Nikki's MF Transplant Fight
Donation protected
Hello,
Thank you so very much for coming to Nikki’s page and reading this. Nine years ago I met a very special person that would become a very dear friend of mine. Her name is Nikki.
Nikki and I met through mutual friends and had an instant connection. Since then we’ve spent quite a bit of time together. Throughout our relationship I have come to deeply admire Nikki, for who she is and what she stands for.
As a giving and loving person, Nikki has consistently spent time and given of herself whenever the need arouse. Since I’ve known her, she has always been there for me personally through all of my hardships.
She has personally taken on the responsibility of helping numerous sick animals and then helped them to find amazing new homes. There were 2 cats in particular just last year that were about to be put to sleep that she made sure that she saw through they were brought back to health and then found them new homes. She literally saved their lives!
When my hometown of Chetek, Wisconsin was hit by a devastating tornado in 2017, she immediately took it upon herself to organize and gather a trunk full of toiletries and other essential items for dozens of people that just lost everything, so I could deliver it to the Chetek PD.
For the past three years Nikki has spent weekends volunteering her time at Kamins Farm Sanctuary in Grayslake, helping in any way she can.
This sweet and giving woman has been diagnosed with stage 3 of a very rare and serious cancer and she will begin treatment in September. She will share in her own words below more specifics about her cancer and what her treatment plan will be.
Nikki is a bright light in this world and I love her with every fiber of my being. She has helped so many others, so it’s time now for us to help Nikki!!!
Any donation you can make would be so very gratefully appreciated. Either way, we are asking everyone to hold Nikki in prayers, love and light. Thank you.
“Hi everyone, my name is Nikki. Sixteen years ago I was first diagnosed with Myelofibrosis (MF) which is a blood cancer. Until May of this year I have lived a life without any symptoms. All of a sudden, I started becoming lethargic and having shortness of breath, itchy skin, night sweats and rapid weight-loss. This lead to me having a full blood work done with my oncologist and a bone marrow biopsy... and the results were not what I wanted to hear. My MF had progressed rapidly and I am now in need of a stem cell transplant (SCT), also known as a bone marrow transplant.
The disease causes all my bone marrow to become fibrosis which means it can no longer produce healthy cells. It is now producing mutating cells, which in turn causes my spleen and liver to start to produce their own for survival and they become extremely enlarged and painful.
There is a cure though! And if my body doesn't reject the new donor stem cells and I survive, (which I bloody plan to because I have WAY more animals in my lifetime to save!!!) it's gonna be hell, as the chemo I have to receive is very aggressive. It will need to kill of all the damaged marrow and will strip me of all of my white and red blood cells, platelets and so much more.
The doctors were not able to find a bone marrow match for me on the worldwide donor registry but by the grace of God my brothers were a match! Not a perfect match, but enough. Unfortunately it will leave me vulnerable to graft versus host disease (GVHD), which is were the body fights the new stem cells being put into your body and causes severe GI issues, skin reactions, mouth and throat ulcers…and more I don't want to think about.
I was hoping not to have to ask for financial help throughout all of this, but unfortunately there are so many hidden costs involved in this journey that I did not realize. It will be difficult to purchase everything I will be needing in order to spend 5 weeks in the hospital and additional months in isolation at home.
I will also need to hire a caregiver because when I'm out of the hospital, my husband will not be able to work to support us (me, him and our 2 fur baby kitties: Sammie and Kiwi) and also take care of me. I will need many different medical products, and things such as hats and headscarves to cover my baldhead, including a wig (which is very expensive.) There is also a lot of self-care involved, which is not covered by insurance either. We will also need to account for things like gas to and from the hospital on a daily basis for 5 weeks, then twice a week after that for months. I may also have to fly my donor (brother) over here from New Zealand.
Any support you are able to give me would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you in advance for your care, emotional support and following my journey.
