Kris' Continued Fight For Life

For over two years now I've been battling leukemia. In August of 2016 I started a long year of hospital stays and fighting for my life. Jan. 18th, 2017 I got the amazing possibility for a new life with a stem cell transplant from a donor in Germany. Unfortunately, due to my oddities in my DNA, they could only find a 90% match in the Be A Match donation bank. We went with it. I have battle many graft verses host disease (GVHD) but in the end I've won. Three months in remission I learned the leukemia was back. For just over a year I've kept it controlled with monthly chemo but unfortunately this past December I started having trouble. I began losing a ton of weight, having trouble breathing, numbness in face, loss of energy and other strange things started popping up. A CT Scan showed a mass growing behind my left eye. What next, back to OHSU for a new round of induction chemo to try to kill this leukemia once and for all. If this works, I can return to work in the Fall. If not, more treatment and possibly a new stem cell transplant. I know I have a world of people wanting to help and it's so hard for me to ask for help... But here I am, asking for help. I have to quit my job according to my contract. I am asking for my unions support to help me fight for MOU's for unpaid leave, sick bank help and the same insurance help in which I received two years ago when the district was so wonderful helping us. At this moment, I lose $3500 in monthly pay. I refuse to let my husband quit school as we need to look to the future for my family. He needs to be able to provide for them and provide health insurance when I am not here (I know ... A horrible thing to think about but it must be thought about). We have preschool to pay for, health insurance coverage which normally come out of my pay checks, gas for my family to visit me in Portland, food, and other basic household bills. I think we can get by with $1500 a month but if we have to go with Cobra without the school districts help we are looking at over $3000 a month! It's so hard to think what this means for my family but so many of you have said to ask for help, so I am. Anything will help and I thank you now for your generous donation. All I want to do is make more memories with my family and watch my girls grow up.