Transplant Funds for Taylor
Donation protected
Hi everyone, I'm Taylor!
After growing up all my life in Danville, Virginia, I went on to earn a degree from Virginia Tech in Hospitality & Tourism Management. Two years after graduating, I was working as assistant manager of a hotel in Lynchburg when my world came to a screeching halt – on January 26, 2018, I was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Lymphoma. I couldn't believe the words that came out of the doctor's mouth on that horrible day: I had cancer. I was 24, tried to be the best person that I could be and I still was diagnosed with this deadly disease. I thought to myself, " Why me?" a million times over. After 8 months of extremely intense chemotherapy and more pills than anyone can count, I was finally in remission on August 24, 2018. I was on cloud 9; best day ever! Even still, I knew the battle wasn’t over. I had 18 months of maintenance chemotherapy to undergo as well. This chemo regimen turned out to be much lighter – my hair was even starting to come back!
Let's fast-forward to December 16, 2019. My Aunt Beth and I went to Duke for my 16th monthly injection. We were so excited to be almost finished with the maintenance chemo, and I was so ready to ring that bell! Turns out life had other plans. After waiting for longer than normal for my blood results, I got a feeling something wasn’t right. I looked over at my Aunt Beth with tears in my eyes and said, "I think it's back." My oncologist, Dr. DeCastro, came in and said, "I've got bad news for you sunshine: it's come back in your blood, meaning that it is now Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia. But we've caught it early and we have a plan." Since then, I’ve gone back into remission (yay!), but was rediagnosed. They found 60% cancer cells in the fluid around my brain and 2% cancer cells in my bone marrow. To treat this, I had to get an ommaya reservoir placed into my head so they could inject chemo directly into the fluid surrounding my brain. I also had to have three rounds of a new chemo to address the bone marrow. I am currently fighting with hopes to get an umbilical cord transplant. There have been many speed bumps along the way, but I’m finally back in remission. One side effect from the new chemo is a feeling of numbness and tingling in my body from my ribs down to my toes. I can still feel most of my body, but I am unable to control some areas, similar to the feeling when your foot falls asleep and will not wake up. This numbness issue has pushed my transplant back by a week, which is scary but necessary. In mid-May, we will be back on track with two days of chemo and five days of full body radiation to go. Then it is transplant time!
Unfortunately, I lost my insurance with my company and now am on COBRA, which costs $688 monthly. The cost of the transplant is $1,345,000, travel and lodge is about $11,000 and evaluation is $6,000. I am hopeful that this page will not only raise awareness about the cost of treatment but also bring light to the significant financial distress that I will endure post transplant. After transplant I will not be able to go back to work for potentially 2+ years due to my compromised immune system. If you could find it in your heart to help me in this trying time, especially when so many of us are struggling, I would appreciate it more than words can express. Thank you for reading this, and thank you for your continued thoughts and prayers.
Much love,
Taylor Foust
Message From Mama Foust:
Please keep Taylor and her family in your prayers. Thank you so much for your donations and especially your prayers for my baby girl. Donations of any amount are greatly appreciated!! ❤️
After growing up all my life in Danville, Virginia, I went on to earn a degree from Virginia Tech in Hospitality & Tourism Management. Two years after graduating, I was working as assistant manager of a hotel in Lynchburg when my world came to a screeching halt – on January 26, 2018, I was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Lymphoma. I couldn't believe the words that came out of the doctor's mouth on that horrible day: I had cancer. I was 24, tried to be the best person that I could be and I still was diagnosed with this deadly disease. I thought to myself, " Why me?" a million times over. After 8 months of extremely intense chemotherapy and more pills than anyone can count, I was finally in remission on August 24, 2018. I was on cloud 9; best day ever! Even still, I knew the battle wasn’t over. I had 18 months of maintenance chemotherapy to undergo as well. This chemo regimen turned out to be much lighter – my hair was even starting to come back!
Let's fast-forward to December 16, 2019. My Aunt Beth and I went to Duke for my 16th monthly injection. We were so excited to be almost finished with the maintenance chemo, and I was so ready to ring that bell! Turns out life had other plans. After waiting for longer than normal for my blood results, I got a feeling something wasn’t right. I looked over at my Aunt Beth with tears in my eyes and said, "I think it's back." My oncologist, Dr. DeCastro, came in and said, "I've got bad news for you sunshine: it's come back in your blood, meaning that it is now Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia. But we've caught it early and we have a plan." Since then, I’ve gone back into remission (yay!), but was rediagnosed. They found 60% cancer cells in the fluid around my brain and 2% cancer cells in my bone marrow. To treat this, I had to get an ommaya reservoir placed into my head so they could inject chemo directly into the fluid surrounding my brain. I also had to have three rounds of a new chemo to address the bone marrow. I am currently fighting with hopes to get an umbilical cord transplant. There have been many speed bumps along the way, but I’m finally back in remission. One side effect from the new chemo is a feeling of numbness and tingling in my body from my ribs down to my toes. I can still feel most of my body, but I am unable to control some areas, similar to the feeling when your foot falls asleep and will not wake up. This numbness issue has pushed my transplant back by a week, which is scary but necessary. In mid-May, we will be back on track with two days of chemo and five days of full body radiation to go. Then it is transplant time!
Unfortunately, I lost my insurance with my company and now am on COBRA, which costs $688 monthly. The cost of the transplant is $1,345,000, travel and lodge is about $11,000 and evaluation is $6,000. I am hopeful that this page will not only raise awareness about the cost of treatment but also bring light to the significant financial distress that I will endure post transplant. After transplant I will not be able to go back to work for potentially 2+ years due to my compromised immune system. If you could find it in your heart to help me in this trying time, especially when so many of us are struggling, I would appreciate it more than words can express. Thank you for reading this, and thank you for your continued thoughts and prayers.
Much love,
Taylor Foust
Message From Mama Foust:
Please keep Taylor and her family in your prayers. Thank you so much for your donations and especially your prayers for my baby girl. Donations of any amount are greatly appreciated!! ❤️
Organizer
Taylor Foust
Organizer
Danville, VA