Support Leanna Lawson's Battle with Rare Cancer

Hello, everyone, my name is Wanda Harris and I'm Leanna Lawson's grandmother. We have been hit with a devastating setback. Leanna beat Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia and rang her bell on December 13, 2024. Not more than a month later, she was diagnosed with chemotherapy high-risk MDS (Myelodysplastic Syndrome). This is another type of blood/bone marrow cancer that can progress to AML (Acute Myeloid Leukemia). The only cure is extensive, aggressive chemo and a bone marrow transplant. This is a very rare cancer for a child, and there are not a lot of hospitals that know how to treat it.

Through discussions with Hopkins and CHOP, it appears the family will get the best care they need to increase her survival rate from CHOP. This requires back-and-forth stays along with travel expenses for hotels, food, gas, and lost wages. Both Tabitha and Mike will have to exhaust what annual leave and sick leave they have left. Tabitha is working to have the social worker put their names on the waiting list for the Ronald McDonald House in Philly.

Leanna will need to be closely monitored until they find her bone marrow match. Once she gets her bone marrow transplant, she will be hospital-bound until her body accepts the transplant. This will require one parent by her side at all times.

In addition to all this devastating news, the family has been made aware that fertility preservation is incredibly important to address now, as once she goes through this treatment, she will no longer be able to have children. Insurance does not cover egg retrieval nor egg storage, but it is performed at CHOP.

God has given her and us the strength to beat leukemia once. We now have to shift our focus and prepare for the new battle that lies ahead. Bone marrow transplant comes with risks and a lot of scary unknowns. Any little bit helps so that the family can have the funds they need to not stress during this difficult road ahead.