Our son Arlo
was diagnosed in July of 2015 with acute lymphoblastic leukemia. He is
now 4 years old with 2 years of chemotherapy completed. His estimated
cure date is Sept 30th, 2018. Arlo’s treatment is on track and his
oncologists are pleased with the progress he has made since being
diagnosed. Despite this, two years of treatment have taken its toll on
our family both emotionally and financially. As his primary caregiver, I
miss work whenever he is ill, or at risk for becoming sick. Due to the
nature of his chemotherapy, these times are unpredictable and more
frequent than we would like for our beautiful boy. For example, this
past march, Arlo came down with a viral infection that left him weak and
neutropenic for much of the month. His treatments were stopped until
his numbers improved. I was home for 3 weeks caring for him during this
time. Not a month goes by that I don’t miss work because my son has
cancer. As a result, our financial resources are exhausted. We have been
fortunate and managed in a number of ways. Our retirement and saving
accounts have been cashed out. Family and friends have been incredibly
generous, and more than once organizations including Annie’s Angels have
offered us a financial life raft when we were drowning. We are a frugal
family but still barely have enough every month to get by. So, instead
we get a little more behind with no safety net to fall back on. Even
though it is difficult, we are asking for help to see us through the
next 15 months of Arlo’s treatment. Reaching out to other’s does not
come naturally to my husband or me, however we have learned that it
truly doesn’t hurt to ask. Often hopes and wishes are answered. Thank
you for your time.
Sincerely,
Elinor, Justin, Xyla, and Arlo Kurz
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