Inspirational Stories

Chris was diagnosed with T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (T-ALL) in January 2022. He underwent several rounds of chemo and a bone marrow transplant (his sister was a perfect match!) to put him in remission in May 2022. During the course of his remission, we bought a house, got married, and planned a wedding until he relapsed one year to the date of his initial diagnosis.

He underwent more chemo and a few rounds of donor lymphocyte infusions to put him back into remission. We got married and enjoyed two beautiful months as newlyweds until he relapsed again in August 2023. We knew with a second relapse this meant his disease was aggressive, and I immediately started looking for clinical trials. I came across The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS) and put in an inquiry to see if they could help us find trials that he could be eligible for. We were literally in the emergency department room filling out the inquiry form, and within a few hours, we got a phone call from a nurse who asked me lots of questions about his journey, and then within 24 hours, she had sent me probably 15-20 clinical trials he could be eligible for. I couldn't believe how supportive, kind, and caring this team was. She connected us with hospitals and checked in on us every few months. My husband ended up getting a very aggressive fungal infection, so we had to pause the clinical trial search, and LLS was still reaching out to check in on us.

Chris died in February 2024, and we knew that he gave it his absolute all. We knew there was a slim chance the clinical trial would change his outcome, but at the very least, he wanted to participate in hopes that he could help somebody else in a similar situation. Maybe the doctors could learn from him, and maybe other patients or caregivers could learn from him/us. He's not here, but his legacy lives on, and I plan to do what I can to help others in similar situations.

LLS gave us hope in a really hopeless time. I couldn't believe that these amazing services were free for us. THANK YOU from the bottom of our hearts.