Inspirational Stories

"He was selfless, unbelievably selfless," said Amanda about her father, Andrew. "He did everything for everybody. He worried enough for our family plus more. And never showed it. He worked extremely hard to provide us with everything we could possibly need." 

Her father, who worked in human resources for the United States Postal Service, was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia in January 2018. Notorious for not going to the doctor, Amanda said her father agreed to go to Urgent Care after feeling ill for weeks. According to Rappold, her father thought he had a cold. The Urgent Care doctor was concerned about Andrew’s blood pressure and his feeling weak and sent him to Albany Medical Center. Andrew was given a blood test at the center’s ER and admitted to the hospital on January 19, 2018.

"And that evening (he) found out that he had acute myeloid leukemia (AML)," said Amanda on a Zoom call from North Carolina, where she lives. 

AML is a form of cancer of the marrow and the blood. It can be aggressive and challenging to treat. He began his first of two rounds of chemotherapy on January 23, which included blood donations and antibiotics. The process lasted about a month.

"He went through chemo," said Amanda, an account manager, "and then, unfortunately, just about a month later, he passed away. He had gotten septic. He ran a fever, and then his body went into septic shock. And then everything was just kind of shutting down." 

On Friday, February 16, Amanda said her father had a distended stomach, was hallucinating, and was incoherent. He developed Clostridium difficile, a bacterial infection also known as C. diff, and was immediately moved to Albany Medical Center’s Intensive Care Unit.

That night, Amanda and her husband Michael immediately flew to New York, arriving at about midnight, and went directly to the hospital.

Amanda said she, her mother, brother, and sister-in-law switched off staying with him with brief breaks to eat or catch a quick nap.  And ultimately, he didn't get any better. 

On Wednesday, February 21, Amanda said they were told to come to the hospital to say their goodbyes. There, surrounded by immediate family, a chaplain administered the last rites. The family stayed with Andrew until he passed peacefully that same day. 

He was 68 years old. 

This experience drove Amanda to sign up as a volunteer at The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS). She reached out to LLS to volunteer right after her father's diagnosis, and she began volunteering after her father's death.  

Currently, she volunteers as a Patti Robinson Kaufmann First Connection Coordinator for the North Carolina-Virginia Region with Alex Alvarez, a Senior Manager for Patient and Community Outreach at LLS, which she called "a match made in heaven." The Patti Robinson Kaufmann First Connection Program is a free service of LLS that introduces patients and their loved ones to a trained peer volunteer who has gone through a similar experience.  Amanda matches volunteers to patients and caregivers. 

"Somebody wants to speak with another patient, another volunteer, similar situation," said Amanda. "And so, I just connect those people. And I really enjoy doing that. It makes me feel like I'm helping LLS. I like connecting (with) people and then hearing the stories and the conversations that they've had after connecting with the patient or the caregiver too," she added. 

Amanda is also volunteering as an Emerging Leader because of her work with the annual LLS fundraiser Light The Night (LTN).

"It's just been a lot of good things," Amanda said.

Amanda said her father was a beloved, respected man whose funeral resembled a party. 

"Any person who came to the viewing only had amazing things to say about him," she said. 

As for why she volunteers, Amanda said to not only give back but to honor her father's kindness, selflessness, and willingness to help those in need.  

"He's my true reason. It was a huge loss for our family, but I think about him every day," she said. "And I just feel like if he could have been like that his entire life," said Amanda. "I can honor him in some capacity and do the same and help people who are experiencing any kind of blood cancer."

Amanda said that when she needs some extra love and support, she sees a red cardinal and knows it’s her father visiting.  

“And my cardinal has not failed to show up for me since then,” Amanda said. 

Written By LLS Story Volunteer, Matthew Mallio