Meara has been diagnosed with Leukemia

Hello Friends,

On Sunday, October 16th, Meara was diagnosed with a very aggressive form of leukemia known as AML. Meara is 22 years old and recently graduated from college and moved to New York, NY, to pursue her dream of becoming a Broadway actress. Meara is kind, hard-working and vibrant, and this has been a terrifying and challenging experience for her and her family.

For those of you who do not know me, my name is Brian Smith. My wife, Carolyn, and I have been good friends with Steve and Skye Boughey for many years, and we have had the pleasure of getting to know their beautiful family. Carolyn and I have started a GoFundMe campaign to help offset expenses related to medical needs, travel expenses and future needs for Meara Boughey and the entire Boughey family.

Meara began experiencing flu-like symptoms in early October. She went to the ER on October 14th after it became clear that her high fever and other symptoms were not passing even with medication. Upon being admitted to the ER, they determined Meara had indicators of blood disorders, and they began further testing, resulting in a leukemia diagnosis. Meara was immediately admitted to the Oncology unit in a Manhattan hospital. Since her diagnosis, her parents, Steve and Skye, have traveled to be with Meara. Her younger sisters Ava and Lila were also able to fly out. Steve tells us that Meara is getting excellent medical care, but she has been extremely sick and going through many highs and lows. She is currently in the Neurological ICU after suffering from bleeding in her brain and is undergoing intensive chemotherapy treatments.

The treatment plan calls for an initial hospital stay of six to eight weeks to complete initial chemotherapy and other required therapies. Follow-up testing will determine the following steps, one of which will be a bone marrow transplant as soon as possible. Currently, the plan is to complete the steps in New York with the goal of bringing her home to Sherwood, Oregon and transferring her care to Oregon Health & Science University in Portland.

As you can imagine, this has been an incredibly stressful and challenging time for Meara and the Boughey family. They have incurred many extra costs, including airfare, hotel, meals, and out-of-pocket medical expenses. These costs will continue as Meara's parents and family will live and travel back and forth to New York as she gets the care she needs.

The Boughey's are a fantastic family, and we want to do what we can to help them through this challenging time. If you can donate to this fundraiser, it would be greatly appreciated. We recognize that not everyone can make a monetary gift currently, but please share this with your friends and family to help us reach our goal. Thank you all for your support, prayers, and positive thoughts for Meara and the Boughey Family.

Sincere gratitude,

Brian & Carolyn Smith