Help Cheryl Baranski Defeat AML!
Donation protected
UPDATE 12/29:
For those who may not be following on Facebook, or haven't heard...
It is with a sad and heavy heart that I tell you my Dear Friend Cheryl has gone Home to Glory. Jesus called her Home around 4pm December 27. Cheryl is no longer in pain. She is now whole and healed, dancing with her precious Elizabeth Rose before Jesus. Steve was home all day with her, never leaving her side, holding her hand as she went Home. Please continue to hold these Men in your prayers. Steve and the Boys will greatly appreciate them in these coming days. Thank you for all you have given for this precious family, my Dear Friends!
Arrangements have been made:
Viewing at Andrews Funeral Home January 5th, 6-8PM
Service at Petsworth Baptist Church January 6th, 2PM
==>> I will keep this GoFundMe open for a couple of months for anyone who would still like to give to Steve and the Boys. This has taken a great toll on all of them. Thank you! Blessings be returned to you 100-fold!
UPDATE 12/21:
Cheryl has had an up and down week, with much decline. Though she had a decent day yesterday, even posted on Facebook, she is having a rough day today. She has gotten much weaker over the last couple of days. The hospice nurse has said Cheryl may stop all of her meds other than the pain meds and breathing treatments, and that is what she is doing. She sleeps most of the time now and eats very little. She is fighting to remain on earth for one last Christmas. Please continue to pray for Steve and the boys. Watching their wife/mom in this condition is heart shattering.
Jacob, their third son, turns 18 tomorrow. Please wish him a Happy Birthday. Thank you, ALL of you, for your prayers, your love and support, your encouragement! I know you have been a tremendous blessing in their lives, just as you have been in mine as you lift up my Dear Friends!
==>> Please consider and pray about giving to Steve and the boys. Giving will be a huge blessing as Steve is still dealing with hospital bills, and will soon have other needs. Thank you!
UPDATE 12/17:
Cheryl had a decent week and weekend. Over the course of the week, she has declined some... increased pain meds, sleeping more, eating less. Her hospice nurse asked her what she wants and Cheryl told her to see one more Christmas with Steve and the boys, and the grand-babies first Christmas. The nurse told her she would do all she could to see that happens. Friends, please pray that Cheryl would have this one last wish. Of course we know our heavenly Father knows the time He will bring Cheryl Home, but pray He would allow her this last joy and request. Please continue to pray for Steve and the boys, as this is so very hard on them watching Cheryl decline. Please pray fervently. Thank you for all you have poured out into this precious family, my Dear Friends! I pray blessing upon blessing be returned to you for all you have given for them!
Darryl and I are planning to drive down to see her later this afternoon/early evening. I fear it may be my last visit with the busy-ness of the week coming before Christmas. Please pray. I want to remain strong, but I am already in tears. Thank you!
==>> Giving at this time will be a huge blessing as Steve is still dealing with hospital bills, and will soon have other needs. If considering an end of year donation, please consider, pray about, giving to Steve and the boys. Thank you!
UPDATE 12/10:
I enjoyed being with Cheryl on Friday and Saturday while Steve worked. Hospice was brought in on Friday 12/7. The nurse was there to see Cheryl on Saturday and immediately started her on a new medicine. That medicine has helped Cheryl breathe a bit easier and thus her last couple of days have been good days. She even ate a small bowl of soup her Mom made, which was nice to see. We enjoyed some giggles, and watched a Christmas movie with Christopher. She does rest and nap a lot as the breathing in and of itself is work and tiresome. Steve had the day off yesterday while the snow fell. They are currently without power that went out last night, though are on generators. Please pray their power is restored soon (It was just restored! YAY!!!). Cheryl is not on her computer or phone much at all, so please do not be offended if you reach out to her and she doesn’t respond. When I was with her Friday and Saturday I would read your notes from her facebook pages. She enjoyed hearing that so many are praying for her and loved all of the encouraging messages. Thank you, each and every one of you, for praying for this precious family. I feel so helpless two hours away, but I know Papa God is hearing our prayers! Big hugs to each of you!
