Christina Burkhart Revels Multiple Myeloma Journey
Donation protected
Hi everyone- I’m raising money to help with the medical expenses of my daughter’s Best friend who also happens to be my cousin’s wife. Christina is like a daughter to me and one of the sweetest people I’ve ever had the pleasure to know. I so wish there wasn’t a need for me to do this- but sadly there is, and I feel that I must. This is Christina’s story.
"Christy" is one of the most caring, compassionate, nuturing, and beautiful people that I know. Her journey through life thus far, has been filled with many uphill battles... but most definitely what lies ahead of her now, will be her biggest battle yet. Even with everything she’s been through, because of her strong faith in God, she continues to have a positive out-look on life, to always look at the glass half full and to inspire us all more and more every single day.
It's hard to decide where to begin in telling her story, but let me preface it by saying that starting as a young teen, Christy began to help her dad care for her mom who had been disabled from having a rare brain condition that causes symptoms similar to a stroke.
February of 2021 comes around and Christy loses her dad to lung cancer. Shortly after his death, On Easter Sunday, 2021, Christy got engaged to my cousin, Jody, a Captain, Army Engineer Officer, serving as a Company Commander in the Florida Army National Guard. After their engagement, Jody and Christy both took on the responsibility of being Caregivers for Christy’s disabled mother and they collectively decided that the three of them would buy a home and move into it together. Christy and Jody began the important, but sacraficial task of being full-time caregivers to Christy’s mom, and at the same time, Christy started a new job working for The Tim Tebow Foundation. To add to all of this, Christy and Jody were also planning their New Years Eve Wedding.
Throughout 2021, Christy had been experiencing extreme fatigue along with some other mild symptoms like a backache and off and on numbness in her hands and feet but she assumed that they were all just attributed to the overwhelming day to day stress she was under. They had a beautiful wedding on New Year’s Eve and Celebrated it with their close friends and family.
By April, Christy’s symptoms were starting to get worse and she was also having new symptoms of pain in her chest and headaches that wouldn’t go away, so my daughter Chelsi encouraged her to go to the doctor and get a check up, which she did and the doctor ordered a routine CBC panel.
On April 20th, Christy received a call from her primary care Doctor, immediately referring her to Oncology after getting the results of her blood panel back. After an unfathomable week filled with doctors appointments, more blood tests, scans and a bone marrow biopsy, on April 27th, Christina received the gut wrenching diagnosis of Multiple Myeloma. At the same time she was told that because of the lifetime medication she would be on, she could not under any circumstances get pregnant. The doctor told her that the chemo would destroy her ability to produce eggs and that if she ever wanted to have a baby of her own, she would need to harvest her eggs prior to the treatment. The doctor explained to her that she was “urgent” but not an “emergency” and that he could wait to start her treatment until she went through this process.
Christy and Jody met with the fertility doctor last week and they have now started the fertility process of harvesting her eggs. Unfortunately, due to the extreme side-effects of the chemo she will be on permanently, she has been told that the chances of her being able to ever carry a child are very low, because even if she was able to get pregnant, this particular maintenance chemo causes severe birth defects. So on top of being newlyweds, receiving her MM diagnosis and the uncertainty of the journey that lies ahead, Christy and Jody are being faced with this emotional realization of what becoming parents will look like for them.
Around the same time that she had the doctors appointment for the fertility process, she also had a PET scan last Monday and the results showed that the cancer is in her hips, spine, ribs and chest, which are all common places that MM goes to, so the doctor wasn’t overly concerned- however the PET scan did show that she has a tumor on her C7, which will require some radiation.
During all of this, a family decision was made, that Christy’s mom would go to live with her mom’s sister, to be cared for as Christy would not be able to do this during her treatment.
It is looking like Christy will start her treatment on May 20th, if all goes as planned.
This is not at all the way that Christy and Jody had planned for their future to look like. Becoming newlyweds is a special time for couples to bond together, discuss their plans for the future, and talk about all the things they would like to accomplish together, when to start a family, etc. Christy and Jody’s immediate future looks very different than what they’d planned. They are now looking at mounting medical bills, and trying to decide how to make ends meet.
Many people have asked how they could help, and honestly, a monetary donation toward their medical expenses will help them now more than anything. Between a new mortgage, the fertility treatment for egg harvesting that insurance does not cover, and the onslaught of medical bills, it’s already becoming a burden on them and her treatment for the cancer has yet to begin. Christy does have health insurance, but we all know that it only covers so much.
