Sam

Sam was 11 in the late winter of 2020.  He started feeling weak and just generally unwell.  A trip to our family doctor resulted in an ambulance ride to Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh and an unexpected diagnosis of leukemia.  He responded well to treatment, but unfortunately relapsed while on treatment in January of 2022.  Because of this his prognosis is much more grim.  He underwent Car-T therapy, a newer treatment for children that uses immunotherapy instead of chemotherapy, and ultimately a bone marrow transplant in August of 2022.  He has endured over a dozen bone marrow biopsies, countless pokes and surgeries, chemotherapy drugs in his spinal fluid dozens of times, losing his hair three completely separate times, ICU admissions, sickness, isolation, graft vs host disease, and hundreds of days spent away from the safety of his home. 

Sam is now 14.  He is one year past his transplant and is physically starting to feel like his old self again.  He has to be regularly monitored still, but is starting to look forward to doing the things he loves again: hunting and fishing being two of the primary ones! He even is getting the opportunity to hunt elk in Idaho this fall through an organization called Outfitters for Hope!

If you would like information or to know where your donation dollars could go to make the biggest difference, Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation is an invaluable resource.