Give Back to One of the Helpers in Our Community

Hi, my name is Erica, and I am part of a group fundraising to support our friend Robyn’s son, Andy. Andy is currently receiving treatment for acute myeloid leukemia (AML) at University of Chicago. If you’re not familiar with Andy’s story, he was recently diagnosed. In fact, it was shortly after he turned 21. Imagine celebrating a milestone birthday and, within weeks, finding out that the chronic hip pain you’ve been experiencing is actually leukemia.

 

Andy has already undergone a full course of chemotherapy, which originally put him in remission, but that was short-lived. He’s now at University of Chicago for more chemo as part of a clinical trial.  

 

The good news is he has a bone marrow transplant donor! To receive that transplant, Andy has to finish this round of chemo, be in remission, and allow his body to rest. All of this requires Robyn and her husband to travel to and from the hospital and pay for parking and meals.

 

Once Andy has received the transplant, he and Robyn will live close enough to the University of Chicago Medical Center that they can get to the hospital within an hour (with traffic). Since the Vickers live in Oswego, they will have to sublet an apartment close to/in Chicago. Again, more meals, parking, and did I mention that not all of the transplant costs are covered by insurance?

 

When we asked the Vickers about fundraising, they were a hard “no.” It’s not in their nature to ask for help – they are the helpers, having started Community Cares, leading the Holiday Drive for local families, and so many other community programs. But when we pointed out that this will help Andy and take a small bite out of the mounting medical debt his condition will incur, they reluctantly agreed.

 

So, we kindly ask you, the Vickers’ community to help with a donation that will contribute to:

·      Sublet costs for 4 months (possibly utilities as well)

·      Daily parking at University of Chicago

·      Groceries and meals

·      Medical expenses not covered by insurance

 

By helping this amazing family with the day to day, they can focus on the most important thing – Andy’s health.

 

You can keep up with Andy’s journey on Caring Bridge. In fact, please follow and send your positive thoughts in response to updates. Most of all, please keep Andy and his family in your hearts. He has a long road ahead, but we believe he can beat this!

Andy's Caring Bridge