Above is a picture of my sister Dawn, from October 12, 2025. She is 56 years old. She was getting treatments most of the year prepping for a bone marrow transplant. Five chemo shots a week for 3 weeks, one week off then it started all over again. She was diagnosed with acute leukemia earlier this year, always having issues with her platelets and "losing" them. It's down to a bone marrow transplant to save her.
Unfortunately, there are no matches in the database for her. The closest they got were two half-matches in her brother David and her son Bryan. UH Hospital in downtown Cleveland chose her son to be the donor. They would use his bone marrow donation and part cells from an umbilical cord to treat her.
Dawn went into the hospital just before Halloween. She was given a higher dose of chemotherapy and for the first time, radiation. Then the bone marrow transplant. I have visited her every week in the hospital since she's been in and the beginning of her troubles, (other than the obvious) came after these treatments. It all started with her stomach. Horrible stomach cramping, vomiting, diarrhea, sometimes all at the same time. When I visited her after the bone marrow transplant she was in bed, her hair now gone from the radiation, clutching her stomach complaining of the pain.
Since that day she has been in ICU, sedated on a ventilator and dialysis. Her kidneys weren't great going into this and now they're on a day to day watch, sometimes on dialysis, sometimes off. She's had pneumonia, a blood infection, an obstruction in her stomach, GI bleeding and has gained I'd say at least 25-30 lbs in fluid that never seems to leave her body.
Currently, she's been out of ICU for a week but there's talk of putting her back in. Still with the GI bleeding and blood in her stomach that is constantly coming out through a tube in her nose. She has been given blood and platelets so much her cancer Dr. has stated that she is using up their resources. She is confused and disoriented a lot of the time but when prompted she will nod or give one or two-word answers. She cannot move without assistance, not even to use her phone or make a call.
I'm asking for assistance because she is alone. She has her rent and a car to pay for among a ton of medical bills. She was working up until she went into the hospital, but it is uncertain whether or not she will be able to return to her job in the near future. She was supposed to return to working at home next month, but in her current state, that is not going to happen. If she doesn't receive some assistance, she will lose her apartment and her car. I was unsure as to how much to ask for as far as funding goes, as I have no idea how much in medical bills she has racked up, but she's been in the UH Cancer Center since the end of October so I know it's got to be a lot and we have no idea how long she will continue to be there.
If everyone could donate just $10, if we had enough donations we could keep up with her bills. Any donation is greatly appreciated and desperately needed. I'd love to be able to give my sister peace of mind in knowing that she doesn't need to worry about her finances, as that was one of her biggest worries going into this procedure.
I visited Dawn today. She’s had a rough week. She broke out in a rash all over her face and body, she was back on dialysis and they had to put a central line in for blood and platelets because the one they were using had an issue and a new one had to go in. We thought the worst.
