Seeing Steve Palmquist Through Tough Times

Pneumonia, sepsis, leukemia—with the medical bills already piling up, Steve Palmquist and his wife, Vicki, continue to face months of tough challenges. Please read on to see how you can help!

 

Here are the key points leading up to today:

• Back in early summer 2021, if you’d asked Steve how he was doing, he likely would have gifted you with his irresistible cheerful grin—despite the fact he was struggling with ongoing fatigue and headaches.

• At the start of the 4th of July weekend, Steve’s health deteriorated further, and he was admitted to Abbott Northwestern Hospital in Minneapolis.

• Steve spent a week in the hospital undergoing a huge battery of tests. His diagnosis changed daily. Finally, they sent him home—still very sick with pneumonia and sepsis—and the doctors continued to search for a root cause.

• Word came that Steve has Hairy Cell Leukemia, a rare cancer of the blood and bone marrow named for hair-like projections on the cells. As Steve noted, he wins the prize for the “cancer diagnosis that most sounds like a bad Saturday Night Live skit.”

• Despite the risks to his immune system—an especially big concern because of COVID—the oncologist determined that Steve needs to undergo chemo. He advised Steve to first follow through on a day surgery for an unrelated issue (Steve is recovering well from that) and lined up the first chemo regimen to begin September 13th.

• Once this first round of chemo is completed, Steve will get a short break, and then in October he’ll undergo a second round with a different chemo drug.

• Steve and Vicki will likely have to remain sequestered for at least a year because Steve will be so susceptible to infections.

 

If you’ve read this far, you may already know what I know: few people have been as instrumental as the Palmquists in building bridges between the people who create children’s books and the advocates who place those books in front of kids. For the past three decades, the Palmquists have worked tirelessly to create innovative programs and organizations that promote literacy. Bookology, Children’s Literature Network, Books for Breakfast, the Alphabet Forest—these are just a few of the initiatives in which they’ve played instrumental roles and to which they’ve devoted countless volunteer hours.

 

Steve and Vicki have made an impact on the careers of hundreds of children’s book authors and illustrators, everyone from newcomers to some of the biggest names in the field. As one of the many writers who has benefitted from their wisdom, generosity, and hard work, I’m so grateful to them—not only for what they’ve done for my career, but for everything they’ve done to put books into the hands of young readers.

 

Steve and Vicki are happiest when they’re shining the spotlight on others. Agreeing to this GoFundMe initiative wasn’t an easy step for them. But the reality is that they’re now facing many costs that they never anticipated—right at the time when they need to focus their attention on Steve’s recovery and healing:

 

Medical bills. These bills are already pouring in. While Steve has insurance, not all of the costs are covered. Doctors have said that Steve will need extensive “doctoring” for 1-3 years.

Special diet. Doctors have prescribed a special diet that has added substantially to the Palmquists’ grocery bill.

Dramatic cutbacks in work hours. Steve and Vicki are self-employed. Steve has had to cut back drastically on his work hours. Although Vicki has continued to work full-time, there are periods when she will need to give precedence to her caretaker duties.

Related expenses. This includes things such as additional help with housework, yardwork, or bookkeeping, tasks that the Palmquists would normally do themselves.

 

Like the Palmquists, those of us who work in a creative field or as educators can sometimes struggle to make ends meet. But if you’re in a position to be able to make a donation, I’m asking you to give what you can. And even if you can’t contribute at this time, you can still help by keeping Steve in your thoughts, sharing a cheerful grin with someone, reading a book to a child—or sharing this appeal with others.

 

Before I wrap up, I do want to share some good news: after treatment, Steve will most likely be able to return to a high quality of life for many years. I know you will share my relief in knowing that Steve’s long-term prognosis is likely to be promising. For the short term, the goal is to help him get through the huge challenges of the next few months—including the financial repercussions of this kind of medical crisis.

 

Thank you, in advance, for your donation. Your generosity sends Steve a signal of your care and concern!

 

#SeeingSteveThrough

 

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