War Veteran's family in need.

My name is Heather Valenti and I am writing this on behalf of my brother.

Years ago, Lou selflessly joined the Army. He served with the 101st Airborne Division and was exposed to toxic burn pits during his deployment overseas. As a result, he has been battling Acute Myeloid Leukemia for the past year. This cancer is rare and aggressive. After countless chemo treatments, procedures and medications, Lou received what we thought would be a life saving stem cell transplant in February!

Unfortunately, 4 months later we received the heart wrenching news that his AML (Acute Myeloid Leukemia) cancer came back. Now, he is anxiously waiting for another donor/stem cell match...because a second transplant is needed in order for him to live. He may be running out of time. I can't believe those words are our reality at the moment. Veterans sign that dotted line to give everything they have, and in some cases... their life. I am doing everything I can to try moving heaven and earth for this Veteran and his new little family that mean the world to me.

With an aggressive cancer comes aggressive (and expensive) treatment. It has taken a toll on him not only physically and mentally... but now financially. After his diagnosis, he was forced to stop working. His wife is juggling working all hours of the day and night to help support them... while caring for Louie and their new baby. Our family sees how unimaginable this situation is for them on a daily basis.... endless prescriptions, side effects, bills, cost of living, all while anxiously waiting for a miracle to save his life. We cannot fathom the idea of them having to worry financially, too. It's just too much. Every dollar donated is appreciated beyond words! 

**Disclosure** 

I decided to start this page to not only try every effort to help Lou, Danielle, and their daughter during the most difficult time of their lives... but also to raise awareness about this aggressive cancer that affects many other families as well. You can click "Join" on BeTheMatch.org to answer a few questions and receive a FREE cheek swab kit in the mail. This will determine your HLA tissue type, and add you as a donor to the registry! If you are a match for Louie or any other patient, they will contact you ASAP. Stem cell donation is an easy process hooked up to an IV like donating blood, with a rewarding outcome. 

Please consider joining the registry, and we thank you in advance for your donations. I will post updates as often as I can!