#Dougie Strong

I want to introduce you to Doug. Doug is the epitome of goofiness. He is quick to joke and clown around, and he is not afraid to be the brunt of the joke just to make you laugh or smile. He is one of the most kindhearted people you will meet. He is a loving father, great brother, nephew and cousin. Beyond his family, Doug has a large community of boating friends that will be the first to tell you he is the kind of friend who would give the shirt off his back and will go the extra mile. Doug has never known a stranger and it never fails that wherever he goes, he sees someone that he knows. 

Doug is an avid sports fan. If you go to his house in the fall and winter, you will typically find him rooting for his favorite football and basketball teams. Especially the Maize and Blue. Although he did not have any outstanding talent for the game, he loves baseball too.  His enthusiasm for the sport led him to volunteer coach a traveling little league baseball team, when he was younger.  As a coach, Doug influenced many youth.  A few years ago, when Doug was in Arizona, a young man came up to him to reintroduce himself and tell Doug, that Doug had been his coach in Croswell, Michigan. It truly shows how much of an influence Doug is to so many.

Eight years ago Doug’s life took an about turn. Doug was diagnosed with leukemia. After many rounds of chemotherapy, he was able to beat the leukemia into remission, only to be diagnosed with systemic mastocytosis. Systemic mastocytosis is a rare disease that few physicians have any experience and knowledge beyond what they have learned in textbooks. It has been debilitating and it has prevented Doug from returning to full time work. The systemic mastocytosis has now progressed to the point it is attacking his bone marrow resulting in the leukemia returning. Doug must now have a bone marrow transplant to save his life.

 We did some research on bone marrow transplants for mastocytosis patients. Since the systemic mastocytosis is so rare, there is not a lot of data to share, however, we did find a study of 60 patients who had leukemia and systemic mastocytosis. Of those 60 patients that received a bone marrow transplant, ¾ of the patients had a favorable response, and ¼ of the patients went into complete remission. Overall, the 3 year survival rate was 57%.

Doug is optimistic he will be one of those survivors! He credits much of that optimism to the overwhelming support and prayers that he has received from his vast network of friends and family. He does read every text and social media post. It is giving him strength to continue his fight. Keep them coming!

He has already spent four weeks in Munson Medical Center in Traverse City, Michigan. He was recently transported to University of Michigan (U of M) in Ann Arbor, Michigan.  The first round of chemotherapy in Traverse City did not work. So now that he is at U of M, he has begun a new chemotherapy mix of medications. Doug will continue chemotherapy until he is in remission and eventually he will have a bone marrow transplant. 

While Doug is in Ann Arbor, his daughter, who lives in northern Michigan will need to stay nearby. Once Doug has the transplant, he will likely be in the hospital for about 30 days. He will need to stay within minutes of the hospital for 3-4 months following his release. The total of all his medical costs and living expenses are not known at this time, but the medical bills will soon start coming. The initial expense for his daughter to stay nearby is going to exceed his monthly income.  This places a tremendous stress on Doug and distracts him from focusing on the goal. We are asking for your financial support to help off-set the expenses while Doug fights the battle to eradicate the leukemia and mastocytosis.

 While Doug is receiving chemotherapy for the leukemia, a search is underway to find a bone marrow match. He will receive blood and platelets numerous times during the course of treatment. We understand that not all who read this page will be able to give a financial donation.  If you are unable to make a monetary donation, you can still help Doug and many others by donating blood or agreeing to become a registered bone marrow donor through the National Marrow Donor Program (HTTPS://BeTheMatch.org/). You may be the match for Doug or another person in need of a marrow transplant.