UPDATE 12/5/2018
Dear Family and Friends,
Cheryl has been at Johns Hopkins Hospital since the day after Thanksgiving. She developed pneumonia and is now on oxygen full-time. She has been having lung treatments every four hours to try helping her loosen the gunk and get it out of her lungs. I can tell you those treatments wear her out, but she is such a fighter and continues to give it her all, her best efforts, as I witnessed myself last night while visiting her. Though she had hoped to be released yesterday to go home, that did not happen. There were some adjustments that needed to be made to her oxygen and finding a pharmacy that carries a medicine she will need when home was difficult. Steve also had to take a long drive up after work last night (then back home so he could work today) to bring her the home oxygen tank for her ride home when she is released… which is hopefully today! She will not return to Johns Hopkins. They have referred her back to VCU in Richmond, closer to her home, for the remainder of her care. VCU will continue to monitor her blood numbers. As needed, and when prudent, VCU will give transfusions. She remains on a high, strong dose of chemo in hopes of keeping the cancer cells at bay, but at this point in her care, there is nowhere else to turn, medically, pharmaceutically speaking. Any adjustment to meds at this time is very critical.
Please, please keep this precious family in your prayers… Steve, the four boys, Cheryl’s Mom and Dad, her brothers, and the whole extended family. I can tell you this is truly taking a toll on all of them. Though they are all responding in their own ways, they are in deep pain. I have had the joy and honor to pray with Cheryl twice in the last week while visiting, and numerous times over the past year, and I can tell you I walk away every single time with increased faith, because of the faith this beautiful woman carries. Cheryl has not given up. She is not throwing a pity party. She has moments, yes, where the situation overwhelms her, but… she remains faithful and hopeful. We see the reality of the medical side… the cancer returned, the blood numbers climbing, the pneumonia, etc… Cheryl continues to see the reality of her God. He is able to do more than we could ever ask or imagine. So I implore you, ask Him for the MORE, for Cheryl, for her family, for her friends. Thank you, ALL of you, whether longtime friends or just passing by her page, THANK YOU! Thank you for the continued prayers, thank you for the continued support, thank you for the continued encouragement. Please don’t stop! This precious family needs you, us, more than ever right now. Pray, share, give, encourage in these days that could very well be her last. Thank you! God bless each of you!
UPDATE 11/24/2018:
A quick update... Cheryl Baranski has been admitted to Johns Hopkins for a couple of days. She was feeling poorly all day yesterday and went up last night. Please continue praying for her and her family! While out and about doing your Christmas shopping, having your coffees, attending those fun parties, please pray, please consider donating, please drop Cheryl a note of encouragement. Thank you so much for all of your prayers and blessings to this precious family! You have certainly blessed me in all of this!
UPDATE 11/17/2018:
Cheryl has asked me to post this for her. It is with a heavy and broken heart that I do. Please read and join me in praying for my Dear Friend, my Sister in heart!
"I know it has been awhile since I’ve given much of an update on here. I am sorry for that. Please let me explain. On September 7th I received my bone marrow transplant, a miracle in and of itself. Not even two months later, when we thought all was going well, the Graft Vs Host Disease was right where we wanted it… the leukemia came back. I had a round of chemo and the numbers came down a little. This past Tuesday (11/13) my numbers had tripled. The doctor gave me the news through tears of his own… the leukemia is out of control. I am terminal and at a very critical stage even now. My doctor has tripled the chemo pills in an effort to keep me here another two months if it works. If the pills do not work, I am looking at a quick Homecoming and will be spending Jesus’ birthday in heaven with Him. I have lots I still WANT to do, some I still NEED to do, but ultimately my time is in my Father’s hands. Please continue to pray for my husband, Steve, and my boys, Steven, Bryant, Jacob and Christopher. This week has been hard on us all. When I will be dancing before Jesus and holding my sweet little girl Elizabeth Rose , they will all still be here without a wife and mom. Please pray for them with all the gusto you can muster. Thank you, ALL of you, for every single prayer you’ve offered on my behalf. It may not be the miracle I had hoped and prayed for, but I will receive my Ultimate Miracle… no more sickness, no more pain, eternity with my Savior. Again, thank you for all of your prayers, your cards, your gifts, your thoughts… all are treasures in my heart."
*****
Friends and Family, Acquaintances and Passers-by, the medical bills have continued to mound to mountain-size proportion. Please pray and if so led, please donate to Steve and the Boys. A $5 donation is the smallest here on GoFundMe, and yet we spend that all the time on a latte, a quick trip through the drive-thru, etc. Those $5 donations add up quickly. If at all possible, Cheryl has a bucket list she and her men are going to work on, starting with Thanksgiving, then a hopeful trip to the Creation Museum and Ark Encounter in Kentucky. Please pray for the health long enough to go, and the finances to enjoy the trip. In the midst of this, she is still making trips to Maryland to Johns Hopkins weekly, sometimes biweekly. Thank you, each and every one of you, for all you continue to pray, to give, to share, to encourage. I can tell you it means a great deal to Cheryl and the Boys, and to me as well. Praying God's blessings be returned to you as you bless Cheryl and her Family in whatever way you feel led.
