Hardin Strong

Just wanted to give everyone an update on Neil’s lymphoma journey. It’s been a long, hard year. We received amazing news back in July that Neil was in full remission. After a family vacation and being to have a somewhat normal month or two, it’s time for probably the hardest and most critical part of Neil’s journey to begin. Because Neil was not able to get his numbers high enough to harvest his own stem cells, they had to move on to the next option which is called an ALLO transplant. This is the ONLY option that will keep Neil in full remission and it’s gonna be rough. Thankfully, Neil’s brother, Chris, is a match and the most favorable option. Neil will be admitted to the hospital on August 21st. His hospital stay will be between 4 and 6 weeks. The first week will be an extremely intense round of chemo and radiation. The doctor’s have said to prepare himself because this will be his hardest week so far in this journey. He will be extremely sick from this treatment but it is needed to ensure that no new cancer cells have started growing so that the transplant will be a success. The second week is most critical as he is given his brother’s harvested stem cells and his body will have to accept them for this treatment to be a success. If all goes well, after the 4-6 weeks in the hospital he will be quarantined at home for 100 days and will require 24-hour care due to his body being so weak while the new stem cells take over. He will not be allowed to have any visitors during this whole process as his entire immune system will be depleted. Holly will have to stay with him in the hospital and will not be able to come and go much. This means Charleigh, who is starting her junior year, and the pups will be home on their own. Obviously, we will all be right there to help Charleigh get through this time, but it’s gonna be a very difficult few months for the entire family. The family truly appreciates all the help they have received along the way. It has allowed Holly to be by Neil’s side through this whole process and taken a huge burden off of them financially during this past year. This is the most difficult part that they are about to enter so I’m asking for a little more help to get them through these last few months of the year. Holly needs to be by Neil’s side and not have to worry about all the extra expenses that will be coming. Charleigh needs to be able to enjoy her junior year as much as possible and not have to worry about the adult problems. Please help if you can. Your generosity is what has gotten them to this point and will get them through this last phase of the process. If you aren’t able to help financially then please just send as many prayers and positive thoughts as you can. If you know this family, you know how many people they have helped over the years and know that once this battle is over they will most definitely pay it forward. Let’s just help them complete this last leg of the journey without unnecessary worries. Thank you again for all your support. We appreciate EVERYTHING from the bottom of our hearts.

Just wanted to give an update on Neil’s journey and ask everyone to please continue to send positive thoughts and prayers. This is a very critical time in Neil’s battle. In order to harvest his own stem cells the numbers need to be much higher than they are. The shots he’s being given to boost the numbers are working but not fast enough. If the numbers don’t come up, the stem cell transplant will have to be delayed and he will have to have another three weeks of chemo. His body is tired. These shots to boost his stem cells cause extreme fatigue and flu like symptoms on top of his body being tired and weak already from the chemo. So needless to say things are rough right now. I’m updating this Gofundme account to try and take some of the burden off of Neil and Holly so they can focus on nothing but fighting this cancer. Times are hard enough as it is these days but to have this happen so unexpectedly makes it even harder. Holly supplemented her pay when she could working details but when your husband is at home suffering it’s hard to even think about needing to work extra to make ends meet. When this stem cell transplant does take place they will be in the hospital a minimum of three weeks then have another several weeks of needing round the clock care at home. If you’re able to help please do but more than anything just please keep praying and sending positive thoughts their way. Any help no matter how big or small is appreciated more than you could ever know.

Update Neil and Holly are headed to MD Anderson today. Neil has been through three rounds of chemo now, so this appointment will give us a good idea of whether or not the chemo is working and if any adjustments in his treatment plan need to be made. It has been a rough road so far and will likely get worse before it gets better, but Neil is hanging in there and fighting this with all he's got. The donations have been a tremendous help so far and have taken a huge weight off of their shoulders. The family is so grateful for everyone who has donated and for all the prayers and positive thoughts. Please continue to keep those prayers coming. This is going to be an extremely hard week, but I have faith that Neil is going to get positive results. The next obstacle, if things are on track, will be a stem cell transplant, which will require several weeks in the hospital in isolation. So, please keep this family in your thoughts and prayers, especially this Thanksgiving week.

Just wanted to give an update on Neil's condition. He just finished his second round of chemo today. The first round was extremely rough. He was hospitalized twice for several days each time to treat infections after his fever spiked to over 104 at times. He has been on multiple antibiotics to keep the infection under control. He also had pain and swelling in both arms, which turned out to be blood clots. These were treated with blood thinners and are under control at this point but need to be watched very closely. On top of all of these setbacks, the chemo side effects have been rough. His blood counts have been extremely low which delayed the second round of chemo for over a week. Hoping and praying this second round goes a little smoother.

Neil and his family will be traveling to MD Anderson in Texas for a second opinion in November. He will basically start all over with all of the testing to determine where things stand and if the treatment plan should be revised. This trip, in itself, will be very expensive for their family. Needless to say, this has been a tough few weeks for Holly and the kids. The donations we have received so far have been amazing. We can't even begin to tell you how thankful we are for all of you and how much it has and will help them to have one less worry. Just asking everyone to please continue to keep Neil and his family in your thoughts and prayers and share and donate if you can. As I said in the original post, money should not even be a second thought right now. Their main focus needs to be beating this cancer!

I am asking for your help for a family that is very near and dear to our hearts. Anyone who knows Neil Hardin knows how incredible he is as a father, husband, brother, son and friend. He never thinks twice when it comes to helping others. Now Neil is in the fight of his life and needs our help.

Neil's cancer journey began when we were on a family beach vacation in June. During the trip, he noticed several swollen lymph nodes all over his body. We thought he probably just had some infection so he went to the hospital on Elgin Air Force Base and a cat scan showed he had a swollen spleen and liver, as well as a low white blood cell count. They basically just told him to follow up when he got home. It took several weeks to get answers waiting on one insurance approval after another, just for the various tests needed to figure out what was going on. Neil underwent a lymph node biopsy, bone marrow biopsy and a PET scan, among many other tests and we finally got a diagnosis that we were not expecting at all. Peripheral T-Cell Lymphoma- NOS is the diagnosis he was given. Basically, this is a rare form of lymphoma accounting for only about 5% of all lymphoma diagnoses. Neil is currently in stage 4, meaning that lymph nodes affected are both above and below the diaphragm. This cancer is very aggressive and Neil will need to start treatments immediately. After having his port placed, Neil will begin a very intensive chemotherapy regime. It will be a rough road to say the least. Neil is one of the most kind-hearted men I know and I feel so blessed to have him in our lives, as does anyone else who knows him I'm sure. He has defended our country for many years and now it's time for us to defend him. As everyone knows, Neil is a husband and father of 3 amazing kids. This journey is gonna be tough and put a huge strain on their family. I have had so many people ask how they can help, so I decided this would probably be the easiest way to organize all the help. I want to be able to take the burden of whatever financial hardships may come off of their plate so that they can focus on Neil's health solely. Insurance has been one obstacle after another and I don't want to ever see them in a position to have to turn down or postpone a treatment while waiting on insurance approval. This will also help us to provide meals and help with household things or whatever else may arise while his family is focusing on fighting this cancer. If it is smooth sailing and there are no bumps in the road, then whatever money is raised will be donated to the Lymphoma Research Foundation.

Any help for this amazing family, Neil, Holly, Dominic, Noah, Charleigh, Behr and Baloo, would be greatly appreciated no matter how big or small. Neil has a huge support system and I think this is one way that we can all come together to help them fight this battle. We love you Neil and we're all in this together