Angie and Her Family Need Our Help!
Donation protected
Many of you know Angie Bitsko as an incredibly positive and loving wife, mother, daughter, friend, and mentor who would do anything for anybody. Several weeks ago, Angie lost full time employment due to Covid-19. Then, this past week, without any symptoms or warning, Angie received the devastating news that she has Acute Myelogenous Leukemia. She was immediately hospitalized, began chemotherapy, and the search has begun for a bone marrow donor.
Angie and Bruce have raised two incredible children ~~ Alexa and Jared. They give unselfishly to their family, their friends, and to the community, but now Angie and her family need our help!
While Angie is in the hospital fighting for her life, undergoing chemotherapy and hoping for a bone marrow match, her husband Bruce is trying to cover living expenses after the sudden and unexpected loss of income. Medical expenses have now been added to this burden, including ongoing hospitalizations, expensive chemotherapy, and eventual transfer to the City of Hope Cancer Hospital in Los Angeles for a bone marrow transplant. Other expenses will include the travel and healthcare expenses of Angie’s bone marrow donor ~~ if that person can be found.
An extra strain and big concern of Angie’s is the continued care of her beautiful son. Jared has Down Syndrome and requires constant care, supervision, and will soon age out of some support systems. The caregiver costs for Jared have and will continue to increase substantially.
If you can donate to help the Bitsko family out during their time of need, please consider doing so. Please help us reach our goal of $100,000. Even if you cannot donate, the family first and foremost wants your prayers. Prayer is powerful and we want to “storm heaven” with prayers for healing! Also, please consider being tested as a possible bone marrow match for Angie. Here’s how you can do that:
The National Marrow Donor Program (NMDP) has a registry of potential donors that might be the match a patient needs. Here’s how the donation process works:
1) You register with the NMDP online or in person at a donor center. You can find a center by calling the toll-free number 1-800-MARROW2. Indicate that you are registering to seek a possible match for Evangeline Bitsko at Kaiser Permanente Hospital in San Diego, California.
2) You collect cells from your cheek with a cotton swab or provide a small blood sample. This is done by following directions in a mail-in kit or at a donor center.
3) The sample is analyzed to determine your HLA type, which is recorded in the NMDP national database.
4) If an HLA match is made with a patient in need, the NMDP contacts you. A donor center takes a new sample of your blood, which is sent to the patient’s transplant center to confirm the HLA match.
5) Once doctors confirm the match, you’d meet with a counselor from the NMDP to talk about the procedures, benefits, and risks of the donation process. You then decide whether you’re comfortable with donating.
God bless you and thank you for all you can do for Angie Bitsko and her family!
Angie and Bruce have raised two incredible children ~~ Alexa and Jared. They give unselfishly to their family, their friends, and to the community, but now Angie and her family need our help!
While Angie is in the hospital fighting for her life, undergoing chemotherapy and hoping for a bone marrow match, her husband Bruce is trying to cover living expenses after the sudden and unexpected loss of income. Medical expenses have now been added to this burden, including ongoing hospitalizations, expensive chemotherapy, and eventual transfer to the City of Hope Cancer Hospital in Los Angeles for a bone marrow transplant. Other expenses will include the travel and healthcare expenses of Angie’s bone marrow donor ~~ if that person can be found.
An extra strain and big concern of Angie’s is the continued care of her beautiful son. Jared has Down Syndrome and requires constant care, supervision, and will soon age out of some support systems. The caregiver costs for Jared have and will continue to increase substantially.
If you can donate to help the Bitsko family out during their time of need, please consider doing so. Please help us reach our goal of $100,000. Even if you cannot donate, the family first and foremost wants your prayers. Prayer is powerful and we want to “storm heaven” with prayers for healing! Also, please consider being tested as a possible bone marrow match for Angie. Here’s how you can do that:
The National Marrow Donor Program (NMDP) has a registry of potential donors that might be the match a patient needs. Here’s how the donation process works:
1) You register with the NMDP online or in person at a donor center. You can find a center by calling the toll-free number 1-800-MARROW2. Indicate that you are registering to seek a possible match for Evangeline Bitsko at Kaiser Permanente Hospital in San Diego, California.
2) You collect cells from your cheek with a cotton swab or provide a small blood sample. This is done by following directions in a mail-in kit or at a donor center.
3) The sample is analyzed to determine your HLA type, which is recorded in the NMDP national database.
4) If an HLA match is made with a patient in need, the NMDP contacts you. A donor center takes a new sample of your blood, which is sent to the patient’s transplant center to confirm the HLA match.
5) Once doctors confirm the match, you’d meet with a counselor from the NMDP to talk about the procedures, benefits, and risks of the donation process. You then decide whether you’re comfortable with donating.
God bless you and thank you for all you can do for Angie Bitsko and her family!
Fundraising team: Team Angie (2)
Colette Huber
Organizer
San Diego, CA
Bruce Bitsko
Beneficiary
Rebecca Huber
Team member