*****
Original: My Dear Friend Cheryl Baranski sent me a text message August 9, 2017. The doctors had just told her she probably had leukemia. They were transferring her to a different hospital, pretty much in the middle of the night...and that is how this nightmare began. The thing I have to say about Cheryl, though, is that she has not lived in darkness. She has not let this diagnosis defeat her. She continues to live by faith, that the God Who created her holds her in the palms of His hands, goes before her, comes behind her as her Rear Guard, and is fighting this battle for her! We stand on His word that says, "The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still.”
Cheryl is fighting Acute Myelogenous Leukemia (AML), a cancer that has attacked her blood and bone marrow. When admitted in August 2017 she was immediately started on chemotherapy. Then went through another round shortly thereafter. In remission over Christmas, she started the process to get a bone marrow transplant. To make a long story a tad shorter, in the process to transplant, complications arose. Then the leukemia came back, sending Cheryl back to the hospital for another round of chemo. This round was a high dosage, more than double the first two rounds. We have just found out on March 5, 2018 that this round did not rid her body of the leukemia. During her visit to the oncologist March 7th she was told she is chemo resistant. Chemotherapy will no longer work for her. The biology of her disease is very aggressive and there is a marker in her bone marrow that is causing the leukemia to regrow.
We have HOPE, though! There are a couple of clinical trials she is slated to try. They are, however, a few hours away from her home, located at Johns Hopkins, Baltimore, MD. As you can imagine the costs of travel, husband taking time off work, living expenses and meals, not to mention the growing mountain of medical expenses, have all taken a toll. When she gets to Johns Hopkins, prayerfully within the next week, she will get started on the trial... then can get back into the process of getting to her bone marrow transplant.
Will you help? No amount is too small. Anything helps. Will you help me bless this precious family, my Dear Friend and her crew of men (husband Steve and their four sons Steven, Bryant, Jacob and Christopher)? Will you also pray? Pray for the trial to work to get her to transplant. Pray for the emotional stress on each of them. Pray for the God of miracles to do the impossible. Pray for complete defeat of AML in Cheryl's body! Thank you! Thank you so much for your help!
For those who may not be following on Facebook, or haven't heard...
It is with a sad and heavy heart that I tell you my Dear Friend Cheryl has gone Home to Glory. Jesus called her Home around 4pm December 27. Cheryl is no longer in pain. She is now whole and healed, dancing with her precious Elizabeth Rose before Jesus. Steve was home all day with her, never leaving her side, holding her hand as she went Home. Please continue to hold these Men in your prayers. Steve and the Boys will greatly appreciate them in these coming days. Thank you for all you have given for this precious family, my Dear Friends!
Arrangements have been made:
Viewing at Andrews Funeral Home January 5th, 6-8PM
Service at Petsworth Baptist Church January 6th, 2PM
==>> I will keep this GoFundMe open for a couple of months for anyone who would still like to give to Steve and the Boys. This has taken a great toll on all of them. Thank you! Blessings be returned to you 100-fold!
UPDATE 12/21:
Cheryl has had an up and down week, with much decline. Though she had a decent day yesterday, even posted on Facebook, she is having a rough day today. She has gotten much weaker over the last couple of days. The hospice nurse has said Cheryl may stop all of her meds other than the pain meds and breathing treatments, and that is what she is doing. She sleeps most of the time now and eats very little. She is fighting to remain on earth for one last Christmas. Please continue to pray for Steve and the boys. Watching their wife/mom in this condition is heart shattering.
Jacob, their third son, turns 18 tomorrow. Please wish him a Happy Birthday. Thank you, ALL of you, for your prayers, your love and support, your encouragement! I know you have been a tremendous blessing in their lives, just as you have been in mine as you lift up my Dear Friends!
==>> Please consider and pray about giving to Steve and the boys. Giving will be a huge blessing as Steve is still dealing with hospital bills, and will soon have other needs. Thank you!
UPDATE 12/17:
Cheryl had a decent week and weekend. Over the course of the week, she has declined some... increased pain meds, sleeping more, eating less. Her hospice nurse asked her what she wants and Cheryl told her to see one more Christmas with Steve and the boys, and the grand-babies first Christmas. The nurse told her she would do all she could to see that happens. Friends, please pray that Cheryl would have this one last wish. Of course we know our heavenly Father knows the time He will bring Cheryl Home, but pray He would allow her this last joy and request. Please continue to pray for Steve and the boys, as this is so very hard on them watching Cheryl decline. Please pray fervently. Thank you for all you have poured out into this precious family, my Dear Friends! I pray blessing upon blessing be returned to you for all you have given for them!