All my love,
Nikki ”
Thank you so very much for coming to Nikki’s page and reading this. Nine years ago I met a very special person that would become a very dear friend of mine. Her name is Nikki.
Nikki and I met through mutual friends and had an instant connection. Since then we’ve spent quite a bit of time together. Throughout our relationship I have come to deeply admire Nikki, for who she is and what she stands for.
As a giving and loving person, Nikki has consistently spent time and given of herself whenever the need arouse. Since I’ve known her, she has always been there for me personally through all of my hardships.
She has personally taken on the responsibility of helping numerous sick animals and then helped them to find amazing new homes. There were 2 cats in particular just last year that were about to be put to sleep that she made sure that she saw through they were brought back to health and then found them new homes. She literally saved their lives!
When my hometown of Chetek, Wisconsin was hit by a devastating tornado in 2017, she immediately took it upon herself to organize and gather a trunk full of toiletries and other essential items for dozens of people that just lost everything, so I could deliver it to the Chetek PD.
For the past three years Nikki has spent weekends volunteering her time at Kamins Farm Sanctuary in Grayslake, helping in any way she can.
This sweet and giving woman has been diagnosed with stage 3 of a very rare and serious cancer and she will begin treatment in September. She will share in her own words below more specifics about her cancer and what her treatment plan will be.
Nikki is a bright light in this world and I love her with every fiber of my being. She has helped so many others, so it’s time now for us to help Nikki!!!
Any donation you can make would be so very gratefully appreciated. Either way, we are asking everyone to hold Nikki in prayers, love and light. Thank you.
“Hi everyone, my name is Nikki. Sixteen years ago I was first diagnosed with Myelofibrosis (MF) which is a blood cancer. Until May of this year I have lived a life without any symptoms. All of a sudden, I started becoming lethargic and having shortness of breath, itchy skin, night sweats and rapid weight-loss. This lead to me having a full blood work done with my oncologist and a bone marrow biopsy... and the results were not what I wanted to hear. My MF had progressed rapidly and I am now in need of a stem cell transplant (SCT), also known as a bone marrow transplant.
The disease causes all my bone marrow to become fibrosis which means it can no longer produce healthy cells. It is now producing mutating cells, which in turn causes my spleen and liver to start to produce their own for survival and they become extremely enlarged and painful.
There is a cure though! And if my body doesn't reject the new donor stem cells and I survive, (which I bloody plan to because I have WAY more animals in my lifetime to save!!!) it's gonna be hell, as the chemo I have to receive is very aggressive. It will need to kill of all the damaged marrow and will strip me of all of my white and red blood cells, platelets and so much more.
The doctors were not able to find a bone marrow match for me on the worldwide donor registry but by the grace of God my brothers were a match! Not a perfect match, but enough. Unfortunately it will leave me vulnerable to graft versus host disease (GVHD), which is were the body fights the new stem cells being put into your body and causes severe GI issues, skin reactions, mouth and throat ulcers…and more I don't want to think about.
I was hoping not to have to ask for financial help throughout all of this, but unfortunately there are so many hidden costs involved in this journey that I did not realize. It will be difficult to purchase everything I will be needing in order to spend 5 weeks in the hospital and additional months in isolation at home.
I will also need to hire a caregiver because when I'm out of the hospital, my husband will not be able to work to support us (me, him and our 2 fur baby kitties: Sammie and Kiwi) and also take care of me. I will need many different medical products, and things such as hats and headscarves to cover my baldhead, including a wig (which is very expensive.) There is also a lot of self-care involved, which is not covered by insurance either. We will also need to account for things like gas to and from the hospital on a daily basis for 5 weeks, then twice a week after that for months. I may also have to fly my donor (brother) over here from New Zealand.
Any support you are able to give me would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you in advance for your care, emotional support and following my journey.
All my love,
Nikki ”
Organizer and beneficiary
Jessica Huston
Organizer
Long Lake, IL
Nikki Nyhuis
Beneficiary