On March 30th, 2022, I brought my then 26-year-old son, for flu-like symptoms that weren’t going away, and pain in his back. After an hour of waiting, a very somber looking Dr. came in and told us that he had lymphoma and a tumor in his spine and immediately admitted him and started a bed search for Boston hospitals. At this time, we weren’t sure he was going to make it. It didn’t seem hopeful. Literally every parents’ and person’s worst nightmare.
The following day, he was transported to Dana Farber, where he would then be re-diagnosed with an inoperable tumor and B-Cell Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia. This was the beginning of a very initial hospital stay over over a month, and not the last of such long stays.
Almost a month to the day of Andrew’s diagnosis, I had left my job as Clinical Director at a large non-profit and all of the benefits that came with that, to work for my own fairly new, developing, group-practice. I had a full caseload of clients depending on me and I had no paid time-off.
However, I stayed in the hospital with Andrew every single day he was there, driving back to the South Shore and sometimes Cambridge each night, where luckily, I had friends who opened their homes up to me for the duration of his treatment. I physically moved into the South Shore house for over six weeks during one stay, and drove into Boston every single day from there. I truly don’t know what we would have done without them. Staying in Boston would not have been possible financially. So we were so lucky!
Throughout his chemotherapy treatment, Andrew had every known side effect from the treatments, spent (scary)time in the ICU, had blood clots in his heart and lung, had two full hip replacements and, when he wasn’t hospitalized, we traveled to Boston, starting 4 times a week then down to once a week for the last year, from Western Mass (2-4 hours each way depending on traffic), to get chemotherapy.
Monday, July 29th, at age 29, he got his last chemotherapy treatment and is tumor and leukemia free.
It has been a struggle the last few years for our family, as you can imagine. And now, Andrew has to start his life over again. He never went back to his apartment after that March 30th ER visit. After he was initially discharged from the hospital, he moved back home, into my home-office, and left his whole life behind. We paid off his lease and most of the stuff in his apartment stayed behind. We have continued to pay his other bills, his car payment, student loans, credit card, insurance etc. Interestingly enough, the bills don’t stop even when something like this happens. We didn’t want his credit to be ruined at the end of all of this, so we took over everything. We have replaced his wardrobe multiple times because his weight has been so inconsistent throughout treatment. It went down to 120 pounds at one point and then with steroids, shot back up. Just sharing because these are all things no one really thinks about or realizes happen on the background if you haven’t been there.
Now that he is facing starting over again, it feels incredibly overwhelming after such a fight, to figure out the next steps. And while we have taken care of everything financially for him the best we can through all of it to preserve his credit, it still takes a lot to start your life over again from scratch- especially after what he’s been through.
It is incredibly difficult for me to even have created this, as I am not one to ask for help, but the power of friends, family and sometimes even strangers, is so much stronger than what we can do alone.
Any support would be amazing. We are hoping to be able to get enough together to make the enormous pressure of starting over from scratch feel a little bit less out of reach.
As an aside, because of experiencing first hand what something like this can do to a family, I started a non-profit called Panda Bugs, Inc. with the sole purpose of providing support for families going through long-term, time intensive illness like this. We also have an adult daughter who struggles with life-altering autoimmune conditions. We called Andrew, Andrew Panda bear as a baby, and his sister Kayleigh Bug- thus Panda Bugs was born. It is fully registered as a 503(c)(1) charitable non-profit and being worked on behind the scenes. I am hoping to have it fully up and running within the next year once I am able to give it my full attention. I just want everyone to know that I will be doing my best to give back and to help other families who find themselves in similar situations. I do not take asking for help lightly.
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Why GoFundMe Articles and URLs Appear on Our Website?
Why GoFundMe Articles and URLs Appear on Our Website and How We Support Other GoFundMe Campaigns
At LFEBridge Foundation, we are dedicated to creating a platform where individuals and organizations can maximize their fundraising efforts. As part of our commitment to supporting a wide range of causes, we incorporate articles and URLs from GoFundMe into our website. Here’s why you might see GoFundMe content on our site, how it benefits the fundraising community, and our relationship with GoFundMe:
1. Amplifying Reach for Fundraising Campaigns
Increased Visibility: By featuring GoFundMe articles and URLs on our platform, we help increase the visibility of various fundraising campaigns. This additional exposure can attract more donors and supporters, helping campaigns achieve their goals more quickly.
Cross-Promotional Opportunities: Highlighting campaigns from GoFundMe allows us to support a broader spectrum of causes and connect with a wider audience. This cross-promotion benefits both the campaign organizers and potential donors looking for causes to support.
2. Supporting Campaign Growth
Advertising and Promotion: We understand the importance of visibility in successful fundraising. By showcasing GoFundMe campaigns, we provide an advertising platform that helps these campaigns reach potential donors who might not have discovered them otherwise.
Strategic Partnerships: Collaborating with GoFundMe and featuring their campaigns on our site strengthens the fundraising ecosystem, ensuring that worthwhile causes receive the attention and support they deserve.
3. Expanding Donor Networks
Broader Donor Base: Featuring a variety of campaigns from different platforms helps diversify and expand the donor base. This means more people can learn about and contribute to a variety of causes, ultimately driving higher engagement and donations.
Enhanced Outreach: By integrating GoFundMe content, we help campaigns tap into new networks and communities, broadening their reach and potential impact.
How We Help Other GoFundMe Campaigns Grow
1. Featured Campaigns Section
Highlighting Noteworthy Campaigns: We have a dedicated section on our website where we feature noteworthy GoFundMe campaigns. This not only gives these campaigns a spotlight but also encourages visitors to explore and contribute to them.
Rotating Features: To ensure a diverse range of campaigns get visibility, we regularly rotate the featured campaigns. This continuous update keeps the content fresh and engaging for our audience.
2. Social Media Promotion
Sharing Across Platforms: We share selected GoFundMe campaigns on our social media channels to reach a broader audience. Our followers, in turn, can share these posts, amplifying the reach even further.
Engagement Strategies: Utilizing effective engagement strategies, such as storytelling and compelling visuals, we enhance the appeal of these campaigns, driving more traffic and donations.
3. Email Newsletters
Campaign Highlights: Our email newsletters often include highlights of impactful GoFundMe campaigns. By doing so, we bring these causes directly to the inboxes of our subscribers, encouraging more people to get involved and donate.
Donor Updates: We keep our donors informed about the progress and success of the campaigns they have supported, fostering a sense of community and continued engagement.
LFEBridge Foundation's Independence
It’s important to clarify that LFEBridge Foundation is an independent entity and is not part of or affiliated with GoFundMe. While we feature and support GoFundMe campaigns on our site, we operate as a separate foundation dedicated to collecting donations for various causes, similar to GoFundMe. Many of these causes are displayed on our website to provide donors with a wide range of options to support.
Conclusion
By featuring GoFundMe articles and URLs on our website, LFEBridge Foundation supports a wide array of fundraising campaigns, helping them gain the visibility and donations they need to succeed. Through our promotional efforts and strategic partnerships, we aim to create a robust and supportive environment for all fundraising initiatives.
For more information on how we support fundraising campaigns or to explore featured campaigns, visit https://LFEBridge.com or contact us at support@lfebridge.com.
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