Light the Way to Cure Whitney Burlington
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Whitney Burlington lives in IL and is 25-year-old nursing student. She has dreams of helping others and never thought she would find herself asking for health instead.

On November 28th, 2018, Whitney became so weak that she couldn't get out of bed. Her sister came over and immediately brought her to the emergency room. At the hospital, they discovered her lungs were almost completely filled with fluid, caused by pneumonia. She was unable to oxygenate her own blood and her body was shutting down. She was diagnosed with ARDS (Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome) and transferred to OSF St. Francis in Peoria, IL. She was placed in a medical induced coma and put on ECMO, advanced life-support, for 25 days so that her blood would be oxygenated.

On December 9th, 2018, Whitney coded after surgery. Luckily, the doctors and nurses acted quickly and were able to get her heart back in rhythm. In mid-January, Whitney began to get better. However, months of being in a coma and having pneumonia left her with very little strength. She had to regain her strength in order to walk. While all of this was stacked against her, a new semester started. Whitney managed to return to school and sit in lecture while she regained her strength. After months of rehab, Whitney finally seemed well enough to be on her own. Her mother left Whitney's home to return to Florida. This victory was short lived.

As finals approached, Whitney became sick again with a cold. This cold lingered and concerned her doctors. They suspected something else was afoot and Whitney's mom returned to IL. Not even a week after her return, Whitney had a blood panel done that revealed her white blood cell count was extremely high. Whitney was admitted to the oncology department at OSF Saint Anthony and then transferred to UW Madison. A spinal tap and bone marrow biopsy revealed that Whitney has Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML). It was in her bone marrow, blood, and spinal fluid. The doctors started her on an intensive inpatient chemotherapy regimen the next day.


Whitney currently works at a local bowling alley/bar part-time, while attending nursing school full-time. She lives on her own and now struggles to pays her own bills. She currently has $7,000 in unpaid medical bills, prior to this new diagnosis. She still needs a lot of care to get her on her feet, which includes months of maintenance chemotherapy, possible fertility treatment/egg freezing, multiple bone marrow biopsy’s and lumbar punctures. If she relapses, she will need to go through a bone marrow transplant. We are looking to help her out.

Please help Whitney catch a break she desperately needs and donate to help her cover her medical bills and living expenses. Any amount helps. Whitney's doctors say she is a miracle for surviving all that life has thrown at her in the past 6 months, please help give her another miracle.

If you are unable to donate, we ask that you consider donating blood, plasma, and/or sign up to be a bone marrow donor to help save someone else in need.

Thank you for taking the time to hear her story! Her family and friends are appreciative of whatever help you can provide .
-Team Whitters-
On November 28th, 2018, Whitney became so weak that she couldn't get out of bed. Her sister came over and immediately brought her to the emergency room. At the hospital, they discovered her lungs were almost completely filled with fluid, caused by pneumonia. She was unable to oxygenate her own blood and her body was shutting down. She was diagnosed with ARDS (Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome) and transferred to OSF St. Francis in Peoria, IL. She was placed in a medical induced coma and put on ECMO, advanced life-support, for 25 days so that her blood would be oxygenated.
On December 9th, 2018, Whitney coded after surgery. Luckily, the doctors and nurses acted quickly and were able to get her heart back in rhythm. In mid-January, Whitney began to get better. However, months of being in a coma and having pneumonia left her with very little strength. She had to regain her strength in order to walk. While all of this was stacked against her, a new semester started. Whitney managed to return to school and sit in lecture while she regained her strength. After months of rehab, Whitney finally seemed well enough to be on her own. Her mother left Whitney's home to return to Florida. This victory was short lived.
As finals approached, Whitney became sick again with a cold. This cold lingered and concerned her doctors. They suspected something else was afoot and Whitney's mom returned to IL. Not even a week after her return, Whitney had a blood panel done that revealed her white blood cell count was extremely high. Whitney was admitted to the oncology department at OSF Saint Anthony and then transferred to UW Madison. A spinal tap and bone marrow biopsy revealed that Whitney has Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML). It was in her bone marrow, blood, and spinal fluid. The doctors started her on an intensive inpatient chemotherapy regimen the next day.
Whitney currently works at a local bowling alley/bar part-time, while attending nursing school full-time. She lives on her own and now struggles to pays her own bills. She currently has $7,000 in unpaid medical bills, prior to this new diagnosis. She still needs a lot of care to get her on her feet, which includes months of maintenance chemotherapy, possible fertility treatment/egg freezing, multiple bone marrow biopsy’s and lumbar punctures. If she relapses, she will need to go through a bone marrow transplant. We are looking to help her out.
Please help Whitney catch a break she desperately needs and donate to help her cover her medical bills and living expenses. Any amount helps. Whitney's doctors say she is a miracle for surviving all that life has thrown at her in the past 6 months, please help give her another miracle.
If you are unable to donate, we ask that you consider donating blood, plasma, and/or sign up to be a bone marrow donor to help save someone else in need.
Thank you for taking the time to hear her story! Her family and friends are appreciative of whatever help you can provide .
-Team Whitters-
Fundraising team: Team Whitters (3)
Whitney Burlington
Organizer
Rockford, IL
Meryll Mae
Team member
Kim Burlington
Team member