Light for Linda's (Pendelj) Leukemia

Hello everyone,

My name is Jackie Ferranti and I am Linda Pendelj’s aunt and godmother (my sister, Kristie Lange's daughter). Linda has recently been diagnosed with leukemia and I have created this GoFundMe to help support her during these difficult times.

Linda is 19 years old and is truly the light of so many people’s lives. Her caring and loving spirit impacts everyone around her and the love she has for others and animals is truly remarkable. She has been working at a pet grooming facility and in school to get her license. Recently, bruises started showing up on her body and everyone thought it was from the animals she was taking care of.

After noticing her bruising was getting worse, she went to the doctor. When the lab work came back, her parents (Kristie & Eric) were told to get Linda to the Emergency Room ASAP because it appeared to be Leukemia. On July 27, 2023, Linda was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL), a type of cancer in the blood and bone marrow.

Linda was told they would have to act very quickly and within 24 hours she was admitted to the hospital, had a port put in and a spinal tap (with chemotherapy injected). She has also had several blood transfusions and platelets.

Although ALL is treatable and curable, it will take close to 3 years to know if she is in complete remission.

She has already had 3 chemotherapy treatments and will now continue weekly treatments. She will be losing her beautiful hair shortly. After the first month, the doctors will do a bone marrow biopsy to see if there are any cancer cells left. The hope is the bone marrow will be free of all cancer cells and she will be in remission. In order to keep her in remission, Linda will need to continue chemotherapy over the next 2 ½ to 3 years along with additional spinal taps, biopsies and blood transfusions.

Linda will be unable to continue working and she will have to put school on hold because of the risk of infection and injury associated with animal grooming. Therefore, she will have no income to pay her bills. Even though they have good insurance there are still the out-of-pocket maximums that have to be met each year.

With all the emotional stress for the Pendelj family during this difficult time, there will also be financial stress trying to keep up with all the expenses.

We are humbly asking for your prayers and financial support.

Whether it is through prayers, sharing this story or a donation, please know that Linda and her family appreciate everyone’s support.

Ever since she was a little girl, she has had a heart full of compassion and has always been there to support her family and friends.

Now it is our turn to help support Linda.

Thank you and God Bless

"The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome."

John 1:5