Darryl and I are planning to drive down to see her later this afternoon/early evening. I fear it may be my last visit with the busy-ness of the week coming before Christmas. Please pray. I want to remain strong, but I am already in tears. Thank you!
==>> Giving at this time will be a huge blessing as Steve is still dealing with hospital bills, and will soon have other needs. If considering an end of year donation, please consider, pray about, giving to Steve and the boys. Thank you!
UPDATE 12/10:
I enjoyed being with Cheryl on Friday and Saturday while Steve worked. Hospice was brought in on Friday 12/7. The nurse was there to see Cheryl on Saturday and immediately started her on a new medicine. That medicine has helped Cheryl breathe a bit easier and thus her last couple of days have been good days. She even ate a small bowl of soup her Mom made, which was nice to see. We enjoyed some giggles, and watched a Christmas movie with Christopher. She does rest and nap a lot as the breathing in and of itself is work and tiresome. Steve had the day off yesterday while the snow fell. They are currently without power that went out last night, though are on generators. Please pray their power is restored soon (It was just restored! YAY!!!). Cheryl is not on her computer or phone much at all, so please do not be offended if you reach out to her and she doesn’t respond. When I was with her Friday and Saturday I would read your notes from her facebook pages. She enjoyed hearing that so many are praying for her and loved all of the encouraging messages. Thank you, each and every one of you, for praying for this precious family. I feel so helpless two hours away, but I know Papa God is hearing our prayers! Big hugs to each of you!
UPDATE 12/5/2018
Dear Family and Friends,
Cheryl has been at Johns Hopkins Hospital since the day after Thanksgiving. She developed pneumonia and is now on oxygen full-time. She has been having lung treatments every four hours to try helping her loosen the gunk and get it out of her lungs. I can tell you those treatments wear her out, but she is such a fighter and continues to give it her all, her best efforts, as I witnessed myself last night while visiting her. Though she had hoped to be released yesterday to go home, that did not happen. There were some adjustments that needed to be made to her oxygen and finding a pharmacy that carries a medicine she will need when home was difficult. Steve also had to take a long drive up after work last night (then back home so he could work today) to bring her the home oxygen tank for her ride home when she is released… which is hopefully today! She will not return to Johns Hopkins. They have referred her back to VCU in Richmond, closer to her home, for the remainder of her care. VCU will continue to monitor her blood numbers. As needed, and when prudent, VCU will give transfusions. She remains on a high, strong dose of chemo in hopes of keeping the cancer cells at bay, but at this point in her care, there is nowhere else to turn, medically, pharmaceutically speaking. Any adjustment to meds at this time is very critical.
Please, please keep this precious family in your prayers… Steve, the four boys, Cheryl’s Mom and Dad, her brothers, and the whole extended family. I can tell you this is truly taking a toll on all of them. Though they are all responding in their own ways, they are in deep pain. I have had the joy and honor to pray with Cheryl twice in the last week while visiting, and numerous times over the past year, and I can tell you I walk away every single time with increased faith, because of the faith this beautiful woman carries. Cheryl has not given up. She is not throwing a pity party. She has moments, yes, where the situation overwhelms her, but… she remains faithful and hopeful. We see the reality of the medical side… the cancer returned, the blood numbers climbing, the pneumonia, etc… Cheryl continues to see the reality of her God. He is able to do more than we could ever ask or imagine. So I implore you, ask Him for the MORE, for Cheryl, for her family, for her friends. Thank you, ALL of you, whether longtime friends or just passing by her page, THANK YOU! Thank you for the continued prayers, thank you for the continued support, thank you for the continued encouragement. Please don’t stop! This precious family needs you, us, more than ever right now. Pray, share, give, encourage in these days that could very well be her last. Thank you! God bless each of you!
UPDATE 11/24/2018:
A quick update... Cheryl Baranski has been admitted to Johns Hopkins for a couple of days. She was feeling poorly all day yesterday and went up last night. Please continue praying for her and her family! While out and about doing your Christmas shopping, having your coffees, attending those fun parties, please pray, please consider donating, please drop Cheryl a note of encouragement. Thank you so much for all of your prayers and blessings to this precious family! You have certainly blessed me in all of this!
UPDATE 11/17/2018:
Cheryl has asked me to post this for her. It is with a heavy and broken heart that I do. Please read and join me in praying for my Dear Friend, my Sister in heart!
