Bill's Battle - The Yelland's Christmas Wish

“You never know how strong you are until being strong is your only choice.” The Yelland family has found themselves at a pivotal point in life where they have no choice but to be strong and fight the fight of their lifetime.

On October 7, 2022, Ashley took her husband, Bill, to the local emergency room because they believed he was suffering from “vertigo” symptoms. Bill had always led a healthy, active life, rarely getting sick and hardly missing work. Bill had missed work for three days due to an intense headache and dizziness that seemingly came out of nowhere. Within a few hours at the ER, they were told the news no one wanted to hear - Bill had cancer. Furthermore, Bill had a malignant tumor the size of a baseball on the occipital lobe of his brain. Bill and Ashley were immediately transferred to St. Luke’s Bethlehem, where Bill was given a bleak prognosis. The doctors told them if Bill wanted any chance of survival, they needed to seek a higher level of care immediately. Within a day or two, they were transferred again. This time to the University of Pennsylvania Hospital, Philadelphia, where they met an incredible team of doctors willing to take Bill’s diagnosis head on. They scheduled surgery to remove the tumor on October 21. Overall, the surgery went well. They were able to remove 95% of the tumor without physically impairing Bill. Unfortunately, Bill did suffer a stroke from the surgery. A few days into his recovery, it heartbreakingly became clear that Bill could no longer read or write. Additionally, he lost his vision in his right peripheral.

After the tumor was removed, the biopsy revealed it was a very aggressive cancer, and Bill was officially diagnosed with Astrocytoma - Stage 4. Bill and Ashley were devastated but knew it was not the time to give up. The next steps were to blast the last 5% of the tumor with daily radiation and chemotherapy. November 30 was Bill’s first treatment. Treatment will run right through the holidays, and he will complete his first round of treatment on January 18. He cannot drive, so Ashley drives him every day to Philadelphia, where he receives his proton therapy, a particular type of radiation that cannot be performed locally to the Yellands. As you can imagine, this has left this young family stressed during this holiday season while facing endless obstacles such as day-to-day care for Bill, childcare for their two small children while being away, Ashley being unable to work as she is his primary caretaker, and maybe the most discouraging obstacle - not knowing when Bill will be able to return to a job he loved and appreciated, one that provided so well for his family.

Throughout all of this, Bill and Ashley’s number one priority has been their two boys, Donovan (9) and Weston (4). They want to do everything they can to ensure this life-changing diagnosis doesn’t change anything for their sweet boys. They know the road ahead is long, and their lives will never again be the same, but they are determined to stay strong, fight hard and LOVE LOTS. Bill and Ashley want to show their children that even when faced with the scariest of circumstances, nothing can steal one’s joy for life and their appreciation for the beauty each day holds.