Christy and Jody are such good people, but as we all know, bad things can happen to good people. I’ve told Christy time and again, that God has a purpose for her life and he knew this would be her journey long before he formed her in her mothers womb. Christy has a strong faith in God and she wants to use her journey to give God glory and hopefully help others along the way.
For those of you that don’t know, here is a little bit about Multiple Myeloma from Cancer.org: Multiple Myeloma is a cancer of plasma cells. Normal plasma cells are found in the bone marrow and are an important part of the immune system. In general, when plasma cells become cancerous and grow out of control, this is called multiple myeloma. In multiple myeloma, the overgrowth of plasma cells in the bone marrow can crowd out normal blood-forming cells, leading to low blood counts. Myeloma cells also interfere with cells that help keep bones strong. Bones are constantly being remade to keep them strong. Two kinds of bone cells work together to keep bones healthy and strong: Osteoclasts break down old bone and Osteoblasts lay down new bone. Myeloma cells make a substance that tells the osteoclasts to speed up dissolving the bone. So old bone is broken down without new bone to replace it, making the bones weak and easy to break. Fractured bones are a major problem in people with myeloma.
Less than 1% under the age of 35 get this type of cancer. Christy is 31.
I will continue to update this GoFundMe each time there is new information on Christy, to help keep everyone in the loop. In the mean time, please share this GoFundMe with your family and friends. Any help they can get right now will be greatly appreciated. If you can donate to help, it would mean the world to them.
If you are unable to donate, you can still share this GoFundMe and you can Pray. Prayer is a powerful thing and God wants us all to Pray with faith, knowing that he can heal her. There is no cure for MM, but it is treatable and people can go into remission with it and are able to lead a fairly normal life.
Please join me in praying for Christy- for long term Remission and Healing and for strength both mentally and physically for both her and Jody.
The immediate prayer request is that the fertility process will work like it is supposed to and that on May 16th, the doctors will be able to retrieve her eggs needed for harvesting.
I will update again after the 16th, to let everyone know how it went and whether she will indeed start her treatment on the 20th.
Until then, remember that God is good, even in the bad times. Have FAITH and Pray- believing that God CAN do anything. He just wants us to come to Him and ask. The more people coming to Him IN FAITH, the louder the request becomes.
Christy’s favorite scripture that she is holding onto is:
“Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness.” James 1:2-3
Until next time,
~Trina
"Christy" is one of the most caring, compassionate, nuturing, and beautiful people that I know. Her journey through life thus far, has been filled with many uphill battles... but most definitely what lies ahead of her now, will be her biggest battle yet. Even with everything she’s been through, because of her strong faith in God, she continues to have a positive out-look on life, to always look at the glass half full and to inspire us all more and more every single day.
It's hard to decide where to begin in telling her story, but let me preface it by saying that starting as a young teen, Christy began to help her dad care for her mom who had been disabled from having a rare brain condition that causes symptoms similar to a stroke.
February of 2021 comes around and Christy loses her dad to lung cancer. Shortly after his death, On Easter Sunday, 2021, Christy got engaged to my cousin, Jody, a Captain, Army Engineer Officer, serving as a Company Commander in the Florida Army National Guard. After their engagement, Jody and Christy both took on the responsibility of being Caregivers for Christy’s disabled mother and they collectively decided that the three of them would buy a home and move into it together. Christy and Jody began the important, but sacraficial task of being full-time caregivers to Christy’s mom, and at the same time, Christy started a new job working for The Tim Tebow Foundation. To add to all of this, Christy and Jody were also planning their New Years Eve Wedding.
Throughout 2021, Christy had been experiencing extreme fatigue along with some other mild symptoms like a backache and off and on numbness in her hands and feet but she assumed that they were all just attributed to the overwhelming day to day stress she was under. They had a beautiful wedding on New Year’s Eve and Celebrated it with their close friends and family.
By April, Christy’s symptoms were starting to get worse and she was also having new symptoms of pain in her chest and headaches that wouldn’t go away, so my daughter Chelsi encouraged her to go to the doctor and get a check up, which she did and the doctor ordered a routine CBC panel.
On April 20th, Christy received a call from her primary care Doctor, immediately referring her to Oncology after getting the results of her blood panel back. After an unfathomable week filled with doctors appointments, more blood tests, scans and a bone marrow biopsy, on April 27th, Christina received the gut wrenching diagnosis of Multiple Myeloma. At the same time she was told that because of the lifetime medication she would be on, she could not under any circumstances get pregnant. The doctor told her that the chemo would destroy her ability to produce eggs and that if she ever wanted to have a baby of her own, she would need to harvest her eggs prior to the treatment. The doctor explained to her that she was “urgent” but not an “emergency” and that he could wait to start her treatment until she went through this process.
