Battle Against Hodgkin's Lymphoma

This picture was taken right before we were taken back to a room and told the devastating news.

Rachel was diagnosed with Stage 2 Hodgkins Lymphoma on June 21st, 2017. This isn't the first time Rachel has had to fight for her life.  When Rachel was born she had Aortic Coarctation and Bicuspid Aortic Valve was replaced.   This condition only occurs in 1-2% of the population and there was a chance that she might not make it. 15 years later she is still fighting but this time with a new enemy, Cancer.  Rachel is spending her summer before her sophomore year in and out of the hospital. She has always been an honor roll student and is not looking forward to missing school but unfortunately will likely miss half of her sophomore year. This whole situation has really taken a toll on her. She loves school and spending time with her friends.   She will be doing most of her schoolwork from home. She should hopefully be at school before the school year is over.




Our mom is the only working parent in the house but with Rachel constantly being in and out of the hospital it has been increasingly hard for our mom to both be there for my sister, juggling home life and also her job.  Our Mom is torn trying to provide for her children and be there for them as well.  Being a mother of 5 to her is very rewarding and she just wants to get through all this without too much disruption to the smaller kids by both being here for them and Rachel.   Of the 5 William (age 8) is the youngest brother, he has been supportive but the whole situation confuses him because he didn't know that cancer could happen this young.   Sophie is Rachel's youngest sister and is always being a shoulder for Rachel to lean on despite only being 11.  Ben her older brother and is always trying to be there for her and trying to make her smile and letting her know how beautiful she is.  Brittanie our older sister has been a great source to lean on she has really stepped up and takes the little kids to there activities and if Rachel needs someone to sit with her at the hospital while Mom is working she or I will go there and hang out so she is never alone.   As far as I go I'm Ben her older brother (18) and recently graduated Elkhorn High, I will miss being at school with her, I have created this a to help Rachel and our family get through this and give our Mom peace of mind that she can be with Rachel at the hospital and all her clinical visits without fear of missing so much work and fall behind on bills, her worry is keeping a roof over our heads.  I also work with my Mom and have done so for over a year, so it's nice I can help step in if she needs to leave for any reason.  Rachel is undergoing chemo for at least 6 more months. She was doing well after her first treatment but her last treatment did not go so well. Leaving her in the hospital for a week.
It's been very hard for Rachel to eat and sleep. She also started to lose her hair while in the hospital and decided she was tired of waking up with more gone. So she decided when she got to come home to have each of her siblings and mom shave her head. As her older brother, I never thought that I would ever have to see my little sister go through something this terrible.  


She is a very strong, beautiful and brave girl who I know can beat this. With your help, you can help us stay above on the bills and help our Mom be there for my sister when she needs her.