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Hello. My name is Burt Hall and I am
setting up this site for my bestfriend of 25 years, John. He has
been battling cancer hard for the last couple of years.
He was diagnosed with Chronic
Lymphocytic Leukemia when he was 35. Doctors found it accidentally,
after he was in a minor car wreck. We could never afford health
insurance ($1500 monthly) because of that pre-existing condition. In
the beginning of 2015, his spleen became enlarged and his white
blood cell count grew to over 237,000, so he started chemotherapy
for 6 months at the Medical University of Charleston. MUSC covered
most of the cost (thank God) and we thought he was doing better, but
in September, he noticed that a groin lymph node had started to
swell. By Christmas, he was in a wheel chair.
Testing revealed that the cancer had
transformed into a rare and deadly Lymphoma - Diffused Large B-cell
Lymphoma. This only happens about 5% of the time to CLL patients.
Doctors attacked this cancer with 4 chemo treatments of R-CHOP, with
Revlimid. Once this began, hospital social workers helped us get
insurance, which resulted in being transferred from MUSC to a local
Oncology doctor and hospital. This was a blessing in disguise. We
live in Myrtle Beach, SC and had been driving to Charleston for
every visit. John had lots of side effects from treatment and it has
been nice only having to travel 15 minutes. The new practice also
has a Nurse Navigator named Cathy, who spent over 2 hours with us,
answering questions, educating us on nutrition, and giving us books.
After the 4th of 6 treatments, he had
another petscan and discovereded it wasn't working. Doctors referred
us to Duke in Durham, NC. Our experience at Duke has been amazing
and they changed his treatment to R-EPOCH with a new miracle drug
called, Imbruvica. Hopefully, after 2 treatments of this, he will be
in remission and can proceed with a bone marrow transplant at Duke.
Without the transplant, the doctors have said he will probably die
within 2 years.
The transplant has risks: there is a
50% chance of a cure, 10% chance of death, and up to a 40% chance
that his body rejects the donor's marrow. The doctors at Duke are
confident that, even with the risks, we should do this.
So, we have to move to Durham, NC for
several months and our insurance doesn't cover lodging or travel
expenses. Someone has to stay with him 100% of the time, so neither
of us can work. After the transplant, he has to go to Duke everyday
to monitor his progress, check for infections, and assess his need
for things like blood and platelets. We will have to maintain homes
in both places for that time.
He was a self-employed painter. If
you know us, you know how much John loves to work! He obviously
hasn't been able to work regularly in a long time, but he still
(amazingly) has tried. Having painted with him for over 20 years, I
have done as much as possible myself, but taking care of him over
the past couple of years has had to take precedence and our business
has suffered severely.
We hate to ask, but we need help.
Some people at the hospital, along with others, recommended we try
Fundrazr. We appreciate anything, anyone can do, no matter how
small. It all adds up. We are literally fighting for his life. We
just need a little help financially to get through this. I try to
keep John from worrying.
Thanks for taking the time to read
this and even if you can't donate, please pray for him because we
believe in prayers! Pass this on to everyone you know, through every
social media form you can! We are gonna beat this cancer!
Burt Hall
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