"I know it has been awhile since I’ve given much of an update on here. I am sorry for that. Please let me explain. On September 7th I received my bone marrow transplant, a miracle in and of itself. Not even two months later, when we thought all was going well, the Graft Vs Host Disease was right where we wanted it… the leukemia came back. I had a round of chemo and the numbers came down a little. This past Tuesday (11/13) my numbers had tripled. The doctor gave me the news through tears of his own… the leukemia is out of control. I am terminal and at a very critical stage even now. My doctor has tripled the chemo pills in an effort to keep me here another two months if it works. If the pills do not work, I am looking at a quick Homecoming and will be spending Jesus’ birthday in heaven with Him. I have lots I still WANT to do, some I still NEED to do, but ultimately my time is in my Father’s hands. Please continue to pray for my husband, Steve, and my boys, Steven, Bryant, Jacob and Christopher. This week has been hard on us all. When I will be dancing before Jesus and holding my sweet little girl Elizabeth Rose , they will all still be here without a wife and mom. Please pray for them with all the gusto you can muster. Thank you, ALL of you, for every single prayer you’ve offered on my behalf. It may not be the miracle I had hoped and prayed for, but I will receive my Ultimate Miracle… no more sickness, no more pain, eternity with my Savior. Again, thank you for all of your prayers, your cards, your gifts, your thoughts… all are treasures in my heart."
*****
Friends and Family, Acquaintances and Passers-by, the medical bills have continued to mound to mountain-size proportion. Please pray and if so led, please donate to Steve and the Boys. A $5 donation is the smallest here on GoFundMe, and yet we spend that all the time on a latte, a quick trip through the drive-thru, etc. Those $5 donations add up quickly. If at all possible, Cheryl has a bucket list she and her men are going to work on, starting with Thanksgiving, then a hopeful trip to the Creation Museum and Ark Encounter in Kentucky. Please pray for the health long enough to go, and the finances to enjoy the trip. In the midst of this, she is still making trips to Maryland to Johns Hopkins weekly, sometimes biweekly. Thank you, each and every one of you, for all you continue to pray, to give, to share, to encourage. I can tell you it means a great deal to Cheryl and the Boys, and to me as well. Praying God's blessings be returned to you as you bless Cheryl and her Family in whatever way you feel led.
*****
Original: My Dear Friend Cheryl Baranski sent me a text message August 9, 2017. The doctors had just told her she probably had leukemia. They were transferring her to a different hospital, pretty much in the middle of the night...and that is how this nightmare began. The thing I have to say about Cheryl, though, is that she has not lived in darkness. She has not let this diagnosis defeat her. She continues to live by faith, that the God Who created her holds her in the palms of His hands, goes before her, comes behind her as her Rear Guard, and is fighting this battle for her! We stand on His word that says, "The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still.”
Cheryl is fighting Acute Myelogenous Leukemia (AML), a cancer that has attacked her blood and bone marrow. When admitted in August 2017 she was immediately started on chemotherapy. Then went through another round shortly thereafter. In remission over Christmas, she started the process to get a bone marrow transplant. To make a long story a tad shorter, in the process to transplant, complications arose. Then the leukemia came back, sending Cheryl back to the hospital for another round of chemo. This round was a high dosage, more than double the first two rounds. We have just found out on March 5, 2018 that this round did not rid her body of the leukemia. During her visit to the oncologist March 7th she was told she is chemo resistant. Chemotherapy will no longer work for her. The biology of her disease is very aggressive and there is a marker in her bone marrow that is causing the leukemia to regrow.
We have HOPE, though! There are a couple of clinical trials she is slated to try. They are, however, a few hours away from her home, located at Johns Hopkins, Baltimore, MD. As you can imagine the costs of travel, husband taking time off work, living expenses and meals, not to mention the growing mountain of medical expenses, have all taken a toll. When she gets to Johns Hopkins, prayerfully within the next week, she will get started on the trial... then can get back into the process of getting to her bone marrow transplant.
Will you help? No amount is too small. Anything helps. Will you help me bless this precious family, my Dear Friend and her crew of men (husband Steve and their four sons Steven, Bryant, Jacob and Christopher)? Will you also pray? Pray for the trial to work to get her to transplant. Pray for the emotional stress on each of them. Pray for the God of miracles to do the impossible. Pray for complete defeat of AML in Cheryl's body! Thank you! Thank you so much for your help!
Organizer and beneficiary
Kelly Youngblood
Organizer
Shannon Hill, VA
Cheryl Baranski
Beneficiary