on February 1st, 2017 at Johns Hopkins Hospital. His brother Brandon was his donor and flew from Texas for the procedure. With the support of the Bone Marrow & Cancer Foundation Byron’s family has been able to cover living and medical expenses during his treatment and recovery.
Tammy is a wife and mother of 3 young boys. She was diagnosed with Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML) in September 2014. Her initial treatment included multiple rounds of consolidation chemotherapy, as well as radiation therapy. Unfortunately, Tammy had several recurring colds and sinus infections in early 2016, both of which can be signs of a weakened immune system. Blood tests followed by a bone marrow biopsy indicated that the leukemia had relapsed. Her doctors recommended an allogenic Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation (HCT) transplant. Her transplant took place in April of 2016, and her anonymous donor was from Germany. Tammy and her family raised money through our CareLines Fund program to help cover co-pays, prescription drug costs, deductibles, and transportation costs. Tammy also joined the SupportLine program and was connected with another mother of three who had gone through a similar transplant journey years prior.
Jesus is a 27 year old young man originally from Venezuela. He was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) in August of 2011 at age 21 while attending undergraduate school at Arizona State University. He responded well to treatment and in 2014 moved to New York to pursue a masters degree at New York University. Shortly after he began school he unfortunately relapsed. He received a cord blood transplant in August of 2015. He has had a very long and difficult process involving many complications and over 8 hospitalizations, but is now regaining his strength and doing well. Jesus raised money through our CareLines Fund program, received a Lifeline grant and most recently has received a Scholarship Grant as he has returned to school at NYU.
Dalton was diagnosed with severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID) as a baby at 11 months. At the time of diagnosis, the doctors were amazed Dalton made it eleven months with no life-threatening illnesses. His parents call him their miracle baby. Dalton had an Allogeneic bone marrow transplant on December 13, 2013. Although he went through some complications post-transplant and spent some time in the PICU, today Dalton is doing well. His parents are even thankful for his first play-inflicted “ouchie” because it is just another sign that he is a wild, crazy, rough-and-tumble toddler - just like any NORMAL toddler. To help Dalton and his family afford the continued medical expenses associated with his bone marrow transplant they set up a CareLines Fund.
