Several months ago we let our readers know that Valerie Fons had developed a rare form of leukemia and was scheduled for a bone marrow transplant. Valerie set a Guinness record for paddling the length of the Mississippi and in 2009 she was a keynote speaker at the ACA National Paddlesports Conference in Fredericksburg.
We’re writing now to report that the transplant was successful and Valerie will soon be returning to Washington Island, Wisconsin, after three months of medical supervision in Seattle. That’s no small feat. Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia is lethal for many adults, and Valerie has come through the transplant and initial recovery with flying colors.
That’s the good news. The challenge is that bills are mounting, Valerie’s husband has also been ill, and they have six adopted children. Her three months of post-op care in Seattle have left her with about $23,000 in unpaid bills—and that’s before the medicine and homecare that will be required over the next twelve months.
Can you help offset these expenses? Tax-deductible contributions can be made to the National Foundation for Transplants in honor of patient Valerie Fons. -http://www.transplants.org/donate/valeriefons.
You may also want to read Valerie’s blog—the parallels between this journey and her experiences in the 1988-89 Two Continents kayak tour are remarkable. - http://valeriefons.blogspot.com/
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