Fundraiser for Kelly Schaible Battling Leukemia

Many know Kelly Schaible as a hard-working, family-oriented, enthusiastic go-getter in life. Her kindness and compassion towards others helps her easily create friendships everywhere she goes. To be blunt, it is very hard not to like Kelly. She is genuine, one of a kind. And she now needs our help.

Raised on a sheep farm during her childhood, she's known amongst friends and family as a tough country girl who's not afraid to get her hands dirty and get to work. She’s funny. She’s sassy. She’s charming. When she's not leading a team as the assistant general manager at her job of 7 years, she's exploring the outdoors with her fiancé, Jason, and their two dogs. She loves camping and getting a chance to get away for extended weekend trips, disc golfing, and walking the trails by her home. She also comes from a close family and just loves spending quality time with them. Kelly is someone who has always put family first. One of her favorite joys in life is getting to be an aunt, spoiling her nieces and nephews, eager to show anyone and everyone photos of them with the biggest grin on her face.

In October 2021, Kelly started noticing she was developing flu-like symptoms. Concerned, she was tested for Covid-19, twice, with both results coming back negative. Doctors then thought she had tonsillitis, until she received shocking news one night that something was off with her bloodwork. On Monday, October 25th, she received an urgent call from the UofM hospital at 10pm, asking her to get there as soon as she could. Kelly was officially diagnosed with Acute Promyelocytic Leukemia on Tuesday, October 26th.

Acute Promyelocytic Leukemia (APL) is an aggressive type of acute myeloid leukemia in which there are too many immature blood-forming cells (promyelocytes) in the blood and bone marrow. This creates a shortage of normal white and red blood cells and platelets in the body. Basically, the cancer is in Kelly’s bone marrow, attacking her blood, weakening her immune system.

As a healthy and active 34-year old, Kelly was stunned to hear this completely unexpected news, and heartbroken having to share it with family and friends. After receiving her diagnosis, she was instructed that she would have to spend 3-4 weeks in the hospital, followed by 6 months of weekly outpatient chemotherapy treatments and tests. Luckily, the type of leukemia that Kelly has is a curable disease. 90% of patients complete remission! And fortunately, as we all know, Kelly is someone who will refuse to give up without a fight. With already starting chemotherapy and being on constant fluids and antibiotics, Kelly is already showing signs of improvement!

We are not worried about Kelly fighting this disease. She is strong. She will fight this, and she will overcome it. What we are concerned about are the financial burdens that come along with battling cancer. Currently, Kelly is on short term disability leave at work. She is unsure much insurance will cover her medical expenses and she needs our help. Right now, it is also still too early to tell when she will be able to return to work.

We are starting this fundraiser to help Kelly and Jason feel more secure as the medical bills start to come in. They are asking for help to ensure that they can continue paying for their normal household bills, utilities and life expenses, in addition to the newer financial stressors ahead of them. Not only that, but Kelly and Jason have recently gotten engaged after 8 years of dating and have been planning for a future wedding! She does not deserve to have to fear about her wedding dreams coming true. We want the money she has already set aside for her wedding to remain solely for her wedding, and not have to be put to use elsewhere.

We are asking for your help. She needs our support, just as she has always supported and been there for many of us. If you know Kelly, you know what a brilliant and courageous woman she is. You know how loving and giving she is. Let’s give that love back to her. We thank you in advance for any love and support you can give!

#KellyVersusAPL

Offline donations, cards, care packages, etc can be sent to Kelly at:

11510 Post Lane

South Lyon, MI 48178

If you would like to donate in an alternative way, Kelly’s venmo is:

@Kelly-Schaible-1

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