Christy and Jody met with the fertility doctor last week and they have now started the fertility process of harvesting her eggs. Unfortunately, due to the extreme side-effects of the chemo she will be on permanently, she has been told that the chances of her being able to ever carry a child are very low, because even if she was able to get pregnant, this particular maintenance chemo causes severe birth defects. So on top of being newlyweds, receiving her MM diagnosis and the uncertainty of the journey that lies ahead, Christy and Jody are being faced with this emotional realization of what becoming parents will look like for them.
Around the same time that she had the doctors appointment for the fertility process, she also had a PET scan last Monday and the results showed that the cancer is in her hips, spine, ribs and chest, which are all common places that MM goes to, so the doctor wasn’t overly concerned- however the PET scan did show that she has a tumor on her C7, which will require some radiation.
During all of this, a family decision was made, that Christy’s mom would go to live with her mom’s sister, to be cared for as Christy would not be able to do this during her treatment.
It is looking like Christy will start her treatment on May 20th, if all goes as planned.
This is not at all the way that Christy and Jody had planned for their future to look like. Becoming newlyweds is a special time for couples to bond together, discuss their plans for the future, and talk about all the things they would like to accomplish together, when to start a family, etc. Christy and Jody’s immediate future looks very different than what they’d planned. They are now looking at mounting medical bills, and trying to decide how to make ends meet.
Many people have asked how they could help, and honestly, a monetary donation toward their medical expenses will help them now more than anything. Between a new mortgage, the fertility treatment for egg harvesting that insurance does not cover, and the onslaught of medical bills, it’s already becoming a burden on them and her treatment for the cancer has yet to begin. Christy does have health insurance, but we all know that it only covers so much.
Christy and Jody are such good people, but as we all know, bad things can happen to good people. I’ve told Christy time and again, that God has a purpose for her life and he knew this would be her journey long before he formed her in her mothers womb. Christy has a strong faith in God and she wants to use her journey to give God glory and hopefully help others along the way.
For those of you that don’t know, here is a little bit about Multiple Myeloma from Cancer.org: Multiple Myeloma is a cancer of plasma cells. Normal plasma cells are found in the bone marrow and are an important part of the immune system. In general, when plasma cells become cancerous and grow out of control, this is called multiple myeloma. In multiple myeloma, the overgrowth of plasma cells in the bone marrow can crowd out normal blood-forming cells, leading to low blood counts. Myeloma cells also interfere with cells that help keep bones strong. Bones are constantly being remade to keep them strong. Two kinds of bone cells work together to keep bones healthy and strong: Osteoclasts break down old bone and Osteoblasts lay down new bone. Myeloma cells make a substance that tells the osteoclasts to speed up dissolving the bone. So old bone is broken down without new bone to replace it, making the bones weak and easy to break. Fractured bones are a major problem in people with myeloma.
Less than 1% under the age of 35 get this type of cancer. Christy is 31.
I will continue to update this GoFundMe each time there is new information on Christy, to help keep everyone in the loop. In the mean time, please share this GoFundMe with your family and friends. Any help they can get right now will be greatly appreciated. If you can donate to help, it would mean the world to them.
If you are unable to donate, you can still share this GoFundMe and you can Pray. Prayer is a powerful thing and God wants us all to Pray with faith, knowing that he can heal her. There is no cure for MM, but it is treatable and people can go into remission with it and are able to lead a fairly normal life.
Please join me in praying for Christy- for long term Remission and Healing and for strength both mentally and physically for both her and Jody.
The immediate prayer request is that the fertility process will work like it is supposed to and that on May 16th, the doctors will be able to retrieve her eggs needed for harvesting.
I will update again after the 16th, to let everyone know how it went and whether she will indeed start her treatment on the 20th.
Until then, remember that God is good, even in the bad times. Have FAITH and Pray- believing that God CAN do anything. He just wants us to come to Him and ask. The more people coming to Him IN FAITH, the louder the request becomes.
Christy’s favorite scripture that she is holding onto is:
“Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness.” James 1:2-3
Until next time,
~Trina
Fundraising team: Team fundraiser (2)
Trina Revels Baker
Organizer
Green Cove Springs, FL
Christina Revels
Beneficiary
Chelsi Baker-Shaw
Team member